She loved tutoring third and fourth graders last year as a senior at Wayne Central near Rochester, but she thought finding something similar at UB might be difficult because she did not have a car on campus.
She’s grateful the university’s Brainy Bulls one-to-one tutor-mentoring program eliminated that barrier and held open the door to an equally powerful opportunity.
“I don’t really have to do anything,” Crary said. “Just log on.”
BRAINY BULLS
Wilbert Green, assistant dean of outreach and community engagement for the UB Graduate School of Education, leads the Brainy Bulls, a tutoring and mentorship program that pairs a UB student with a fifth through 12th grade student in Western New York.
Building relationships between the two populations is the mission of Wil Green, assistant dean of outreach and community engagement at UB’s Graduate School of Education, who started Brainy Bulls as a pilot last school year and has seen it soar in 2024-25. Green has about 50 tutors now, and the program has served roughly 100 grade school students.
“I see so much potential in young people,” Green said, “and that’s not just for the students that are receiving the supports and being tutored, but it’s also for our tutors.”
Wil Green cut his teeth as a teacher in Rochester at an alternative school. It's there he saw the light turn on for kids who were struggling academically.
HOW BRAINY BULLS WORKS
Brainy Bulls’ Zoom room opens from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Tutor-mentors, a diverse group of UB students that spans departments, ethnic backgrounds and college experiences, may have prescheduled, 40-minute appointments with grade school students.
Anywhere between 25 and 40 tutors are on at a given time, Green said, and they can work from wherever they feel comfortable. There’s a drop-in opportunity for kids, too.
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“Sometimes it’s like, ‘Hey, Mom, I have a test tomorrow.’ And [the parent is] like, ‘What?’“ Green said.
UB seeks to fill the gap where parents may seek academic support for their child but may not know the material or fully understand how students learn a certain subject. Or, parents “who have the will but not the skill” to help their students, said Green, a Buffalo Public Schools graduate who taught previously in Rochester.
Fifth through 12th grade students in Buffalo district and charter schools, as well as Erie I BOCES’ sites, are eligible for the program, but expect fewer restrictions soon, Green said. There’s no charge to students being tutored. Larger devices such as laptops are preferred, but students often join on smartphones. Appointments can be made at ed.buffalo.edu/tutoring and students or parents may choose their tutor, a process Crary, the UB freshman, has relished so far.
“They’re all amazing and so sweet,” Crary said of the students she has helped. “None of them have been mean to me.”
Green monitors the Zoom tutoring sessions by reading transcripts the platform provides. While it's an accountability tactic, Green sees extra value from the young students engaging with the college tutors. "They're cute," he said. "They kind of restore your faith in humanity."
Green said UB students in Brainy Bulls’ main Zoom room create a “welcoming, affirming environment,” as students seeking tutors may be shy, intimidated or not even there on their own accord. Breakout rooms for scheduled sessions are created in advance, and it’s common for pairings to jell after a few meetings.
Crary, for instance, learned quickly a high school freshman wrestling with algebra just needed a boost in confidence and some empathy. “I could relate to her — ‘algebra, why are there numbers and letters in my math right now?’” she said.
Their bond strengthened over weekly meetings, joking about UB students riding their bikes inside, bemoaning how they were sick at the same time and chatting about holiday plans. This kind of mentoring happens organically, Green said.
Green also realizes not all tandems work well, so there’s flexibility for parents and students to choose a new tutor, as well as reviews that may indicate a different tutor could have more success.
“That’s OK,” Green said, “because that’s a real-world experience. Not everybody is going to click.” Green monitors the sessions by reading the Zoom closed-captioning transcripts, and tutors must turn in a brief summary of each session to get paid.
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Green assured parents and teachers that UB’s tutor-mentors are, with help from New York State Mentoring, screened and fingerprinted prior to hiring, take a culturally responsive training and engage in monthly training sessions during the year.
He hopes to eventually add 20 more tutors, but there’s plenty of room for grade school students seeking academic help.
“Right now, we’re not even at 50 percent capacity as far as students coming through and taking advantage of tutors,” Green said.
HOW IS IT PAID FOR?
The inspiration for Brainy Bulls was a federal mentoring initiative through the National Partnership for Student Success that sought to connect college students with K-12 students struggling to catch up academically after Covid-19 closures.
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UB’s tutor-mentors are paid about $16 per hour, Green said, and funding sources include federal work-study money, Empire State Service Corps. and UB’s Here to Career employment program.
“What I enjoy about it most is the collaborative approach,” Green said of Brainy Bulls. “Different pools of funding, different community partners and different departments on UB’s campus coming together to provide this opportunity for students. I think all they need is the opportunity.”
While the virtual tutor-mentoring is the most robust part of Brainy Bulls, there are two other key pieces to the program.
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High-dosage, in-person tutoring in math and English, coordinated by UB Graduate School English professors John Z. Strong and Blythe E. Anderson, has existed for a few years, Green said, but falls for the first time under the Brainy Bulls umbrella.
Green helps coordinate elementary school partners, and the professors work with graduate students to deliver science of reading instruction for second and third graders learning to read.
A similar math branch is run by Anne Izydorczak, administrator in the school’s Gifted Math program, who works with sixth grade students using evidence-based strategies. In both the reading and math programs, which begin again in January, UB students travel to grade school sites three days each week for multiple hours.
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The third pillar is tutoring beginning this spring in-person at three UB sites: North Campus, South Campus and the Jacobs School of Medicine, Green said.
Regardless of the environment — virtual, at grade school sites or at UB — Brainy Bulls is able to accomplish the same thing.
“The best things coming out of this are things we can’t necessarily plan for,” Green said. “It is just that human interaction between two individuals who are working together collaboratively. Great things start to happen when you’re in that space.”
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