KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The "summer slide" is a real problem for young students.
That's when they forget what they learned in school while on summer break, then struggle when the return to the classroom in the next grade.
It's even more of an issue with the pandemic.
"I think we all realize that last spring's learning wasn't optimal, and the more we can get kids in live contact with adults, the better," said former governor Bill Haslam in July 2020.
He and former first lady Crissy Haslam launched the Tennessee Tutoring Corps in the summer of 2020 as a response to pandemic learning loss
They paired college students with elementary school kids as their tutors and saw great results.
"Students made, with that kind of intensive tutoring, about a third of a school year's progress in that limited amount of time," Haslam said in October 2020. "And the younger the grades, the more progress we saw."
That's why the Tennessee Tutoring Corps is coming back bigger in the summer of 2021, with the goal of hiring 1,000 college tutors.
"We're trying to put enthusiastic qualified tutors in a position to make a difference," said UT senior Wesley Smith.
Smith is a senior fellow with the Corps.
He's working to get more students like him signed up to tutor.
"We're trying to place around 200 tutors In Knox County, 50 both in Sevier County and Anderson County, and then a handful in Loudon and Blount as well," said Smith
There will also be tutoring locations in Cocke, Hamblen, Jefferson, Monroe and Scott counties.
College students are paired up with a few kids in elementary school, tutoring them 10-12 hours a week for 8 weeks over the summer.
Tutors are paid a $1,000 stipend.
"Younger kids think college kids are cool," said Smith. "So if you can build a relationship in that way, and also help a kid learn, it's a really awesome thing."
A survey done by the Corps showed 98 percent of 2020 tutors said they'd recommend the Corps program to other students.
Applications are out now for most counties across the state. Students who go to UT but will be home in Nashville, for example, this summer can tutor in Davidson County.
A full list of counties where tutors are needed can be found by clicking here.
College students who want to tutor can apply online here.
You don't need a specific college major to apply. Most tutoring locations are at local Boys and Girls Club centers.