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Alachua County Public Schools have launched a new tutoring program for its students, and it’s completely free.
New Beyond the bell Virtual tutoring program is available to students of all grade levels and run by volunteer teachers from the school district.
According to Patti Knapp, coordinator of additional educational interventions at public schools in Alachua County, Alachua is one of the few school districts in Florida that uses its own teachers for a tutoring service.
“There are other districts that will contract with [outside] tutoring services to provide this service, ”Knapp said. “But these are real teachers from the Alachua County School District, so that’s what makes us a little different and adds a personal touch to it.”
The idea for this program was born following the pandemic. Knapp, who currently runs the program, said the district administration noticed that students studying at home needed extra help.
“As a district, we were looking at the needs and how we could make sure we were offering everything we can to our students,” Knapp said.
Beyond the Bell offers 35 different virtual tutoring sessions from Monday to Thursday. Students can choose to attend from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
This flexible tutoring schedule was created with busy families in mind.
“This is really good for working parents, especially those with young children,” said Mary Benedict, president of the Alachua County Public Schools PTA.
Students can access the Beyond Bell service by logging into their CSGA myPortal. Once logged in, students receive a Zoom link for a meeting that matches their grade level. Elementary students have one link, while high school students use another.
Once students enter their assigned Zoom meeting, a facilitator directs them to a topic-specific chat room. These rooms are designed to accommodate up to eight students at a time.
While all students in attendance can hear what their peers are asking the tutor, help is one-on-one and personalized, one student at a time.
“I always enjoy working with students one-on-one,” said Anneliese Henshaw, grade five teacher at Meadowbrook Elementary School and volunteer tutor for Beyond the Bell. “You can’t really do that in the classroom. It can really make a difference. “
Henshaw has signed up as a tutor four times since the program began on September 15. She teaches math and science at her school, but teaches fifth-graders in all subjects for Beyond the Bell.
She said she sees about five or six students online per hour and most of them don’t need their parents’ help to register.
“They are so motivated,” Henshaw said. “They log on on their own and ask so many questions.”
Besides being of great help to the students, Henshaw believes that Beyond the Bell is a good community builder. She works with kids across the county who aren’t in her class, which she says is a great social experience for the kids.
“This is really a testament to the flexibility of the education system,” Henshaw said.
According to Benedict, thousands of students in Alachua County were sent home to quarantine in the first six weeks of school alone. This means that students not only waste a lot of socializing time, but also valuable in-person teaching.
“I think this [tutoring program] is a great use of the funding provided by the government to help tackle the learning loss of our students due to COVID-19, ”said Benedict. “I’m so glad it’s here.”
The Beyond the Bell program is funded by the Emergency Fund for Elementary and Secondary Schools (ESSER), a grant given to public schools in Alachua County by the state to address the impact of COVID-19 on elementary and secondary schools.
“This is something that is a huge victory for our students and our teachers,” said Benedict.
Knapp predicts that more students will participate in the Beyond the Bell program as the news spreads in the coming weeks. She expects there will be a need for more facilitators and tutoring sessions in the near future.
The program will run for the duration of the school year, and Knapp said the district plans to continue it in the future as long as there is still need and sufficient funding.
“We’re really excited for this,” Knapp said.
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