By Olivia Tucker | otucker@alextimes.com

Alexandria City Public Schools is starting this school year fully online, so the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium is, too – and they’re seeking donations to launch their virtual literacy tutoring program. On Aug. 3, the group kickstarted its $20,000 fundraising campaign to purchase books for the program with a $1,000 donation from Alexandria’s Burke & Herbert Bank.

As an ACPS partner, ATC uses University of Virginia curriculum to tutor kindergarteners and first-grade students in local public schools once a week. The organization maintained its tutoring programs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, quickly adapting to online lessons this past spring and creating its first-ever summer tutoring program.

According to the ATC, data shows that of program enrollees who continued working with a tutor this past spring and summer, 84% are on track to meet grade-level reading standards this fall – a notable achievement in a period that many experts say will cause significant learning loss in grade school students.

One major shift that accompanies the ATC’s virtual transition is the decision to supply its own books, rather than using the classroom books ACPS provides. The organization predicts that purchasing leveled readers for an estimated 150 students in its virtual program this coming year will cost $22,000.

More information is available at alexandriatutors.org.