High-Dose Tutoring as an Effective Solution to Address Pandemic-Induced Learning Gaps
As COVID relief dollars are continuing to roll out on state and local levels to address learning gaps, companies like Tutor Corps have stepped up to provide high-dose tutoring support to at-risk students.
As the smoke lifts from the brutal crisis state of the pandemic, what’s clearly visible are the significant gaps in learning and emotional development it has left in its wake across the K-12 landscape. In part, the government has attempted to alleviate these gaps via federal funding packages. Billions of dollars in federal funds have been allocated to states to address their students’ specific needs in three separate packages from 2020 through the end of 2021. The business of actually utilizing the money to identify students at risk and then offer evidence-based, targeted interventions that get results is quite a challenge for local districts.
Nearly 43% of the money spent at the local level went to “meeting student needs,” which includes spending on tutoring and summer or afterschool programs (according to a report from the U.S. Department of Education). However, the national teacher shortage, made worse by the pandemic, has hindered districts in implementing these interventions because they just don’t have the people power. According to an article in the Dallas Morning News this past summer, Texas schools had tapped less than a third of their cash with deadlines to spend quickly approaching.
One option many districts have implemented is to tap well-known, high-quality tutoring companies to provide the extra support that their staff cannot. Research shows that “high dose tutoring” can accelerate learning recovery for a wide range of students, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds without necessary resources. The mentoring relationship that develops alongside academic intervention is another benefit to students often struggling not only with learning, but also self-confidence and motivation.
Tutor Corps has been one such company, partnering with districts across the west coast to provide high-dose tutoring to address learning loss arising from the pandemic. Being uniquely positioned to support students remotely, we can spend less time on the logistics of accessing students, and more on integrating social-emotional learning, study skills and executive functioning support with the academic skills in each and every session. Our district page offers a detailed analysis of what that support looks like, including accountability metrics and tutor training to ensure students are meeting their academic goals. As mentioned, though, the intangible and lasting benefits of the tutor/student relationship often outweigh these temporary blips in a child’s academic progress. If there was ever any doubt, the interruption of the teacher/student relationship caused by the pandemic is proof of the importance of educators in our children’s lives, and Tutor Corps is lucky enough to be a part of the rebuilding process for this new generation of learners.