STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) — Neighbors and teachers in Stillwater attended a town hall meeting Tuesday night with State Superintendent Ryan Walters.

News 4 was there and spoke to Walters about his newly announced tutoring program for Oklahoma schools.

Superintendent Walters says the tutoring program is rolling out in three phases.

“The first one is to launch community tutoring over Thanksgiving and Christmas break. We see kids that often fall behind over the breaks, especially kids are behind in reading, not having access to books at home or maybe struggling at home to understand their reading when they’re behind,” Walters said.

Walters said the next phase partners with Varsity Tutors to give free online help to students of all ages and skill level that he says will come at no additional cost to taxpayers.

“This is tutoring both reading, math and all the other subjects. We even have tutoring for ACT and SAT involved,” said Walters.

The company said that’s primarily how they help students.

“They can connect with a tutor and share a text-based as well as collaborative experience with a tutor getting their problem solved day, night, or weekend,” said Anthony Salcito, the Chief Institution Officer at Varsity Tutors.

The third phase involves another community aspect of tutoring, which Walters says will pay active and retired teachers $50 an hour to tutor kids.

In 2022, 55% of students performed at or above the basic level of grade four reading in the state.

Walters hopes having multiple tutoring options will help students in learning outside the classroom.

“We’re really excited. It’s the most comprehensive in the country and we think we can really get our kids back on track with these types of programs,” said Walters.

Walters said eventually parents will be able to access the online tutoring to customize it for their child based on their needs.