Ineffective tutors, why does California pay them to continue?
June 28, 10:03 PM
Under No Child Left Behind, outside literacy tutoring is supposed to be offered to schools with low academic scores. State Department of Education agencies are supposed to screen and select tutoring centers that are deemed to be effective...
SES focuses on supplemental instruction or tutoring in English-language arts and/or mathematics for eligible students in Title I Program Improvement (PI) schools. Schools in Year two and beyond of PI are required to offer SES. The SES program augments the PI schools’ programs of instruction to help eligible students meet California’s state content standards."
...However one has to wonder what criteria they are using to select their tutors and how they monitor their effectiveness. I have found out Lindamood Bell, which offers scientifically researched successful programs with well documented statistical evidence or reading gain was NOT approved to be an SES tutor.
According to Tom Mendoza at Lindamood Bell learning process's, the Ca DOE was evasive about their criteria and did not offer any plausible explanation for the refusal.
In contrast, San Francisco based * ARC Associates, was approved by the CDE. ARC associates is the tutoring company.who has worked at Cesar Chavez Elementary School for the past five years and last year made $237,266.71 from the San Francisco Unified School District. This year, the district will pay ARC a projected $559,523 in SES tutoring contracts, according to the San Francisco Unified School District’s Office of State and Federally Funded Programs.
Yet nowhere has the weakness in the tutoring program been more stark than at Cesar Chavez, where tutoring has failed to increase scores on the standardized math and reading tests for most of the last five years. In 2007, test scores actually plunged 139 points, and last year’s scores rose only 10 points despite a growing number of students taking advantage of the subsidized tutoring.
This year at Cesar Chavez, 93 of the 183 eligible first through fifth grade students have been spending two or three hours a week since January getting assistance, but few expect better results on tests. At a school in Program Improvement, all students are eligible to receive tutoring, although some students get priority including those who are failing state tests and first graders who fail a reading test.
Arlene Graham, program liaison for ARC Associates, blamed the low test scores on the difficulty in teaching students whose first language is not English. Chavez’s student body is comprised of 71.6 percent Latino English learners compared to 17.5 percent district-wide. “The reality of working with bilingual children is that they have to go through development academically in their own language, then transition academically into English,” said Graham. “How do we get the English content and meaning to them? There is a lag.”
In contrast, Lindamood Bell made substantial gains with ESL students in 2009 working in collaboration with Vista Unified School District at Olive, their lowest performing school which consisted of many ESL students. See http://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m6d8-Vista-unified-school-district-and-Lindamood-Bell-proves-all-students-can-achieve
Reading instructor Amber Lamprecht was able to make 1.4 years of reading gain in 36 hours over 6 months to ESL students. http://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m4d22-36-hours-to-change-a-child-life
...Secretary of education, Arne Duncan recently stated that California has "lost it's way" when it comes to education. When one looks at this tutoring situation, he is absolutely right. Why should he give California more funds for education when our current decision makers at the CDE make such poor choices?
*As first reported in Mission Local web site:
SES Providers for Ca: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ti/ap/providers.aspx
https://www.examiner.com/x-4959-Special-Education-Examiner~y2009m6d28-Ineffective-NCLB-tutors-why-does-Ca-DOE-allow-them-to-continue
3 comments:
Have you seen this?
http://raviniareadingblog.com/?p=134
NCLB SES is really messed up. It's what we get for outsourcing our education to companies under NCLB
Here is Denise's link regarding NCLB SES:
http://raviniareadingblog.com/?p=134
I expect that this link on the Ravinia blog will soon be lost:
Site Supervisor (Chicago - NorthWest)
Reply to: job-vxbyd-1240772104@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Date: 2009-06-26
POSITION TITLE: Site Supervisor
APPROXIMATE HOURS PER WEEK: 20-40 hours during marketing/enrollment period (mid August - early Oct.), 10 - 20 hours (mid Oct. - January/February)
POSITION DURATION (Part-time Seasonal): August – January/February
_________________________________________________________________________________
POSITION HEADLINE:
Huntington Learning - Part-Time After-School SES Site Supervisors
POSITION DESCRIPTION:
HUNTINGTON LEARNING CENTER, the nation’s premier provider of individualized supplemental education (SES) since 1977, is seeking part-time, site supervisors to oversee and manage its after-school tutoring programs at Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in the northwest side. With nearly 400 centers nationwide, Huntington Learning Centers provide individualized instruction in foundational skills such as reading, study skills, writing, phonics, spelling and math.
This part-time position is seasonal and will commence in mid-July and finish no later than March 2010. Hours will average 10-20 hours per week, with peak periods in mid August – October requiring 20-40 hours per week.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Attending school fairs
- Recruiting and enrolling students
- Recruiting and training teachers and assistants
- Overseeing student testing and initial programming
- Promoting student retention and attendance
- Acting as teacher liaison
- Supervising teaching staff and ensuring that the program is run effectively
- Delivering materials to schools
- Meeting with and maintaining a positive relationship with the school administration and parents
- Entering attendance daily
- Generating student Individualized Tutoring Plans and Progress Reports
-Attend weekly office meetings
- Grassroots marketing/Active participation in local community events
JOB REQUIREMENTS:
- Minimum bachelors (4-year) degree
- Experience (and enjoyment!) working with elementary aged students
- On-site (school) availability from October – January/February between 1pm and 5pm Monday
through Thursday
- Availability in August and early October evenings (5pm – 9pm) to support school fairs
-Must be available to work some weekends in late August – early October
- Strong leadership skills
- Excellent communication & interpersonal skills
- Ability and experience managing others
- Strong multi-tasking skills
- Works well under pressure
- Positive and energetic
- Good computer skills (data entry, email, MS Word and Excel)
- Reside within reasonable commuting distance of CPS schools on north, northwest, west side of Chicago
- Must have a car (with valid driver’s license and insurance) to travel to schools and deliver materials (mileage reimbursement)
-Must be willing to undergo and pass both state and federal background checks
Please apply by submitting resumes through Craigslist!
* Location: Chicago - NorthWest
* Compensation: $18 - $20 plus competitive bonus based on performance
* This is a part-time job.
PostingID: 1240772104
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