A Biden administration plan to recruit 250,000 tutors was unveiled with the blessing of the nation’s two largest teachers unions, which believe the effort will drive a “groundswell of support” for public schools.
The administration announced the “National Partnership for Student Success” earlier this week, claiming it was a necessary effort to help students make up for lost learning caused by pandemic school closures.
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SAYS 250K TUTORS NEED TO UNDO DAMAGE FROM VIRTUAL LEARNING
The partnership, which says it will “bring together committed, high-quality education, service, and youth development organizations” with the goal of recruiting the enormous number of tutors, was announced with the support of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, the two largest teachers unions in the United States.
“The National Partnership for Student Success announced … by the Biden administration will bolster and strengthen our nation’s public schools,” Becky Pringle, the president of the NEA, said in a press release. “We look forward to working with the Biden administration and other key national stakeholders to implement this initiative and drive the groundswell of support for our public schools across this nation.”
Randi Weingarten, the president of the AFT, likewise said her organization was “pleased to support” the administration’s plan to harness “the power and resources of government, youth development and service organizations — to work in tandem with public schools, teachers, and school staff, not in competition with them, and help our students access the tools they need to recover and thrive.”
“Coming out of the pandemic, educators, school staff and parents are working together to meet kids’ increased needs, in the classroom and beyond,” Weingarten said. “That means tutors and mentors, student support and success coordinators, and a village of caring adults to help kids’ academic growth, social development and mental health.”
The partnership has pledged to release “evidence-based standards of quality” for the tutors, mentors, and student success coaches the program aims to recruit later this year.
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But further details about the program, including if the 250,000 additional educators will be eligible to join the unions, are unavailable. The program is funded through the American Rescue Plan, the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress in the early days of the Biden administration.
