Like others, Sabah Kunle was assigned to teach remotely throughout the uncertainty of COVID 2020. No one was prepared for this onslaught of knowledge. As the issues of learning loss persisted, The Learning Arc Inc. was founded, and we have been supporting the populations who were suffering academically and emotionally as a result of school closures and stay-at-home restrictions connected to the pandemic.
“We started The Learning Arc tutoring with the idea that we could change all that,” said Kunle, who founded the group of retired teachers to volunteer a couple hours weekly to meet with students that needed support in core subject areas. Kunle explained that the school district’s decision to distribute Chromebooks and provide access to high-speed internet provided Georgia students with the technology they needed to attend tutoring sessions and collaborate online, making The Learning Arc possible.
The company, which inked an agreement with the school system, is already delivering free one-on-one online tutoring and mentoring to over 800 youths ages 8 to 17. The majority of the learners are from Latinx homes.
Kunle talks to school administrators, who talk to teachers, who talk to parents, so that students who could benefit from the initiative can be found.
.Matching Instructors and Students
Parents fill out an online survey to explain why they are enrolling their child in the program. Possible answers are having trouble in school (with English, reading, or math), needing a mentor, or thinking that the normal curriculum is too easy. Parents also list their child’s interests, such as animals (animales), art (arte), creative writing (escritura creativa), dance (baile), music (msica), science (ciencia), sports (deportes), and video games (videojuegos).
Volunteers make a commitment to spend two hours a week tutoring students for a minimum of ten weeks, and they plan their schedules with the families of the students they are working with. Volunteers at Learning Arc get training in the basics of tutoring, with an emphasis on online tutoring. The company also gives tutors instructional strategies to begin with a 10-minute activity that is engaging, followed by a 40-minute academic session, and close with a 10-minute exercise that focuses on topics other than mathematics and English.
Since its founding, 20 teachers have tutored at the nonprofit organization.
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According to Suoborai, tutors are similar to elder siblings who understand their younger siblings and are ready to answer any queries the younger children may have.
He said, “Occasionally all we do is chat about their homework, but sometimes we also talk about anything they enjoy, such as cartoons and games.” Other times, “all we do is talk about their assignments.” “The children are the primary focus of our efforts.”
The Learning Arc has a waitlist of 200 children and is looking for tutors with a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree—or who are in the process of earning one— who enjoy working with kids.