HARRISBURG, Pa. — Students across Pennsylvania made it to the end of the school year, but at what cost? For many, virtual and hybrid learning during a pandemic now means the possibility of being months behind on where a child should be in their academics going into the fall.
Because of this, tutors are already seeing an increase in summer business, as families look to make up for lost time.
"We saw a lot of struggles with the virtual approach," Jay Murray said, who along with his wife, owns and operates Huntington Learning Center in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County. "A lot of loss in learning. We call it the 'COVID slide.'"
Murray said if you're not sure if getting your child a summer tutor is the right approach, look at their report card. If their grades struggled throughout the 2020-21 school year, or their test grades faltered, it's a good sign they may need a refresher. If your child was already struggling before the pandemic, Murray said the last year likely exacerbated learning struggles and pushed students even further behind.
Tutors can typically help with specific subjects or a wider range of topics if the child needs it. Huntington Learning will do a full academic assessment for any student who comes into their center before determining how much tutoring they need, Murray said.
"We are going to focus on the things they either don't understand, or struggled with during the school year," he said.
Huntington Learning Center is located in the Colonial Commons Shopping Plaza along Jonestown Road.