Daniel Prince
Access to tutor.com through Discus will be free for three years
The South Carolina Department of Education and the South Carolina State Library have announced a $1.5 million, three-year partnership to provide virtual tutoring services to South Carolina students. The money is funded through the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. The department of education and the state library will be partnering with tutor.com to allow families additional, high-quality academic assistance at no cost.
Recently released statewide testing data revealed a need for high-dosage tutoring both for students performing on grade level who need additional assistance and for those who are having academic difficulty and are at-risk of not meeting on-time graduation requirements. State Library Agency Director Leesa Aiken said that tutor.com has proven to be an effective addition to the K-12 Discus resources. She said the tutors meet students where they are and provide individual attention that is not rushed or judged.
Tutor.com is available for families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Students will have access to highly qualified tutors in over 200 subject areas. In addition to individual tutoring, tutor.com provides a service for administering practice tests to determine if students are on the trajectory for content mastery, and they can submit writing assignments for review and feedback. The tutors can also assist with time management and planning strategies.
Participants will access tutor.com through Discus, which is South Carolina’s Virtual Library, at www.scdiscus.org. They may engage in the number of sessions needed to meet their academic goal for improvement. Access will be free for three years through the partnership and ESSER funds.