As students head into the summer, tutoring has proven to be a valuable resource. With the average K-12 student experiencing nearly a year of learning loss, learning intervention can make all the difference.
That’s why now more than ever, summer is an important time for students to catch up. Ryan Vandehey, a media relations officer for Portland Public Schools says that “the reality is that we’re trying to address 18 months of kids learning at home.”
Districts can offer summer schooling programs, or as an alternative, tutoring programs to help students catch up. Although both are great options, tutoring has some distinct advantages for students and teachers alike.
How Can We Help Teachers?
So you might be wondering, how can dipping into summer help teachers?
Anchor Bay EA President Jamie Pietron believes: “having more hands on deck is great. Additional academic support through tutoring not only helps students, but it also creates a better working environment for staff by reducing workloads when students come back in the fall.
Ottawa EA President Theresann Pyret believes “anytime we have added support in the classroom, it changes the way we do our job. More hands to lift up our students makes for a lighter load.”
Specialized Student Impact
During an average year, students lose over a month of subject knowledge during the summer. Two thirds of teachers also report that they spend “at least a month re-teaching old material when they return from summer vacation.”
Tutoring programs can help students close this gap by using small-group and personalized instruction that moves at their pace. This type of instruction can be critical in helping students reinforce learning skills and catch up to their classmates.
Tutoring can also bring students ahead of the game. From teaching study-skills to managing test anxiety, summer tutoring develops key learning skills that may be hard to teach in a traditional classroom setting. These skills can help students not just be prepared, but get ahead of their teacher-instructed curriculum in the fall.
Teacher Shortage Support
Districts all across the country have struggled with teacher turnover during the last year due to a nation-wide teacher shortage. As a result of staff shortages, remaining teachers already struggle to manage a heavy workload during the school year, making them less willing to take on additional work like summer school instruction.
Lynn Holdheide, senior advisor with the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, suggests that districts look to outside organizations for help, “districts should work with community and private organizations to help fulfill their summer accelerated learning plan.”
To support students during the summer, districts should consider integrating tutoring options from an outside provider, like Intervene K-12.
What is Intervene K-12?
Intervene K-12 is a comprehensive learning intervention solution, powered by data-driven small group tutoring. We help administrators develop teachers. We help teachers grow students. We motivate students and help them find academic success. Learn more about Intervene K-12 here.