Interview: DinoMights' Virtual Volunteer Program

Emily Rees, the Academic Coordinator at DinoMights, shared some insights into how they’ve adapted their academic support program to accommodate virtual learners during COVID.

What makes DinoMights such a unique program?

DinoMights is unique in that our focus is hockey! So all the kids who are initially involved with us start out playing hockey. We run a program for second graders in public schools in south Minneapolis neighborhoods called “Learn to Skate” and if they enjoy skating, they learn to play hockey, and if they stay with the program we also have tutoring and social-spiritual summer camps that focus on Christian values.

What age range does the DinoMights program support?

Our kids range from second grade onwards. We usually try to keep in touch with them whether through hockey or tutoring all the way through high school graduation.

How many of your students keep in touch with you through middle and high school?

We probably retain two-thirds of our kids, and a lot of the time when we lose students it’s because they move.

How has your program adapted to virtual tutoring during COVID?

For our elementary tutoring, we’ve been pairing each student interested in e-mentoring with one tutor that meets with them once a week over Google Meet. I send the tutor their materials at the start of the week so they have time to prepare. They spend about an hour reading books through YouTube videos, watching a video of a book being read on YouTube together over Google Meet and then discuss it together using reading comprehension questions. After a few of those, they play a game like Hangman or Simon Says.

For middle schoolers and high schoolers, it’s a bit more flexible how tutors want to connect with their students. They are paired with one tutor, and use Google Meet, Zoom, text, or phone calls, whatever works best for the student. It’s usually one or two check-ins a week, but it can be more often based off of the student's needs. It’s checking in to see how school is going with some homework help if they need it.

There’s an emphasis on keeping the relationship-building aspect that they would usually get if they were in person.

How do you pick the YouTube videos that your elementary students are using?

There isn't a specific channel that I use; I generally choose a "theme" for the week and find corresponding videos to fit that theme. For example, the theme for next week is St. Patrick's Day, so I've found four books and videos that follow that theme (from various YouTube channels). 

What does the security process look like for parents and students?

We have a basic form when the students start each year, signing off saying these are the avenues that our volunteers may be checking in with students. Our volunteers pass a background check and sign a security form as well.

Have you been all virtual since the pandemic?

All of our tutoring was done in-person before, and in September 2020 we started some small pods that would meet with high schoolers so that the groups stayed consistent, but that quickly ended.

Do you offer a homework help program?

We do have a few people who are willing to help with homework, but we haven’t had much of a demand for it, especially with the elementary students.

How has your retention rate of students been through the pandemic?

Retention has been really good because we’re unique in having hockey and tutoring. We have a handful of kids who have told us they’re not doing hockey right now but will stick with DinoMights in the upcoming years post-pandemic.

We’ve retained about two-thirds of the kids who would usually come in-person to tutoring since we started doing distance learning.

What would you say has reduced the number of students enrolled in your tutoring program?

Almost every kid or parent I’ve talked to says they’re burned out of being on the computer and don’t want to have to stare at a screen.

How has your volunteer retention been?

We’ve had a huge influx of interest from people who are interested in e-mentoring since the pandemic! A lot more people are interested in helping middle schoolers and high schoolers with their homework now that they can do so from home, because availability can be hard at specific times on certain days of the week. Unfortunately we don’t have nearly as many students interested in it because of screen burnout.

How often are you contacted by parents who are interested in their kids participating in DinoMights but live outside the south Minneapolis area you recruit kids from?

We actually get a lot of our kids who are neighbors, cousins, or friends of kids in the program! Everyone is welcome, but people outside the south Minneapolis area will have to find their own transportation. We do offer rides for those who live in south Minneapolis.

Do you think you’ll continue doing distance learning after the pandemic?

We’re definitely not continuing distance learning for the elementary students! Maybe for the middle and high schoolers, but only supplementarily. Some of them have a higher need for homework help, so offering it once a week in addition to in-person tutoring would make it more accessible.