‘Pandemic pods’ offer solutions for education
Families band together so their children can learn, sometimes rotating home locations to help parents keep working.
There has never been a time like this in American education. During a month normally devoted to back-toschool shopping and family vacations, August 2020 finds parents agonizing over modified options for inperson or online education, amid seemingly daily educational strategy updates.
The long-term effects of COVID-19 on the educational, psychological and physiological well-being of children is on the mind of parents across the country, as they choose between sending kids to school or keeping them at home.
For many, remote learning is not a decision, but a reality. As of early August, 17 of the nation’s 20 largest school districts (home to more than 4 million students) chose to offer remote learning as their only fall instructional model.
But how will employed parents keep children engaged and learning at home? How will they meet their children’s educational needs for unfamiliar course content? What about their children’s social and emotional needs?
Enter the formation of “pandemic pods,” in which several families band together so their children are able to learn together, sometimes rotating home locations to help parents continue working. The small groups afford children muchneeded social engagement, while their educational needs are guided by common “Zutors” (tutors on Zoom).
Pods can be subject specific, with Zutors offering personalized cognitive, social, emotional and content-driven guidance. Other Zutors aid students with broader study skills, literacy and homework help.
In pockets around the country, families are using social media to self-organize pods. But what about parents who don’t have a group of families with which to band together? And how do pods connect with worthy Zutors without stressing school systems?
Times of crisis call for innovative solutions, utilizing community resources.
Luckily, Berks County has a viable resource in our local college students. A 2020 study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence shows significant social and academic performance improvements of students who work with college-age mentors in tutoring or mentoring programs.
This connection doesn’t just benefit mentees. Studies also show increases in self-esteem, problem-solving skills, civic action and more for college students follow tutoring/mentoring experiences with community youth.
Recognizing the benefits to both K-12 and college-age students, Albright College has formed the Albright TutorDen.
The TutorDen allows parents to enroll students in personalized tutoring services or create pods of up to five students. Certified by the international College Reading and Learning Association, Albright student-tutors are able to provide educational, cognitive and emotional support while gaining real-world education leadership and effectiveness experience.
Of course, tutoring can be expensive, furthering the divide of educational equity. TutorDen is designed to help families overcome monetary barriers by allowing groups of students to split costs. And families registered as low-income through their school districts (designated by the National School Lunch program) can apply for grants to cover registration fees. Fundraising efforts are already underway to provide enrollment fees for low-income families.
But online education isn’t new. Even though the Albright TutorDen was born as a solution to pandemic issues, it’s likely to become a long-standing curricular bridge for students navigating the complexities of online education.
And whether learning online or in-person, high school students will benefit from Advanced Placement and collegeprep course help with role models who have navigated such programs and can more-easily connect with today’s youth.
It is so energizing to be kneedeep in the planning of innovative programming like the Albright TutorDen and the Science Research Institute at Albright. I’m proud to live, learn, work, and play in Greater Reading and call Berks County my home.