Ontario launches tutoring support program for students

The province says COVID has cost students valuable learning time and to help correct that education minister Stephen Lecce announced on Thursday a learning recovery action plan.

A key part of that plan calls for $175-million-dollars to be spent on tutoring programs. Ontario’s education minister says kids need help to catch up with math, reading, and writing. The programs will be offered before, during, and after school, as well as on weekends and over the summer. Lecce says the program can be delivered by a teacher, an ECE, an EA, or even by a post-secondary student that has some specialty in specific areas.

While more money for tutoring is welcomed news by the boards, Dawn Danko says more teachers would have been preferable. Danko says, “for students that need the support the most, they need the support during the day, and they are less likely to access the support after school, or on the weekends. I would have preferred to have seen more investment in staff.”

The money for tutoring will be made available to schools boards immediately and will go until December of this year. It will also be up to individuals to schools to decide what community partner they choose to work with.

Personal tutor, Karly Tripp says the funding would have been better at the start of the pandemic when online learning started but believes students will still benefit from it now.

To put the 175 million dollars into perspective, the province usually spends 10 to 15 million dollars on tutoring yearly. Ontario is also bringing back standardized testing for grades three and six.