Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools has partnered with Varsity Tutors to provide free services to students as they head back into the classroom. KCKPS has made small-group tutoring available for free to children in kindergarten through eighth grade. A one-month membership with Varsity Tutors would usually cost $269. Brian Galvin, the chief academic officer for Varsity Tutors, said they hope to help students begin the school year with a running start. “We partnered with KCKPS to offer small-group tutoring, a whole bunch of enrichment classes, and summer camps with the intent of making sure that we didn't lean too much into summer learning loss this year,” Galvin said. The classes are virtual and are available to people across the country. “It's pretty neat that kids from Kansas City may be meeting with kids from around the country,” Galvin said. “It just liberates kids to feel like they're more of an active part of their learning, without having to worry about what happens when class is over.”He said students can find classes on almost any subject at many different times, with tutors from all over the country. “Whatever kids are interested in, we can find a group of like-minded kids for them and an expert instructor somewhere around the country so that they get those experiences that really remind them how much they love learning,” Galvin said. Matthew Andersen is the director of Multi-Tier Systems of Support for KCKPS. He said these tutoring programs help fill in gaps that may have been caused by the pandemic.“Our kids are really starting to grasp some of those basic concepts that really helped them with the grade level content as well,” Andersen said. He said it's nice for the kids to connect with a mentor and other students who may not be within the school community. He said the classes are generally a 5-to-1 ratio of students to a tutor. “It was just trying to get as many kids to get some experiences beyond just the normal school year,” Andersen said. The tutoring program is available until Sept. 22.