A free online tutoring program for those students struggling with math is being offered again for students of the School District of Lee County.

“Math is the No. 1 subject students connect with our teachers for help,” District spokesperson Rob Spicker said of why math tutoring is being offered. “We did not want to stop providing homework help just because the ESSER funding we have been using to pay teachers was expiring, so we determined what was most in need and budgeted the necessary funding to continue to support our students in that subject.”

Elementary, middle, and high school math help is offered from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Connect with LEE is virtual and can be assessed through launchpad.leeschools.net on the student’s Chromebook, a computer, tablet, or phone.

The online video discussion will be had with a certified teacher. Once the virtual meeting, and grade level is selected, the student is placed in a waiting room until a teacher is available to join them.

“Students have the opportunity to explain what they need help with and the teacher is there to provide them educational support so they can understand the process and solve the problem,” Spicker said. “All homework and class assignment help is one-on-one, so as soon as a teacher finishes with one student they close that session and connect with the next student in line. They will typically spend enough time with each student to have them confident enough to continue on their own.”

Connect with LEE has been very successful in years past, as the demand was incredibly high when it first began and remained steady through the second year.

“The last two years we have seen the need for math remain high as other subjects became less and less requested. We typically see peaks around exams and report card cycles,” Spicker said.

Connect with LEE was launched in March 2021 to address the learning challenges posed by the COVID pandemic.

“The support was one of many strategies to give students extra time with a teacher during a school year when many students were still attending school remotely. For the 2021-2022 school year we expanded Connect with LEE to include daytime sessions for students home sick or under quarantine. We then continued to offer afternoon and homework help in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years,” Spicker said.

He said parents need to know that Connect with LEE is there to help them as much as it is their student.

“They don’t have to try and figure out the solution on their own, but can instead turn to a teacher to get the support their student needs. We hope they take advantage of it,” Spicker said.