ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Certain students are now eligible to receive 20 hours of free online math, language arts, and science tutoring. The program will be targeted towards pre-K through 8th grade students at Title I schools, according to the state’s Public Education Department.
“We know that tutoring can help close gaps for our students who are struggling to master concepts in classrooms alone,” Public Education Department Secretary Kurt Steinhaus said in a press release. “This investment in customized support will serve our students efficiently and with immediacy.”
The tutoring sessions are virtual. They can be scheduled before, during, or after school, according the the state’s website. Parents can sign their kids up at the free tutoring signup site.
“There are 588 schools that are eligible currently and that’s about 57% or 56% of the students in New Mexico and about 83% or 84% of the students in grades pre-K through 8th grade,” said Matthew Goodlaw, Director of Research, Evaluation and Accountability.
The program uses “Paper,” an online, international tutoring company. “Paper’s mission is to help every student reach their full potential by providing personalized academic support for nearly any subject or assignment, at any time of day, via any device,” Philip Cutler, Paper co-founder and CEO said in a press release.
The tutoring company has already been test-run by students at James Mountain Public Schools. They’ve been using that company since the 2021-2022 school year, according to the Department of Education.
As noted earlier, the program is only for students at Title I schools, i.e. those with a relatively high proportion of economically disadvantaged students. But the state is looking to add even more tutoring options in the near future. In January of next year, the Public Education Department will launch the New Mexico Math Tutoring Corps, which they say is a tutoring program that will serve Algebra 1 students across the state.
