Dallas ISD is hoping to fight learning loss with a huge push to hire tutors.
The district is hosting a virtual tutoring job fair next week to find as many people as possible to earn some extra money and be a part of COVID-19 recovery.
The district told NBC 5 there is no limit in the number of tutors it is hoping to recruit to help get tens of thousands of students back on track.
"We are very interested to connect with anyone to serve as a tutor in Dallas ISD as part of our multi-faceted and comprehensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic on our students,” said Derek Little, Dallas ISD deputy chief of academics. “Tutoring is a big part of how we can get our students back on track academically.”
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The district is looking for people with previous teaching experience but is very open to those who do not.
There is lots of flexibility on the hours a tutor works, anywhere from two to 20 hours or even 30 hours a week. The minimum is 30 minutes a week.
“The most important thing to note is you need to have a commitment to serving our students. You need to feel passionate about how the students grow and develop, you need to be able to make a consistent time commitment,” said Little. “That time commitment and when that falls during the week is really important because a consistent relationship between a tutor and a student is really important to getting the academic outcomes that we're after.”
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Dallas isn't alone in this fight against the so-called "COVID slide" students have been experiencing in their studies following a school year of virtual learning. Districts across the country are trying to help students catch up.
In fact, Texas lawmakers designed house bill 4545, pushing districts to match students with high-performing teachers or provide 30 hours of tutoring in a failing subject.
But that new law is putting a big strain on school districts dealing with the national teacher shortage.
This is where DISD says a public outreach for tutors could help bring in the help that they need.
“Dallas ISD has not had a tutoring office prior to the pandemic. We certainly had tutoring going on, that’s been part of education since education began,” said Little. “What we are now facing is a need that is unprecedented. We have tens of thousands of students that really need the benefit from tutoring so the scale is dramatically different. We’re looking to expand the number of organizations working with Dallas ISD that provide tutoring. At the same time, we are directly bringing in part-time tutors who are staff to provide support as well."
The district is even encouraging high school students to apply for opportunities to tutor elementary and middle school students. Here are the pay rates for all tutors:
- $13/hour - High School Students
- $20/hour - College Students
- $31/hour - Current Teachers
- $31/hour - Retired Teachers
Little said tutoring can be a mix of virtual and in-person. They have a preference for in-person but are flexible to do either or both depending on the tutor and situation. Timing is also flexible, with hours before school, during school or after school.
DISD will host two tutoring fairs are next Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 20 and 21.
You can apply now or find more information by clicking here.
Both Dallas ISD and Fort Worth ISD are also looking to fill teaching positions, as well as openings in operational and transportation departments.
