Tutoring

Colorado Latest State to Adopt Khan's Schoolhouse.world for Free Tutoring

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 04/09/21

Small groups of Colorado students can be paired up with tutors online through a new agreement struck between two education nonprofits. The program is being undertaken by Denver-based Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) and Schoolhouse.world, an organization launched last year by Khan Academy Founder Sal Khan and others.

Tutoring is provided by a corps of volunteers, some of whom are trained as teachers and others who "just love to teach," as the site explained in an FAQ. All have gone through a vetting process. CEI works with the state's Department of Education, providing resources to help Colorado schools with teacher training and other education improvements.

Similar programs have been already been announced by the Departments of Education in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Like those initiatives, the Colorado program will promote tutoring to students in pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, precalculus, calculus, statistics and SAT preparation. However, anybody in the world over the age of 13 can use the service for free. Sessions run through Zoom and last from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the tutor's preferences.

Schoolhouse.world said in a statement that it expected to expand to additional grade levels and topics "soon." So far, the organization reported, it has run tutoring sessions with students in more than 40 countries.

"As a close partner for districts and schools across Colorado, it has been clear to us, as schools emerge from COVID-related disruptions, that talking about delivering high impact tutoring at scale is not enough. Colorado students deserve these supports now," noted CEI President and CEO, Rebecca Holmes. "Schoolhouse.world ensures all Colorado students, regardless of financial considerations, can get the live tutoring they need to meet their unique academic or post-secondary needs. This is a terrific solution regardless of how much students did or didn't miss out on last year."

"I've always believed that every child should have access to a free, world-class education," added Khan. "Khan Academy has been doing this by offering free practice, instructional videos, and teacher tools. Now with Schoolhouse.world, we're excited to work with the communities across Colorado to supplement that with free, live tutoring to students everywhere."

Colorado educators can steer students to support on Schoolhouse.world through CEI's platform, The Hub. They can also meet other teachers who are using the tutoring service.