At Tutor.com we help thousands of kids with math homework and math concepts.  Fourth grade math is important.  This is when students begin to master fundamental math skills that they’ll use for the rest of their academic career.  During the 2008-2009 school year our tutors completed more than 16,500 one-to-one tutoring sessions with fourth grade students and 64% of these sessions were in math.  The most frequently asked questions included topics such as division, odd and even numbers, adding and subtracting decimals and fractions, and writing mathematical expression and patterns.  Many of these topics can be found on the  NAEP exam.

Why are kids turning to online tutoring?  Here’s the key reasons we see in students’ comments and from our tutors’ observations:

• The Online Whiteboard – for many of the kids seeing their problem drawn in real-time on the whiteboard (in color!) makes a big difference in how they relate and engage with the material.
• Smiley Faces – our tutors know that all students, but especially younger ones need lots of positive reinforcement.   We do this online by using emoticons, letting the kids know at each step what a great job they are doing and encouraging them to keep  up the good work.
• Pacing – students get to work at their own pace taking as long as they need to understand the concept at hand.  And, they’re not embarrassed to ask a question or admit they “don’t get it”.
• Resources –  in addition to tutoring, we offer peer-reviewed, tutor-approved resources.  Our Elementary Math materials are used the most.

After a recent session a fourth grader left this comment  “it was great.  I think I am smarter.”   All of our kids need to be “smarter” when it comes to math.  Let’s help them get there.

To help schools minimize the threat to students, teachers and staff, the CDC recommends actively screening for flu symptoms, keeping sick students at home for up to a week, and even preemptively dismissing students with sick parents or siblings.  Drastic measures?  Maybe.  But Swine Flu killed over 500 Americans this year (and hospitalized thousands more), so it pays to be careful.

Of course, missing a week of class, or learning from a substitute while a permanent teacher is sick, can set students back dramatically—especially at the beginning of the school year.  That’s why the U.S. Department of Education recommends online tutoring to “ensure continuity of learning.”  Here’s an excerpt from “Preparing for the Flu,” a recent report from the Department:

Teacher check‐ins and tutorials: A variety of technologies (telephone, email, web conferencing) can be used to facilitate one‐on‐one interaction between students and teachers, counselors and other appointed adults (e.g., tutors) during prolonged absences or dismissals.

We couldn’t agree more.  In a school affected by a flu outbreak, sick students may lose access to many of the support systems, like friends and teachers, they rely on to help them finish daily homework assignments, write papers, study for tests, or just make sense of their healthy friends’ class notes.

Working with a certified tutor is an excellent way for students to keep themselves on the track to college, regardless of what this year’s flu season may have in store.

So what does this mean for libraries?  We don’t have all the answers, but we do know that many of our customers partner with local school districts and education agencies to sponsor programs together and share the cost. More money to schools and local agencies should present more opportunities for libraries to forge community partnerships to fund needed education services for both K-12 and adult students.

We’ll be tracking this bill with an eye toward what it can mean for libraries. We’ve also been thinking about the new economic environment which has caused libraries to cut their budgets even while they are serving a record number of patrons.  Our “stimulus” pacakge for 2009 includes:

• More services for adults: one-to-one help for adults who find themselves facing a career transition, going back-to-school, applying for citizenship or taking the GED.
• 24/7 Resource Center:  Give K-12 and adult students access to needed resources such as tutorials, worksheets, resume guidelines, videos and more around the clock
• Flexible, Affordable Pricing:  Our new pricing allows libraries to work within any budget – no matter how constrained – to bring high quality education help.

2009 will be a tough year, but smart programs and smart partnerships (and more government spending) will help all of us get through it while still serving the communities we care about.