What tutoring services are still available for local students during the pandemic?
With the new school year beginning with distance learning from home, more parents are already turning to tutoring to help their kids stay on track.
News Channel 3’s Madison Weil breaks down three options for students looking for extra help during the pandemic.
- Check with your school district or email your child’s teacher directly. All three of our local school districts say they will have free, tutoring resources offered to anyone who asks this school year.
“For example, if they’re in integrative math and they’re starting to get lost, they can actually go online and receive 10 sessions of tutoring,” explained Dr. Lucy Hansen, coordinator, supplemental interventions, PSUSD.
She says many of the tutors available are teachers simply volunteering their own time.
- Check out Club Z Tutoring Services -- it’s a large, national organization with many tutors already working right here in the valley.
“Club Z has been in the valley since 2007,” said Jane Dodd, area director for Club Z tutoring.
In additional to virtual tutoring sessions, Dodd says they are still offering some in-person tutoring options: “I’m in the process of hiring more tutors who can meet in person with proper safety precautions...wearing masks, distancing as much as potential, not sharing materials.”
- Consider Outschool.org -- it’s a virtual resource where parents can enroll their kids in supplemental classes or help sessions in just about any subject with qualified teachers from around the world.
“Outschool classes tend to be a lot more affordable option for families,” said Justin Dent, Outchool’s executive director.
Dent says some families are even using Outschool.org to create “affordable study pods” where multiple students are meeting up for interactive learning sessions.
“Pods are a very appealing way to in a safe environment allow small groups of children to interact with one another,” he said.
Outschool.org has also pledged $2 million to help low-income families -- offering $100 in free classes to those in need.
