SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Education Agency is accepting applications for Texas COVID Learning Acceleration Supports, or TCLAS, a program that helps provide tutoring to students who have fallen behind due to COVID-19.
More than $1.1 billion are available to support Texas public education students through TCLAS and another $100 million are available specifically for tutoring to support students who have been impacted by the COVID-19 slide, which is a loss in education due to the many months of online learning.
Kelvey Oeser, the deputy commissioner of educator support for the Texas Education Agency, says parents need to communicate with their children’s school district to ensure their child is getting the help they need.
“Parents are definitely students’ first best advocates,” she said.
TCLAS provides funding for districts to be able to provide additional tutoring to students who have fallen behind. It’s pivotal for those students who did not pass certain standardized tests in Spring 2021 and will be required to get 30 hours of additional tutoring under House Bill 4545, which became law in June.
Districts interested in those additional grants must apply before Nov. 12.
The challenge for many districts is finding the staff to help coordinate those grants and discuss with the families of students what program works best for them.
North East Independent School District says campus teachers provide tutoring before and after school. The tutoring sessions are taught by a combination of teachers, retired teachers and other qualified personnel. During the day, teachers use a built-in enrichment time to work on the students’ needs.
Find more information on the free tutoring at NEISD by clicking here.
San Antonio ISD says it has received funds through TCLAS, which it is using to support tutoring in 20 schools beginning in December. Additional Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds will be used to start a peer tutoring program. Older students would be hired to support students in elementary schools through an after-school program called Challenge.
Northside ISD says it provides tutoring to students during the school day and after school. Some campuses are even planning a Saturday session. Families wanting additional assistance beyond the campus can get help by reaching out to the school district.
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