With more e-learning on the horizon, this tutoring business provides essential services for families
As schools throughout the United States are deciding how to teach students in the fall, Lindsey Wander knows tutoring will become an essential service for many families.
Wander, Founder and CEO of WorldWise Tutoring, expects many schools across the nation to try to open their doors for in-person learning but then transition fully to e-learning because of COVID.
“We need to be prepared for remote teaching environments,” Wander said. “I can see schools trying to open their doors, but then closing again after only a few weeks. I’m very confident things will not be going back to normal.”
Wander founded her tutoring business almost 10 years ago and has clients around the country. Most of her 40-some tutors – she’s onboarding others currently as she’s expecting a rise in demand – live in the Chicago area, or in Dallas and Houston. The tutors range from college students to grandparents. Furthermore, they all have expertise in at least five subject areas and prior experience teaching.
Students receiving WorldWise Tutoring services had ranged from those fourth grade and older, but since coronavirus, Wander said she’s received strong interest from families with children as young as pre-K. She expects as schools try to reopen, many will be forced to adapt an online-only e-learning strategy, and her tutors will be utilized either remotely or in person for 1-on-1 instruction or clusters of close-knit families with children in a variety of grade levels.
Most of the tutors Wander polled said they would be comfortable tutoring in-person to small groups of students from multiple families with proper safety precautions in place.
“We need to take this situation as an opportunity to see where there are weaknesses in our education system and actually help kids acquire the most important learning and life skills so they can handle anything that comes their way,” Wander said. “In getting the kids to be better prepared with knowledge and skills and mindset, the stress is taken off of the parents and families because the kids can easily adapt. Plus they are having fun learning.”
Wander, a resident of Chicago’s Printers Row neighborhood, has two bachelor’s degrees in biology and chemistry from California State University-Fresno. She was a middle school math, biology and STEM teacher in California for several years, and was an independent tutor in LA and Chicago before launching her tutoring business. She founded WorldWise Tutoring so that student-centered academic, enrichment, and test prep instruction could be interwoven with valuable skills in metacognition, executive functioning, and other soft skills.
This summer she polled hundreds of parents and asked them their biggest pain-points. The poll revealed that:
- 42 percent of parents are worried they won’t have enough time to get everything done in a day
- 38 percent of parents fear they will have difficulty with motivating, engaging and teaching their children
- 14 percent are concerned their children will face problems due to a lack of socialization
One of WorldWise Tutoring’s clients, Melissa Leet, said Wander’s business over the last six years has “helped my children master an array of subjects including the most advanced math, science and humanity courses that their school had to offer.
“In the process, they learned time management, self-advocacy, advanced planning, initiative, respectful communication, and problem-solving,” Leet said. “For my children, it was never the subject matter, per se, that they found hard. Instead, what they found challenging was translating their understanding to the page and getting that page to the teacher by the deadline. WorldWise taught them systems and skills that made them much more effective students. As a result, over the years, their academic performance started to more consistently match their abilities.”
Wander stressed that having tutors serve as a complementary component to schooling is “transformative” for families.
“It is transformative for the entire family because the kids are better equipped to manage their own lives; so parents can just be parents again, as opposed to having to be teachers, counselors, and coaches as well,” Wander said. “It’s not just about having someone help with math homework; it’s about empowering kids with the tools to manage their own learning while mom and dad are in the office working. Our goal is to get students to a position where they no longer need a tutor.”
For more information about the essential tutoring services that WorldWise Tutoring it providing to families, visit https://www.worldwisetutoring.com/.
