Posted: 01 Mar 2010 09:02 PM PST

VIRGINIA BEACH

It's late at night, the homework deadline is looming. Mom or Dad is deployed, asleep or unsure how to help.

Or maybe you're studying to take the GED, need help with a college essay or some pointers for your resume.

No problem. The Defense Department has an answer. Members of the military and their families now have access to a live online tutor 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at no charge.

Within about three to five minutes of logging in at Tutor.com and requesting help, an anonymous, certified tutor is available to work one-on-one with the student. Help is available at all levels, from grade school through college, military advancement exams and resume writing.

Nothing like it has been offered to the military in the past, said Marian Leverette, regional school liaison officer.

There has always been homework help for students in military families, but it's traditionally been limited to certain age groups and during specific hours. Those programs, such as Student Online Achievement Resources and Navy Knowledge Online Library, are still available.

Leverette said the new program's value was apparent in a kickoff at the Bill Niven Library at the Joint Expeditionary Base. So many parents and children turned out that a few had to stand behind the stacks to peek at the presentation between books.

"I wish we had had something like this," said Dan Barnthouse, site director of the base's Moral, Welfare and Recreation Department and a parent whose children are now grown. "Parents don't know everything."

Tutor.com has been working with public libraries in several states for about 10 years. In 2008, the Marine Corps libraries purchased the service for Marines and their families. The Army followed suit in July, and now the Department of Defense is funding the program to all U.S. military families.

DOD is spending $1.8 million the first year with an option to extend the service for four more years at a cost of $2 million per year. The company usually charges $35 per hour.

Service members can register online after receiving a password by e-mail or from a base library. After a student connects with a tutor, the two use an instant-message program to exchange comments.

"The tutors typically start asking topic questions immediately to gauge what kind of help is needed," said Kara Froman, an account executive with Tutor.com.

Using a "white board" the tutor can show examples of how to work out a problem.

The tutor can also share documents and Web links.

Foreign-language help appears to be the only shortcoming. Absent a video or audio feed, it's not possible, Froman said.

Lauren King, (757) 446-2309, lauren.king@pilotonline.com.

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Giving an academic boost (Highlands Today)

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 05:27 AM PST

By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: March 2, 2010

SEBRING - After most students go home at the end of the school day, some elementary students head to small-group tutoring sessions a couple of days a week to improve their math, reading and writing skills.

Funded with federal money, the after-school tutoring started in September or October and ended last week or will be this week in most of the school district's nine elementary schools.

Principals say the tutoring sessions, which focus mainly on math and reading, have helped struggling third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students improve their performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

FCAT testing in reading, math and science starts March 9 and ends March 19.

Sun 'n Lake Elementary Principal Diane Lethbridge said, "We feel that we have gotten excellent results because last year the subgroups that we targeted showed marked improvement on the FCAT."

In 2009, the school was very close to earning an "A" accountability grade and the federal AYP Adequate Yearly Progress designation, which is based on the progress of a number of economic, racial and academic subgroups of students.

According to last year's FCAT scores, the subgroup which needed the most help comprised students who qualified for free or reduced priced lunch and who had low reading scores.

Some of the 58 students who were tutored at Sun 'n Lake Elementary this year belonged to that group, although the program was open to all students regardless of their economic status, Lethbridge said.

The program started early this year - around the end of September, she said.

"We felt that we needed to maintain these kids throughout the year," Lethbridge said. "We put them in groups of about eight to 10 students, and we worked on reading and math and a little bit of writing."

The 90-minute after-school tutoring sessions, which will end Thursday, were held on Mondays and Thursdays.

The students are tested at the beginning and end of the tutoring program.

The Sun 'n Lake students have already taken the "post" test, but the results have yet to be tabulated.

"Every year we have a changing population and the needs are different," Lethbridge noted. "We just work very hard to use the resources that are available and the time that we have to best meet the needs of those kids."

Park Elementary School's after-school tutoring program, with 120 students, ended last week.

