Parents Struggling with Summer Camp Uncertainty Amid Pandemic Crisis; Varsity Tutors Launches Free Virtual Summer Camp
Summer camp interest declines by half as parents, camps are uncertain about coming months
ST. LOUIS, April 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As more schools across the country close their doors for the remainder of the academic year, parents are starting to wrestle with their next challenge: summer enrichment.
With the future of the 2020 summer camp season uncertain, Varsity Tutors today announced "Virtual Summer Camp"—a free online summer camp for kids ages 5-18. Each half-day camp will be a week long, with enrichment-based classes in subjects like foreign languages, chess, theater, coding and photography. These live, interactive classes will be taught by expert instructors vetted through Varsity Tutors' platform.
Each year, 20 million families rely on summer camps as a way to fill the days with engaging and educational activities. But with no end in sight to U.S. social distancing, this year's traditional summer camps are much less likely to open or have already closed. Even if social distancing restrictions loosen, many parents will continue to be concerned about exposing their kids to large groups.
Google Trends, which tracks changes in people's search queries, confirms this. Interest in traditional summer camps has fallen dramatically, particularly during a time of year when it is generally peaking.
With local recreation departments, day camps and overnight camps delaying registration, Varsity Tutors has created Virtual Summer Camp as a free resource to help parents plan their summers.
"We know that long summer breaks bring with them a 'learning gap,' and that will be even more prevalent this year," said Brian Galvin, Chief Academic Officer at Varsity Tutors. "Families often use summer camps as a way to bridge that gap with enriching learning opportunities, so it's important for us to provide resources to keep students learning and engaged as the months away from school build. Virtual Summer Camp, while not a direct replacement for traditional camp, can help students explore their interests, continue to learn and stay busy in case these camps can't operate."
Virtual Summer Camp comes on the heels of Varsity Tutors' free Virtual School Day program, which the company created when school closures began.
In addition to Virtual Summer Camp, Varsity Tutors offers a suite of resources to help ensure kids stay on track, including free learning assessments, access to free learning coaches, and one-on-one and small group instruction.
Virtual Summer Camp is already open for registration. Currently, the company has capacity for 10,000 students nationwide, but is seeking partnerships with organizations or traditional summer camps who want to bring their services online over the summer.
"We know summer camps are an important part of our educational and social system, and we want to find ways to help them continue their missions in the face of the pandemic," Galvin said.
To register a student for Virtual Summer Camp, go to varsitytutors.com/virtual-summer-camps to hold your spot.
For organizations or camps who are interested in a partnership with Varsity Tutors, please email [email protected].
About Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors is a Live Learning Platform that seamlessly connects experts and learners in more than 2,500 subjects. Our mission as a company is simple - We Help People Learn. Since 2007, we've been investing in online learning technology, built new to the world capabilities, and assembled some of the most talented educators across the US to help deliver that mission for hundreds of thousands of students. Amidst school closures and the potential for a prolonged amount of time out of the classroom due to COVID-19, our mission has become more important than ever. As a company we feel it is critical that these resources be readily and freely available at this time of great need.
For more information, visit https://www.varsitytutors.com.
SOURCE Varsity Tutors
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