Supplemental Educational Services was established under No Child Left Behind and requires schools that aren’t meeting benchmarks to set aside Title I federal funding to pay for tutoring services from providers. Parents who apply for the program are given a list of providers from the ODE and choose from that list.
For Springfield, that works out to about $900,000 a year, said Paul Schneider, facilitator of title programs for Springfield schools. That funds tutoring for about 600 kids at approximately $1,500 per student.
For the first time, the Ohio Department of Education released evaluation ratings for providers for the 2010-11 school year. Of the 505 Springfield students participating in SES last year, 62 percent were working with a provider who received a rating of either “Not Effective” or “Needs Improvement,” according to a Springfield News-Sun analysis.
Most of the students who were working with providers rated “Effective” were served by the district’s own program, started last year in response to “horror stories” the district heard about providers, said Dona Starrett, director of elementary services.
“We’re all working in very limited resource times ... and we wanted to get the most value out of the dollars we are spending,” she said. “We are forced by NCLB to set aside $900,000.”
The school districts are the ones who evaluate the providers, however the University of Akron evaluated the program run by Springfield as contracted with the ODE, said Starrett.
Springfield’s program earned a rating of any provider working with city schools students at 48 out of 57, in the “Effective” range, according to the ODE.
Springfield uses highly-qualified teachers as tutors and works with enrolled students from November through April. Some providers meet with students for as little as 24 hours total and use tutors with little training, said Starrett.
Springfield was rated on the same criteria as outside providers, including site observations and evaluations conducted at the beginning and end of the program, she said.
But a local SES provider, Inside Out, questioned their rating of 34 — a “Needs Improvement” on the ODE scale — for their work with 76 students.
Diane Finney of Inside Out said only 44 students actually received tutoring there last year and the center only received funding for those kids.
Inside Out provides tutoring for two hours a day twice a week for eight weeks, she said.
The ratings appeared to be based on only certain parts of the evaluation, said Finney.
“I don’t think that the way that the testing is being done is necessarily the best tool that is being used,” she said.
Tutors at Inside Out include teachers from other districts and education students who are well qualified to provide the service, said Finney.
Improved cooperation with the city schools would allow for better services, said Inside Out officials.
“If there was more cooperation, the children are going to benefit,” said Manager Cathy Ernst.
While Springfield schools officials did say that some programs are providing quality tutoring, the district has little recourse to eliminate bad providers and can only give parents the rating information to make the most informed choice, said Starrett.
The program has created a business hungry for the dollars available and utilizing marketing to attract eligible families.
“These people are in it to make money,” Starett said. “Otherwise they would be doing a six-month program like Springfield City is. How much can you actually affect students growth in six weeks twice a week two hours a day?”
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0373.
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