Work/Life Balance, Free Homework Help & Tutoring for MSK Families

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many MSK team members found themselves juggling new safety protocols, changing work schedules and homework. 

You read that right: homework.

As NYC-area schools closed their doors and transitioned to virtual learning, parents and caregivers were left balancing their own workload while also needing to provide more help for their kids on school work than ever before. 

This included explaining difficult concepts, helping kids juggle all of their assignments and schedules, and trying to make sense of Common Core math. 

That’s when MSK started offering a unique benefit for all employees and their families: Homework Connection.

It’s a no-cost-to-employee, online, virtual tutoring service for all children and dependents of MSK employees. Offering help for kids in kindergarten through college, the service has tutors who speak English and Spanish standing by 24/7 (no appointments necessary) to help out with assignments, studying, test prep and more. The feedback on the program so far  has been very positive.

Homework Help When You Need It

“All of our employees have lives and responsibilities outside of work, and our goal is always to find ways that we can help them succeed in every aspect of their lives,” said Christine Pfeiffer, Associate Director of Work/Life & Recognition. “During the pandemic, virtual school work became a big struggle and we wanted to help.”

Homework Connection is provided through LifeCare, one of MSK’s Work/Life benefit providers. All MSK employees can sign up and register, so that their account is ready to go when they need it. 

Any child, spouse or dependent of an MSK employee can use the service to get help on all subjects. It even has test prep for students planning to take the SAT, ACT or any other standardized test given throughout the country. 

“No more searching for the right tutor, figuring out if their schedule works for your family and how to pay for the help your kids need,” said Candice DeJesus, a Work/Life Program Manager at MSK. “This service takes care of all of that for you.”

How it Works

When a student needs help, they can log into their account and request a tutor. HomeWork Connection has more than 25,000 professional tutors, many of whom are current or retired teachers.

Students can get help on a particular assignment, tutoring on a subject they’re struggling with, or get help preparing for an upcoming test. 

They connect with a tutor via web chat, phone or video and have up to 5 hours of free tutoring a month. Students also have unlimited access to study guides, practice tests and other resources. 

Additional Help for Parents

Homework Connection is also offering Parent Coaching to help parents better understand and assist their kids with their homework. 

Employees who are going back to school themselves can also use it for help with college coursework. 

Resources To Help -- No Matter what the Future Holds

As school schedules continue to evolve in the upcoming months and into the fall, Homework Connection will continue to be a resource -- so kids get the help they need, parents have one thing taken off of their plate, and, ultimately, families have more quality time to spend together.

“Parents are very busy and every minute we spend with our children we want it to be quality time,” DeJesus said. “So to have something like this to be the middle ground and allow parents to take something off of their plate -- it’s a game changer.”