With no more than 10 students to a teacher, the smaller learning settings are very beneficial for the students, Park Elementary Principal Brenda Longshore said.

"The teachers really did a super job by giving another couple of hours a week, and it will really make a difference, I think, with the students," she said.

Test results from previous years show the tutored students improved their FCAT test scores significantly, she said.

With no struggling subgroups of students, the school earned the AYP designation in 2009, so students who had low test scores were selected for the after-school tutoring program.

Woodlawn Elementary has 90 students - 30 each from grades three through five - in its after-school tutoring program, which ends today. The 75-minute tutoring sessions were held from 2:45-4 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Students were chosen for the program if they had 2009 math or reading FCAT scores in Level I or II. FCAT reading and math test scores fall into five achievement levels from one to five (low to high).

"Our data shows that we do have the students improving in reading and math," Woodlawn Elementary Principal Kay Bowers said.

In addition to math, reading and writing, Avon Elementary's tutoring program with 118 students also helped students with their science skills.

Federal Programs resource teacher Patricia Landress said the federal Title I funding is based on poverty levels (students who qualify for free or reduced priced lunch), but the funding is used for students who are not academically proficient.

On average, each elementary school in Highlands County received about $25,000 for the program, which covered teacher salaries, curriculum and transportation to get them home.

The tutoring program known as Supplemental Educational Services, under No Child Left Behind, differs in that it's open only to students who qualify for free or reduced priced lunch.

Highlands Today reporter Marc Valero can be reached at 386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com

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Washtenaw Literacy Needs Tutors Now (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)

Posted: 02 Mar 2010 07:00 AM PST

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Washtenaw Literacy, a non-profit organization devoted to ending adult illiteracy, has issued an urgent plea for additional volunteers to join its network of one-on-one tutors. The agency offers acclaimed group and one-on-one tutoring programs and there is a growing waiting list of those who seek one-on-one tutoring.

To help fill this need, a tutor training program kicks off on April 8, providing hands-on tutor training to give participants the tools they need to get started. Each training series includes 15 hours of instruction. New tutors are also encouraged to attend Exploring Tutoring Techniques, an optional 3-hour planning and practice session with a peer mentor. To register, please call Washtenaw Literacy today. A $25 materials fee is requested.

"People who managed to function in jobs in the past as low-literate adults are now looking for new jobs. They need retraining. But retraining is out-of-reach to those who can't read. Washtenaw Literacy helps adult learners achieve these goals, but the need continues to rise, and we urgently need more tutors. And it's important to note that while the benefit for learners is clear, tutors tell us time and again how much they value the opportunity to make a real difference with this work. Please consider becoming a tutor," said Washtenaw Literacy's Executive Director Amy Goodman.

To learn how you can become a tutor or offer other help in the fight against illiteracy, please call Washtenaw Literacy at (734) 879-1320 or go to www.washtenawliteracy.org.

About Washtenaw Literacy

Washtenaw Literacy's purpose is straightforward: we help adults change their lives through literacy. Our organization has over 35 years experience in helping men and women improve their reading, writing and English as a second language skills.

Our core program is one-on-one tutoring. This is the approach our first volunteer tutors used in 1971. The reason we still use it today is because it works. Over 90% of adults in our one-on-one tutoring program reach one or more of their goals. Part of this success stems from our "designer tutor" approach. We train each of our volunteer tutors to plan lessons according to the learner's strengths, needs and goals. Adult learners in our program are motivated because they are setting, and meeting, their own standards for success.

This focus on individual goals makes our program unique in the county. Washtenaw Literacy is a critical part of our community's educational continuum. Someday we hope to have no need for our services. Until then, we'll support our volunteer tutors as they help low-literate men and women improve their skills and their lives.

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JCF tutoring program adds school (Cleveland Jewish News)

Posted: 01 Mar 2010 07:20 AM PST

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Tutoring

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

“Tutoring for service members, 24/7? Yes, sir! (The Virginian-Pilot)” plus 3 more

“Tutoring for service members, 24/7? Yes, sir! (The Virginian-Pilot)” plus 3 more

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