HAMBLEN COUNTY, Tenn. — Students in Hamblen County can now access a free tutoring service available 24 hours per day, after the county's school system said it was partnering with Varsity Tutors for Schools.
There are more than 10,000 students in the county, who can now find help for schoolwork and additional materials for different lessons. The service is available for students between Kindergarten and 12th grade, 24 hours per day and seven days a week.
"As part of our agreement with Hamblen County, we are making all of that available at no cost to the district, not only for this school year but all the way through June 30, 2030," said Anthony Salcito, with Varsity Tutors for Schools.
Services available through Varsity Tutors include on-demand essay editing and 24-hour access to certified tutors.
"One is 24/7 on-demand chat tutoring. So, that means any time of day, night or weekend — students can reach out for help against any of the subjects in the K-12 curriculum," said Salcito.
It isn't the first time that Hamblen County has tried to undergo a program like this. And the last time, leaders said they were successful in helping students.
"We saw in our previous experience that it did have an impact at the high school level. We don't know yet what kind of impact it's going to have at the elementary school level," said Brantley "Buddy" Smith, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
Leaders hope students will be able to utilize the new partnership as soon as next week, after spring break, which runs through March 31.
"The flexibility for them to be able to use that anytime, whether it's at night, whether it's on a weekend, whether it's on holiday, whether it's on spring break — that we'll be on next week — I think is very important," said Smith. "It gives that student confidence. A lot of learning is being successful. And when you're successful, and you learn something, and you have those 'a-ha' moments, it's encouraging."
Varsity Tutors for Schools said it serves more than 500 districts across the U.S., and said courses would be available in both English and Spanish.