[Digital_Divide] Supplemental Education Service news

[bridging_the_divide at touchsmart.net]

SES ruling leaves thousands behind
By Corey Murray, Associate Editor, eSchool News
December 23, 2004

A recent decision by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) gives a huge 
lift to private companies that supply after-school tutoring and other 
supplemental education services (SES) for the nation's schools--but it 
also could result in a disruption or loss of service for tens of 
thousands of students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and other 
districts of similar status.

In a Dec. 8 letter to Illinois state officials, ED demanded that CPS, 
along with 10 other districts across the state, stop serving as their 
own providers of tutoring services to struggling students. The letter, 
which came from Undersecretary Eugene Hickok's office, informed the 
districts they were in violation of the stipulations set forth under 
the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Despite demonstrated progress over the last several years, federal 
officials say the districts still fall short of meeting the standard 
for adequate yearly progress (AYP), a series of benchmarks used to 
determine how well schools are faring under the law. Until improvements 
are made, ED said, all 11 districts named in the letter must rely on 
tutoring solutions only from third-party service providers--or else 
they will lose federal funding for these NCLB-mandated services.

In an interview with eSchool News, Nina Rees, ED's assistant secretary 
for innovation and improvement, said the law has always held that a 
school system labeled "in need of improvement" cannot serve as its own 
SES provider.

Illinois state officials asked the agency for a federal exemption that 
would have enabled CPS and 10 other districts in need of improvement to 
provide such services themselves. The letter, Rees explained, was 
intended to inform state administrators that their request had been 
denied. "We can't simply waive a regulation," she said.

The news elicited outrage from CPS Chief Executive Officer Arne Duncan, 
who branded ED's ruling "a slap in the face" and an "appalling 
disservice to the children of Chicago." CPS, the nation's third-largest 
school system, plans to challenge the ruling "through every possible 
means," Duncan added.

In Chicago, district officials say the decision means federally 
mandated tutoring services will have to be halted for some 80,000 
children, about 40,000 of whom are being tutored directly by CPS and 
another 40,000 of whom are being tutored by private vendors paid by the 
district.

"Some of those students chose to be in the CPS program, so now we have 
to start over, have parents reapply for services, and then reallocate 
the available tutoring services based on need," said Duncan, who called 
the decision "ludicrous."

If forced to go solely with private providers, the district estimates 
it will have enough money to purchase tutoring for just 24,000 
students--a far cry from the near 80,000 who are receiving help today.

"The federal government has ensured that the cost of providing these 
tutoring services will skyrocket," warned Duncan, who said the district 
saved a significant amount of money--and reached far more struggling 
students--by providing the required services on its own.

While CPS spends an average of $400 per child to tutor students itself, 
officials contend the cost jumps to nearly $1,500 per kid whenever a 
private SES provider enters the mix.

"If this is what the law calls for, then the law should be changed," 
Duncan said, requesting that federal officials be more lenient in their 
enforcement of NCLB--especially in a district like Chicago, where more 
than 74 percent of students reportedly showed improvements in test 
scores last year.

In defense of ED's ruling, Rees said CPS should have taken more 
time--and made sure it was in compliance--before deciding to tutor 
students itself. She also placed some of the blame on the state, saying 
state officials should have taken a more proactive approach in letting 
the district know where it stood under the law.

A boost to for-profit providers

As state and school district officials continue to wrestle with what is 
and what isn't acceptable under the law, a host of educational service 
providers are ramping up their efforts to exploit what has become a 
very profitable revenue stream.

The SES provision of the law has opened the door for a myriad of 
for-profit companies, many of whose services rely on sophisticated 
technology to deliver targeted instruction and track students progress, 
to cash in on millions of dollars in federal funding earmarked for 
low-income students. Under the law, every school that fails to meet AYP 
for three straight years must set aside a portion of its Title I funds 
to purchase tutoring services for eligible students.

Though the programs--selected by parents from a state-approved list of 
providers--come in all shapes and sizes, from online courses taken at 
home to face-to-face tutoring sessions with certified teachers, the 
goal is the same: To help struggling students achieve higher test 
scores--and eventually boost the overall performance of the school.

