Okay, Army Of Good,  here’s my new tutoring scheme for the refugee children.

The RISSE soccer team is comprised of graduates of the RISSE after school program. The soccer team players are all in middle school and high school. I asked Ali how many of these boys and girls need special tutoring – English, computing, art.

He immediately identified six of these kids as being in urgent need of English and language tutoring.

One is going to graduate from high school in a year or two and has only been in America for a few months, he is struggling to speak in even basic English, and will soon have to figure out how to fill out job or college applications and write essays.

The Albany public schools are doing their best, but are overcrowded and underfunded, like many other public schools in America. These kids are no longer in the RISSE program, that’s for younger children. Some are thriving, others are newly arrived and not getting the instruction they need.

These kids need help right now – I know them all, some can barely speak English at all and are far behind where they need to be. They are eager to learn, have a positive learning attitude and will apply themselves, I see how they take on responsibility and listen.

My idea – the most immediate and least expensive – is to raise money to hire private tutors to work with them one on one. The college of St. Rose is right down the street from RISSE, and some of the students have volunteered to do occasional tutoring, but the program is sporadic and unfocused.

These six young people are falling behind. We are also canvassing the young girls on the basketball team to see if any need special tutoring as well.

I called the college this morning and asked what it would cost of we paid the students a small hourly rate to come once or twice a week and sit down with the six students in particular need. We could do it one at a time, or in small groups. The college is excited about it and Ali is wild about the idea, he called it the “greatest idea ever,” his highest praise.

He jumped at it right away. There is a lot of good points to this approach. It is very inexpensive, it doesn’t create a permanent bureaucracy, the money goes straight into private one-on-one tutoring and should yield very quick results. And just in time. We can change lives here, and for pennies.

I like it, and I know it can work. These are kids who are dying to learn. I’m  going to talk to one of them this afternoon, and I will write about him. He will be the pilot student on this project. He is desperate to learn English. I’ve seen how intense these young people can be about learning. They want to be successful in America, as they are being successful on the soccer field.

And I will be asking for help. This will not be a large amount of money, and and I can’t think of a better investment.

These are our brothers and sisters in America, we must keep the flame of generosity and freedom burning. I’m proposing we pay the St. Rose students $10 an hour – some may choose to work for free.

One at a time, until all six get the help they need. I’d like to start by raising a few hundred dollars and putting the money in a separate tutoring fund. As we need it, we can draw from it, but only for these six children. It might evolve or change, but I think it will work. This money will only be used for tutoring these six children, not for anything else.

If you wish to help, please donate to The Gus Fund, c/o Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or via Paypal, [email protected]. Mark the payment “Tuition Fund.” Thanks much.

I’ll pup up photos of each, starting today. As always, you will see where the money goes and to whom.