Tutors help students bounce back from the COVID slide

TAMPA, Fla. - Students are sharpening their skills before the start of school – an important extra step this year after a year of learning during a pandemic.

Administrators at the Doctors of Academics Tutoring in Tampa said they've seen a growth in enrollment this year of kids whose parents want to make sure they don't experience the so-called COVID slide.

"We were actually at our maximum capacity at the start of summer and I think that's because a lot of parents saw what happened during the school year and they want to make sure that they're at least ready to go into the upcoming school year," said director Janola Morris. "A lot of parents were worried, especially if they were virtual, that they weren't so much grasping to the materials online and they wouldn't label it the COVID slide. But we know, as educators, that's what it pretty much is."

"There's no question that our students have really suffered from the COVID slide," agreed Florida state senator Lori Berman.

Berman initiated a bill that was signed into law that would allow parents of children ages kindergarten through fifth grade to hold their child back this one school year. They had to notify their principal by June 30.

"You're going to get your confidence up again and you're going to change that trajectory of the child's education because they're going to start to feel really proud and self-confident. And they should be really successful in the year they have repeated." Berman explained. 

It's up to the principal's discretion whether they think a child should be held back or not.

Parents are encouraged to lean on their school's community and seek out resources.

"Always communicate with the teachers first and foremost. Communicate with your school members and also seek help. You can never give your child too much educational help," added Morris.

"Sometimes we forget about the adverse mental health impacts the COVID slide has had, and hopefully parents, teachers and principals working together can address those issues," shared Berman.