Cambridge Public Schools Kicks Off 24/7 Chat-Based Tutoring Service

Cambridge Public Schools launched a free 24/7 chat-based tutoring service in late January to provide students in the district with additional support outside the classroom.

Partnering with educational technology company Paper, CPS introduced the program for students in fifth to 12th grade last month, according to a CPS press release. The service connects Cambridge students with undergraduates, doctoral candidates, and teachers to provide tutoring in four different languages across a wide range of subjects.

Victoria L. Greer, the district’s superintendent, said this program hopes to mitigate a decline in student academic achievement brought on by the educational challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to Greer, students faced a “very difficult time, both socially and academically” in navigating virtual and hybrid learning amid the pandemic.

“Post-pandemic, we really were trying to think of ways that would allow us to support students in re-acclimating to school,” she said.

Meg Ramsdell, a CPS parent and executive director for Cambridge School Volunteers — a nonprofit that works with CPS to provide in-person tutoring assistance — said “there’s a lot of room for various support for students.”

While some students may only use online tutoring services for individual assignments, Ramsdell said in-person volunteers like those at Cambridge School Volunteers work to provide a “long-term relationship” guiding students academically.

“I can see a case for both for students needing either of those,” Ramsdell said.

Greer said that the new 24/7 chat-based tutoring program seeks to support secondary students whose late-night study habits make it difficult for them to access homework help in real time.

“They don’t have the support they need,” she said. “We knew that this would offer that additional support that students need in order for them to get their work done and be successful.”

Grace Clemente, a Cambridge Rindge and Latin School senior and Cambridge School Committee student representative, said that while this additional support is “incredible,” she wonders whether the district will succeed at “targeting the students that need it the most.”

The district publicized the new initiative on its website, as well as ParentSquare, a communication platform between CPS and families. Adelina R. Escamilla-Salomon, a Cambridge Rindge and Latin senior on the School Committee, said that students who are “already high-achieving” are often the ones who primarily utilize additional resources.

“I just wonder who will be learning about this and who will actually be able to utilize it,” she said.

“Not every student has a parent that is advocating for their needs or understands their needs, outside of home and in the classroom,” Clemente added.

In response to equity concerns, Greer said she will work with educators to raise awareness of the resources available to students in the district. The first step is “ensuring that the different adults who connect closer” with students are aware of the tools and “make it available and share with them,” Greer added.

Escamilla-Salomon said while she supports the new program, a broader plan is needed to ensure equal access to educational resources for all CPS students.

“It’s really about figuring out how students can have the most access — especially those who need it most — in order to really bridge that equity gap, so students can actually achieve as high as the district wants them to and as high as they’re capable of,” she said.

—Staff writer Sally E. Edwards can be reached at sally.edwards@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @sallyedwards04.

—Staff writer Ayumi Nagatomi can be reached at ayumi.nagatomi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @ayumi_nagatomi.