Most public schools just need one or two tutors who can really make a difference for kids falling behind. However, there’s a Duluth tutor shortage with more than 17 vacant positions at this point in the school year.

A fewer than one-third of students in Minnesota are performing at their current grade level. Reading and math test scores are 10% lower compared to the scores back in 2019 before the COVID-19 Pandemic.

There’s around 50% of students who are currently passing in literacy tests and 45% of students passing in math. Although the Minnesota Department of Education says test scores are still no-where near pre-pandemic levels.

Emily Wartman, a Program Manager with AMPACT, says with the Duluth tutor shortage, there’s also a need for 500 tutors across the state.

“A majority of kids in Minnesota aren’t reading and doing math at grade level, and so there’s a huge need for that reading and math support. Our reading and math core tutors are highly trained to provide this curriculum for their students that delivers individualized support for them wherever they’re at in their reading and math skills,” Wartman said. “Certainly some of the disparities in our state, as far as, education gaps and learning gaps, were worsened by the pandemic. So there’s certainly more of a need for tutors now than ever before.”

One semester with an AmeriCorps tutor can help a student catch up with over a year of learning. For the past two years Nicole Koski, has worked as an AmeriCorps reading tutor at Lowell elementary. She says confidence is key for helping students succeed.

“Really, they’ve just struggled in the environment that they’ve been learning to read in. This provides a different environment,” Koski said. “It provides a very structured one-on-one direct feedback environment for them, which helps them gain confidence.”

For everyone one AmeriCorps tutor, 20 kids can be helped throughout the school year. Koski also says having the one-on-one tutoring experience can help a student leaps and bounds more compared to being in a large class setting. However, she also added the tutoring benefits is critical during a child’s early learning.

“From kindergarten to third grade, children are learning to read. From third grade on they have to read to learn. So it’s really important for us to catch them in these age groups,” Koski said. “A lot of times kids are scared to speak up in class or ask the question of, ‘I’m struggling with this,’ or ‘I need extra help.’ So we are here to provide that help to them. No questions asked.”

The AmeriCorps‘s minimum qualifications to be a tutor are be 18 years of age or older with a high school diploma or G.E.D. Tutors need to be a U.S. citizen, or a permanent resident of the United States. They need to successfully complete a background check, and have a passion to help students learn. Tutors are also paid for their work depending on the number of hours worked.