School on Wheels of Massachusetts (SOWMA) was founded in 2004 by Cheryl Opper, teacher and child advocate, after reading a magazine article about Agnes Stevens, the founder of School on Wheels of California. Cheryl was inspired to bring the one-on-one academic program to Massachusetts to support children struggling to stay on track in school while experiencing homelessness. She started SOWMA out of her home in Easton, where she trained community volunteer tutors at her kitchen table. Cheryl worked with local universities to recruit her first tutors. Her basement was filled with backpacks and school supplies. Community volunteers came together to prepare the backpacks for the children. In 2004, SOWMA worked with 20 children a week in two family shelters. SOWMA now provides customized services for over 200 plus students a week in grades K through 12 at12 program sites, as well as 35 college students currently enrolled at colleges and universities throughout New England.
School on Wheels of Massachusetts is the third program in the country. We are primarily privately funded through individuals, civic organizations, businesses and foundations.
Our numbers since 2004 (*)
- We operate 18 sites in 9 communities in Massachusetts
- More than 1,900 volunteer tutors cumulatively trained
- Over 37,000 tutoring hours recorded
- More than 2,500 students cumulatively served
- Distributed more than 10,000 fully stocked and customized backpacks to student in grades K - college
- 35 students enrolled in college
*As of 07/20/2017