CNN/AP: Education Department expands tutoring experiments

[DeepModem Mom]

Education Department expands tutoring experiments
Thursday, July 27, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -- The Bush administration says it again will bend the rules of the No Child Left Behind law, intending to get thousands more poor children into tutoring....

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The law requires schools that get federal poverty aid and fall short of their yearly progress goals for two straight years to offer transfers to students. After three years of failure, schools must offer low-income parents a choice of tutors.

The new policy will let 23 school districts flip that order, offering transfers second.

That is significant because parents prefer tutoring to moving their child to a new school....The districts are in Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia. Just four Virginia districts were involved when the experiment began last year. Spellings opted to expand it nationwide after seeing signs that it boosted interest in tutoring.

Most states did not bother applying for the flexibility because they did not meet the criteria. The five states that won the department's blessing were the only ones to apply....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/07/27/nclb.tutoring.ap/index.html

[w4rma]

1. Bush ignores the law again. The GOP needs to change the law if there is

a problem with the law (and there most definitely is a problem with it). I do not support breaking the law.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. They need to throw the damn law out

But then of course they will not be on track on their agenda to destroy public schools.

[pooja]

2. And do ya'll know how much tutoring companies cost????

It's quite heafty on budgets already strained... cut every tax dollar in parts... 1/2 to military, all other programs share, and schools lack sorely... the numbing and dumbing of America.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Guess who gets to pay for this?

Hint - not the tutoring company and not the parents.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. I teach in the hood and Sylvan hasn't found us yet - LOL

Under NCLB, these tutors can NOT be school district employees. (Can you say PRIVATIZATION?) Well lemme tell ya, there isn't a run by Sylvan or any other high priced rip off tutoring firm to come into our community and tutor our kids. And guess who will be penalized when the tutoring is not provided?

[rodeodance]

8. i did not know that.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. NCLB is full of similar

bullshit. Who knew about the military recruiting? My school district certainly didn't tell any of its employees about that part of this damn law.

I finally sat down and read the whole law a year or so ago. It was 350 pages. Now I am told it is even longer. Just full of little surprises.

[sutz12]

5. And while you're at it.....

Make sure they are good Christian tutors. Wouldn't want anyone exposed to that evil evolution stuff, you know. :sarcasm:

[acmejack]

7. Crony's Tutoring LLC. MMVI

I am sure that the accountability for the tutors will be strict. In fact, does Halliburton have a tutoring arm? Blackwater Tutoring, "Learn or Die"

[rodeodance]

10. now some districts can provide their own tutors

Typically, school districts themselves cannot provide tutoring when they have failed to meet their yearly progress goals. Districts say that penalty ends up reducing help for kids.

So Spellings agreed last year to let Boston and Chicago provide tutoring even though they had fallen short of academic standards. The department renewed that offer and extended it to two more districts: Anchorage, Alaska, and Memphis, Tennessee.

"More children will have access to quality tutoring," Deputy Education Secretary Ray Simon said. He said the programs will provide key data on what works and what doesn't.

As a matter of fairness, extending flexibility to more schools makes sense, said Michele McLaughlin, assistant director of educational issues for the American Federation of Teachers.

[rodeodance]

11. "states that won the department's blessing" Blessing??

[rodeodance]

12. -----She wants to show she can adapt ------such a nice lady!

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. After a certain number of years

the tutoring may not be in house. I think that starts in 2008.

[rodeodance]

9. "it again will bend the rules"