Across the country, school districts are struggling to ensure kids are at the education level they should be at after nationwide school shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Texas, lawmakers passed House Bill 4545, requiring schools to provide at least 30 hours of tutoring to students who did not score a passing grade on the STAAR. The passage of this bill has seen the number of students who qualify for extra tutoring skyrocket to over 50,000, which is five times greater than expected.
The nation is also struggling with a teacher shortage, making it hard to find certified teachers with time to take on extra tutoring duties. This combination of issues has led the Dallas Independent School District to widen its net, looking for potential tutors from other community areas.
“We are very interested to connect with anyone to serve as a tutor in Dallas ISD as part of our multi-faceted and comprehensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic on our students. Tutoring is a big part of how we can get our students back on track academically,” explained Derek Little, Dallas ISD deputy chief of academics.
The DISD will be holding two hiring fairs on October 20 and 21 to find people who can provide tutoring for students either in person or via video conference. Tutors can work as little as 30 minutes or up to 30 hours per week with flexible hours. The most crucial requirement is that applicants be able to provide a consistent schedule for students.
“The most important thing to note is you need to have a commitment to serving our students. You need to feel passionate about how the students grow and develop. You need to be able to make a consistent time commitment,” said Little. “That time commitment and when that falls during the week is really important because a consistent relationship between a tutor and a student is really important to getting the academic outcomes that we’re after.”
Anyone interested in tutoring can find more information here.