Kids in three schools in San Benito County are getting
assistance from private education companies, after failing to make
adequate progress, as required by the federal government’s No Child
Left Behind Act.
Hollister – Kids in three schools in San Benito County are getting assistance from private education companies, after failing to make adequate progress, as required by the federal government’s No Child Left Behind Act.
Twice a week, 115 students at Calaveras, R.O. Hardin and Spring Grove elementary schools stay on campus a little longer to get help on homework as well as practice math problems, language comprehension and listening. Many of their lessons utilize the
Internet and state-of-the-art software programs, usually not available in the schools.
The mandatory tutoring, which costs about $2,000 a student and is provided by Extreme Learning Center in Morgan Hill and Kumon Math & Reading Learning Center in Hollister, is not the result of low scores. Rather, it is the result of inadequate growth in those scores, as required by the federal accountability system. That means that even as grades and test scores improve, the benchmark they are measured against continually rises, keeping constant pressure on teachers, parents and administrators to improve. And although the school scores are an average of student scores, students that test the lowest are required to participate in the tutoring.
Although the outside tutoring has been in place for a little over a month at R.O. Hardin and Calaveras schools, principals say they are extremely satisfied with both the quality of the tutors as well as the curriculum they are using.
“They have been very good about working with teachers to identify the problem areas of the children,” said Linda Smith, principal of R.O. Hardin, where 40 kids are participating in the service. “They are the first line of support for them.”
Kids here, as well as in Calaveras, work in groups of 10 to not only finish homework, but practice skills they are weak in, such as fractions, grammar and verbal expression. Extreme Learning Center also provides schools with laptops and software that can be tailored to the needs of the student.
“If a child doesn’t know fractions, it doesn’t just keep giving them the same kind of question, but provides a lesson about them so they can learn,” said David Payne, CEO of the company.
The academic support program translates into a $160,000 bill for the Hollister School District, which has 80 students who are required to receive the assistance.
Thirty-five students are getting tutored at Spring Grove, although the program has been in place longer and uses the Kumon Math & Reading Learning Center, a company based in Hollister, said Principal and Superintendent Howard Chase.
Both Kumon and Extreme Learning Center are on the California Department of Education’s list of approved learning centers that districts must contract with if they have underperforming schools.
“It’s kind of unfortunate that outside academic tutors have to come in to the district to provide extra support, when the jobs could be going to its own teachers,” said Judith Barranti, superintendent of Hollister School District.
However, Smith, the principal at R.O. Hardin, said teachers are already so swamped with classes, the outside support is appreciated.
The outside tutoring program has had such a positive response at Calaveras Elementary School, that there is even a waiting list for it, said Antonio Panganiban, principal of the school.
“It’s not only fun for the kids, but also highly enriching,” he said.
The outside academic support program is based on test results from spring of 2004. Although several years ago, the basic level was the minimum required to pass the test, the requirement has been upped to “proficient,” resulting in more students falling below the state standard.
Karina Ioffee covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at (831)637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected]
