TOLEDO, Ohio —
The National Center for Education Statistics reported on average, 44% of students were starting the 2023-24 school year behind grade level in at least one subject.
The Ohio State School Report Card showed that many Toledo students are behind as well. Only 37% of Toledo Public School third graders are proficient in reading.
TutorSmart, a Toledo-based organization, is designed to help get students back to achieving grade level standards.
The organization started in 2017 and it now helps hundreds of kids every year. It's designed to help kids in kindergarten through eighth grade with reading and math.
"TutorSmart was created to be that bridge between the school day and the after-school time space," executive director Tiffany Adamski said.
Parents sign their kids up online and they receive a slot, in which their kids come in four days a week for an hour. They will receive either one-on-one tutoring or be in a small group. Tutors are mainly local teachers.
Tutoring is offered at school, at a library or virtually. The virtual option is only for fourth through eighth graders.
The program is free to participate in.
"We spend a lot of time running around to the different corporations, and writing grants and foundations and just really generous individuals who make sure that the work that we're doing stays free to families," Adamski said. "Because that's one hurdle we don't want parents to have to overcome. They have enough challenges in life."
The program has seen students who were almost two years behind grade level get caught up in six months. The program was needed before the pandemic, but Adamski said achievement levels dropped even more when COVID-19 started. Levels are starting to come up now, but not for all students.
"The levels for kids who were a little more resourced are the ones that are coming up," Adamski said. "Our kids who were under-resourced, who live in poverty, our Black and brown students, they are showing that their gaps are still getting wider post-pandemic."
Director of Advancement for TutorSmart, Hyfah Hilou, said she has heard nothing but positive feedback from the students and teachers who have participated.
"They're seeing the confidence back into our children, our students in class," Hilou said. "They're wanting to interact, they're wanting to learn."
Hilou said it's the one-to-one or small group teaching that allows them to build their confidence.
As for the future of TutorSmart, the goal is to just keep expanding its reach.
"We have such an amazing program and it's growing," Hilou said. "From our tutors to our volunteers to our executive director, our board members and myself, we know that there's a need and we know that it is going to grow outside of Toledo."
The organization hosts different fundraisers, with their next one being a golf tournament in August.
For more information or to sign up, you can visit TutorSmart's website.