KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The demands of virtual learning and at-home schooling are front and center for families across the country as an unprecedented school year takes shape.
College Nannies, Sitters + Tutors in Kansas City has seen an increased demand for their tutoring services as the month of August winds down and the new school year picks back up. That means more training for tutors who work with students learning safely from home during the pandemic.
The company said a key ingredient to success is having the right environment at home, free of distractions for your student.
"The biggest thing is setting the right expectation of what we’re trying to do each day, what assignments do we have to get completed, make sure you have a dedicated work area for studies to get online, have all the school stuff right here, it’s not spread all over the house, a dedicated spot, making sure we know what the expectation is for each student," Matt Murray said.
Murray is the owner of College Nannies, Sitters + Tutors, and said his tutors have been training extensively for working with online platforms and teaching from afar on Zoom.
"In the spring, when COVID hit, we weren’t liking the online thing, it was new to us. Now our tutors prefer it, we have a lot of families this summer who have preferred it. Zoom will be a valuable tool for us moving forward," he said.
Murray added that working with students of all ages during the current moment is a challenge, especially younger students.
"(For) elementary kids, online is tough. That’s where the K-12 partnership we signed, we’re excited about that, that’s where I see kids and parents needing the most help. Trying to get a third grader to sit in front of a laptop and do online learning is pretty tough," he said.
For the older students, one element to their educational experience remains up in the air.
"Unfortunately, our ACT prep has dropped off to near nothing because they can’t take the test, so parents aren’t doing the prep because they don’t know when they can take it again. I think they’ve canceled the last five or six tests. I don’t think we’ll see ACT prep pick back up until they confirm they’ll have hard test dates," Murray said.
—
The Rebound Kansas City is our effort is to help metro residents play a role in moving our community forward. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas to via email to rebound@kshb.com and we welcome you to join in the conversation on the Rebound KC Facebook Group.
Whether you're Getting Back to Work after a layoff, need help Making Ends Meet during these trying times or need tips on Managing the Pressure we're all feeling, The Rebound has resources to find help. We'll also make sure local leaders are Doing What's Right to get Kansas City back track after a three-month shutdown.
Need a job? Be sure to visit our local jobs board powered by Indeed.