North Island College is offering a new tutoring program to help support grade school students in the Comox Valley.
Academic Edge provides small group learning for Grade 7-9 students in the summer. Tutoring is available in math, science, English and French immersion. The idea is to support individual progress, and to address any learning outcomes that require review.
Each session is three weeks, and includes a pair of two-hour lessons each week. Teachers will review key curriculum foundations learned in the 2019-2020 school year, and prepare students for their next grade.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited to be able to bring local teachers and students to our campus, and provide a space for them to connect and also learn more about NIC,鈥� said Ali Sandholm, NIC youth outreach liaison.
She said the Grade 7-9 phase was identified as a period in a student鈥檚 education where core competencies begin to critically compound. Grasping concepts learned in Grade 7 is essential to grasping concepts introduced in Grade 8, and so on. This also marks the time of transition from elementary to high school.
鈥淔or some, this is a longer and more challenging transition than others, even without the added challenges of a pandemic,鈥� Sandholm said. 鈥淔or many students, the importance of receiving strong grades starts to become a focus during their entry to high school.鈥�
She notes added distractions in high school, such as evolving social lives, increased homework demands and, for some, entrance into the workforce.
The first session of Academic Edge will run July 13-30. A second session may run in August if there is sufficient demand.
Safety protocols will be in place to ensure proper physical distancing requirements are maintained in class.
Academic Edge is being launched through NIC鈥檚 Youth Academy, which supports grade school students via unique learning opportunities in the summer months.
FMI: www.nic.bc.ca/youth-academy
