Chatham-Kent students needing extra assistance in learning will find it much easier to access before and after school tutoring programs, thanks to a recent provincial grant.
The Learning Disabilities Association of Chatham-Kent will receive $197,700 over two years from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to expand its current programs and update its technology.
"This OTF grant will increase capacity to meet the needs of our community," said LDACK Executive Director Linda Soulliere in a statement. "In 2022 we have had more interest in the tutoring program than we can handle with our limited funds. We have a waitlist of students who we will not be able to assist until the summer, at the earliest, but the families want assistance for their struggling children immediately."
Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Trevor Jones met with the team on Monday to learn more about the program as well as present Ben Gignac, a volunteer of 30 years, with a certificate of appreciation.
According to Soulliere, the COVID-19 pandemic created both learning gaps and increased pre-existing learning gaps in children.
Students still attending school virtually, though that option is expected to end in the 2023-2024 school year, may also find the transition back challenging.
"We will reach our goal by increasing the number of program facilitators' work hours by 24 per week, bringing each staff to full-time hours, allowing 10 more students to join the program, and reinstating the sliding scale for the program fee," said Soulliere.
LDACK’s tutoring program targets specific learning deficits caused by learning disabilities, ADHD, or other unknown causes.
Funding from the grant will be put toward improving the quality of the tutoring and scaling up the program so more students can attend and benefit from it.
"Our goal is for all families who are in need and interested, to be able to join the program and receive high-quality one-to-one individualized tutoring," said Soulliere.
