Parents Turning To Tutoring As Students Continue To Face Pressures Of Online Learning
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Students continue to face struggles with distance learning as many schools have not yet returned to in-person learning.
In some instances, parents are having to help out with instruction on top of managing their household and going to work -- often remotely as well.
An option that parent Jennifer Prassas decided would work for her large family is tutoring to help keep them on top of their studies.
"I don't even understand part of their homework or even half of it, so I don't even know what I would do," Prassas said.
She has five school-aged children ranging from fourth-grade to 10th grade, and each of them receives regular online tutoring along with their one-on-one time with teachers.
"They can help with book reports, even just reading out loud, which you don't get that in class anymore," Prassas said. "It's nice because they get one no one they get that one person to themselves to help with whatever they're working on."
A+ Tutoring in the San Fernando Valley, which is run by Roman Slavinsky, has been dealing with a spike in demand since the pandemic.
"What I noticed with a lot of parents is when they actually sit down to take a look at their kids work, what they're doing they are noticing that the level of work that is being produced by their kids are not living up to their expectations," Slavinsky said.
"There are assignments that end up being missing even though they are assigned online and the child was at home and could have easily done them."
Slavinsky, who is a certified teacher, works with 70 other tutors as his location to help about 200 students with their schoolwork.
"Our kids are responding well to the fact that someone can answer their question right away. We can allow them to pause to think on something without them feeling the eyes of the world on them," Slavinsky said.
While tutoring has its perks and can keep many students from falling behind as they adjust to remote learning, the cost is not affordable for every family.
For some tutoring programs, sessions can cost between $25-100 per hour, which makes it less likely that lower-income families can help their kids.
To address the disparity, the Los Angeles Unified School District says it has started free in-person tutoring for students most in need. Online sessions are expected to begin next week.
"Depending upon needs, students might be focused on the sounds of letters learning to read, or they could be learning to graph quadratic equations," said LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner.
Volunteer tutoring has also increased significantly during the pandemic, so if you or someone else is looking for support, that is also an option.
For information on becoming a volunteer tutor to support Los Angeles Unified students, please visit stepuptutoring.org.