Wizard's Wardrobe

The Wizard’s Wardrobe is a free one-on-one, after-school tutoring program for elementary students in the South End of Albany. Our focus is on reading and writing skills, along with problem solving, which is nurtured with our monthly STEM challenges. These challenges help build perseverance and grit and encourage risk-taking.

Our trained volunteer tutors welcome the children into a safe space, with an imaginative theme. Our library has over 2,700 books in order for tutors to help students find ones of interest on their reading level, as well as books that tutors can read to them to increase their listening vocabularies.

Students must be in the first or second grade to be eligible for the program. Once accepted, students are welcome to continue through elementary school. We work to complement and enhance their experiences in school to raise their academic standings.

In addition to our monthly STEM challenge, we have added an enrichment program called Odyssey of the Mind. Teams of 7 students in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades participate in a regional competition presenting their solution to a long term problem. Team members attend a third session on Fridays to work on their solution.

• Who we serve: The Wizard’s Wardrobe serves the elementary school children living in the South End of Albany and works with the school district, neighborhood schools, and community programs to reach as many students as possible and maintain regular attendance in the program.
• What we do: The Wizard’s Wardrobe tutors meet with students one or two afternoons each week. Students attend two afternoons a week. Program hours begin at 2:30 and end at 5:30. Tutors work one-on-one for 90 minutes each session with the same child throughout the school year. They use materials and activities with creative learning strategies to engage children in reading and writing and STEM enrichment activities to achieve positive academic outcomes. 
• What we expect of tutors: One-on-one tutoring is an essential part of our tutoring program, and research shows that this focused work yields the best academic outcomes. It also helps build a positive relationship with a caring adult which impacts a child's sense of importance and ability. We expect tutors to commit to tutor for the full school year. Our program generally begins in the first week of October and ends in the first week of June. Tutoring time is a commitment of approximately 2 hours, one or two afternoons/week. We expect our tutors to attend a 2-day training which covers how racism and poverty affect our students, brain development, the 5 components of reading, and lesson planning. We offer training several times a year - September, November and January - from 8:45 AM to 4:00 PM at our space at 20 Rensselaer Street.  New this year: weekday training in October! For more information visit our website at www.wizardswardrobe.org    
• 2025-26 training dates: September 13 and 20, 2025 (Saturdays); October 13 and 24, 2025 (Monday and Friday); November 8 and 15, 2025 (Saturdays); and January 10 and 17, 2026 (Saturdays).