Tutors and day camps planned by school boards to help tackle learning loss
CBC
Local school boards are using provincial funds to create programs to address learning loss during the pandemic.
The plan includes before- and after-school tutoring programs, in-school help with reading and summer classes or day camps.
Lila Read, associate director with the Waterloo Region District School Board, says they're adding tutors to various other programs that were already in place.
"In elementary, those tutors are available to students before and after school. They are qualified educators that are providing support to students with a focus on literacy, reading skills and also math and numeracy skills," she said.
Similar supports are in place now for secondary schools, with the focus on helping students rescue or recover a course credit.
"Where a student maybe is encountering some difficulty in in earning their credit or passing their course, the tutoring supports are being put in place to assist that student to help them cross the finish line successfully and set them up for success as they as they move into next year," Read said.
The Wellington Catholic District School Board is also going to offer tutors to students from grades one to 10 from now until June.
The tutors will be available to students for one-hour sessions after school Monday through Thursday.
Students up to Grade 8 will receive support in literacy and numeracy. Students in grades nine and 10 can get help with English, mathematics, languages and foundational learning skills.
Funding for the programs comes from the province's Learning Recovery Action Plan, which was announced in February.
The $600 million provincial fund is meant to address learning gaps as well as student mental health.
The Upper Grand District School Board is using the final months of the school year to pilot a program for grades one to three, Director of Education Peter Sovran said.
The board redirected 25 teachers who were already working in the system, to focus on reading skills. The board then hired teachers to fill the vacant positions.
"What we're hoping to do is to use April to June as a pilot to understand the level of intervention. Is it meeting the needs?" he said.
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