National Pi Day: Educational Resources Available for Families

Originally published by nbcconnecticut.com – March, 15 2021

March 14 is a day celebrated by millions of math fans’ around the world: the day is dedicated to both food and the mathematical constant, 3.14.

NBC Connecticut celebrated the national day by providing a couple of educational resources and experiences from those around the state.

Dawn MacDonald tells NBC Connecticut the 2019-2020 school year had its share of difficulties for her two children, who were learning from home.

“It was a struggle and they really weren’t getting anything out of it,” said MacDonald. “Everyone seems like they were miserable and I made the decision to make a difference in their educational career.”

MacDonald pulled her children from public school and decided to enroll them into ‘A Time 4 Learning.’ It’s an online homeschooling program for Pre-K-12th grade students.
“You pick which grade your child is in and then the student gets a stream of online interactive lessons which cover the curriculum that they would be covering if they were in the school system,” said John Edelson, owner of Time4Learning.

According to data from CT’s Department of Education, this year the number of students who opted for homeschooling jumped to 3,751, up from 547 during the previous year.
Several school districts have tried to keep students engaged. Middletown High School teachers perform weekly ‘porch visits’ to check on students. The weekly check-ins are one-way educators try to meet students where they are at home.

“It’s really just getting the kids that we can’t connect with via zoom some real person interaction again,” said Lindsay Lowell, a Middletown High School Teacher.
Other districts like Hartford have partnered with the community renewal team to offer teaching hubs where students can get help with their parents’ work. The program also offers free lunch to qualifying students.

To find out more about Time4Learning, click here.