Mississippi News Nonprofit Students will soon be able to access free online tutoring in English and mathematics 24 hours a day. Paper, an online tutoring service, was awarded a contract worth $10.7 million by the Mississippi Department of Education to provide tutoring services and live feedback to students in grades 3-12. This opt-in program was signed up by 121 districts. The American Rescue Plan Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund will pay for the program, which will run until September 2024. Marla Davis, assistant superintendent of academic education, stated that the state would like to use its (pandemic relief funds) to reduce any learning loss caused by the pandemic. She presented the service to the State Board of Education in February 2017. Paper states that tutors can be college students, PhD candidates or teachers who are fluent in English, Spanish and French. There is no limit on how long a tutoring session can last or how many sessions a student may initiate. While the state recommends tutoring sessions for 30 minutes three times per week, it is not required. This model is also known as high-dosage tutoring. Administrators and teachers will be able monitor student activity and track their progress via the platform. This is to help inform instruction. Davis stated that classroom teachers will receive professional development and technical assistance to assist them in using the platform. This is expected to start by March 31st. Philip Cutler, Paper’s co-founder and CEO, said that it was an honor to make this important step toward educational equity with Mississippi. “This initiative shows that Mississippi’s top-ranking education leaders see tutoring as an essential academic resource. We look forward to working with them to build a world-class education system in the Magnolia State.”