TPS, Union expanding online tutoring access with federal funding | Education

“We know the need is great,” Tulsa Public Schools Chief Learning Officer Ebony Johnson said.

In September, Tulsa Public Schools’ board of education approved a $2 million agreement with FEV Tutors for 800,000 hours of online one-on-one tutoring for students, plus regular consultations with participants’ teachers and families.

FEV Tutors is a Woburn, Massachusetts-based tutoring program. Its research partners include Old Dominion University and Johns Hopkins School of Education, according to its website.

TPS is paying for the service with federal COVID-19 relief money and specifically chose that vendor because of its ability to work both with its distance learning platform, Canvas, as well as with individual families and teachers.

While TPS offered students tutoring options prior to the pandemic through community partnerships, its Indian Education Office and arrangements with individual teachers, Johnson said they knew going into the 2021-2022 school year that there would be a higher demand, hence the decision to bring aboard additional help.

“We knew that what we wanted to do with our ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) money is be laser-focused on student support and give them additional support for areas of academic need,” Johnson said. “We knew that because of the pandemic, we would have students who would be in greater need of support when it comes to content, understanding their subject areas and how to navigate through coursework.”