Last year at Public School 329 in Brooklyn, N.Y., about 300 students 
enrolled in supplemental courses provided by New York-based Platform 
Learning, which provides after-school tutoring to students in 17 states 
and more than 300 struggling schools nationwide.

Just one year into the program, Assistant Principal Salema Dawson said 
students on average have demonstrated a 75-percent improvement in test 
scores.

Driven by a statewide directive to promote balanced literacy, school 
officials adopted Platform's Learn-to-Succeed program to assess 
students' skills and reinforce key concepts through a combination of 
face-to-face instruction, individualized planning, and online data 
tracking.

Had it not been for federal money set aside for supplemental services, 
PS 329 would not have been able to foot the bill for the project, said 
Dawson, who added, "These programs are greatly needed."

Through a combination of technology and face-to-face instruction, 
Platform Learning deploys certified educators with a college degree and 
at least one year of classroom experience whose job is to target 
students' weaknesses and boost their self-confidence in hopes of 
achieving sustained progress.

The program provides assistance to students in both reading and math. 
Driven by small-group instruction and individualized planning, the 
service groups students according to skill level and need, allowing 
them to move at a pace more conducive to their own individual learning 
style, contends Platform Learning Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 
Eugene Wade.

The company uses a student information system to monitor student 
performance and behavior. For example, student absences are noted and a 
company call center contacts parents to advise them when students don't 
show up.

With the aid of the online tool, teachers and mentors also can follow 
students' progress through the use of a unique resource that gauges 
each child's success related to pre- and post-tests handed out by 
teachers throughout the duration of the program.

Wade said the idea is to empower students. "We're not just a tutoring 
company," he said. "We're actually in the business of changing kids' 
beliefs and attitudes about learning."

Though tutors use the data collected by the schools to tailor their 
instruction to students' individual needs, he said, the program is 
about much more than number crunching.

"We want to use data to inform the learning process," said Wade. 
"You've got to make a plan, and you've got to work that plan."

Minnesota-based PLATO Learning is another educational service provider 
aggressively pursing state approval for supplemental services in 
struggling schools.

Currently approved in more than 41 states, PLATO's Supplemental 
Services Education Program is a face-to-face tutoring service staffed 
by highly qualified teachers and anchored in the company's Achieve Now 
curriculum for both reading and math. Each program includes a mix of 
interactive software, school and home learning activities, teacher 
materials, and student assessment tools.

Like some of its competitors, PLATO also provides an online assessment 
tool that enables educators to track students' progress during the 
program and record their success based on a battery of assignments and 
incremental testing measures.

Before entering the program, students take an online pretest to help 
determine where they need the most help, said Bernice Stafford, the 
company's vice president of school strategies and evaluations.



"Just because a child has difficulty reading doesn't necessarily mean 
[he or she] must go back to the basics," she said. By using the online 
assessment feature, Stafford contends educators can pinpoint students' 
exact weaknesses and provide a more customized approach to remediation.

The online system also communicates students' gains back to school 
administrators so they can update school and student profiles and plan 
accordingly, she said.

While the company's SES program still is in the early stages of 
implementation in most schools, Stafford said it already has seen some 
gains in places like Alabama and the District of Columbia--though "it's 
still too early to say if those gains are sustained," she said.

PLATO's tutoring program currently is offered at 13 schools in Chicago, 
providing services for 1,100 students across the district. Stafford 
said the company has yet to receive official word whether Chicago plans 
to halt its services until the situation there is resolved. No matter 
how it shakes out, she said, PLATO is looking forward to building its 
relationship with the district.

Despite being a third-party provider, Stafford said, PLATO doesn't view 
itself as an outsider looking to take financial advantage of an 
uncomfortable situation. Still, she knows the company has to earn 
peoples' trust.

"When we go into a district as an SES provider, we're not going in for 
the first time," she pointed out. "You have to have a knowledge of the 
district ... you have to know its needs."

While any company can go into a district and begin recruiting 
customers, she said, the key is to listen to what stakeholders are 
saying and come up with a solution that is unique to the community.

Then, she said--and only then--will you begin to see results.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=5425
---

Jason Barkeloo
President
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