The local organization Bayanihan Carson & Long Beach: Filipino Community Support Network is offering free online tutoring for children who’ve been forced to transition to homeschooling due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Since all in-person classes at Long Beach Unified School District campuses have been cancelled as of March 16 in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, concerns have arisen about the quality of education children are receiving now that they are at home without access to educators.
Bayanihan Carson & Long Beach: Filipino Community Support Network is looking to aid children in their forced transition to homeschooling by providing free online tutoring sessions for students, from kindergarten to high school. Its tutors can currently provide help with sciences, mathematics, computer science, music, basic essay revisions and writing skills.
“The program is open to all,” Reese Hirota of Bayanihan said, “but we decided to create this program and network to serve the working-class, low-income Filipino community that typically faces cultural, language and financial access to these services.”
K-12 students in need of tutoring can fill out Bayanihan’s application online, which asks for information such as their name, language preference, current grade and which subjects they need help with.
Those who are interested in tutoring local youth online can also fill out an application to volunteer as a tutor. There is no minimum amount of time a tutor must dedicate to the program, but each session usually lasts about an hour.
Bayanihan Carson & Long Beach: Filipino Community Support Network is an initiative founded by the National Alliance of Filipino Concerns (NAFCON), according to Hirota. NAFCON is a Filipino alliance that unites organizations and individuals to advocate for the Filipino community within the United States.
Bayanihan is a Tagalog word that encapsulates the idea of communal spirit, and is an important aspect of Filipino culture. Bayanihan Carson & Long Beach: Filipino Community Support Network’s Facebook page is a private space where the local Filipino community can ask for help, as well as share important information and updates with each other.
“Bayanihan Carson & Long Beach: Filipino Community Support Network is an effort to unite the Filipino community in Carson & Long Beach, California,” the group wrote on its Facebook page, “and help support one another during this coronavirus crisis. In the Bayanihan tradition, this group aims to bring neighbors and community members closer to one another so we can share our resources, support each other and advocate for the needs of the Filipino community.”
i wod love to volunteer.how can I involve my self to the program?