Tuesday June 29, 2010

BENNINGTON -- Five Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union schools will qualify for Supplemental Educational Services beginning in July, allowingmore than 1,200 students to become eligible for free tutoring services outside of school.

Through the federal No Child Left Behind Act, schools that are in corrective action for not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress and are in their second year of school improvement qualify for SES, which is tutoring outside of school, including in the summer, though local educational agencies.

Only students who receive free or reduced lunch qualify for the free academic services, which can be received at more than a dozen locations around the state, including The Tutorial Center, locally. The providers are reimbursed by the school district through federal Title I money the district receives.

Molly Stark Elementary has offered SES for the two previous school years, and soon Bennington Elementary, Pownal Elementary, Mount Anthony Union Middle School and MAU High School will also be required to offer SES.

While the tutoring services generally range in cost from $30 to $65 an hour, the enrollment to receive the free services from Molly Stark students and students around the state has been very low.

Last year there were approximately 250 students at Molly Stark who qualified to receive the services, and of those fewer than 10 took advantage of the additional help outside of school, said Kathi Marcoux,

director of curriculum instruction and assessment.

Schools that offer SES are required to notify parents of the opportunity, but SVSU board members said at a meeting last week they believe there needs to be more outreach so everyone who qualifies understands the opportunities that are available.

Superintendent Catherine McClure said she believes parents of these schools should be aware of the opportunity, as each qualifying school has contacted all of the parents about SES.

"One of the principals called every single parent of every child last year to try to encourage them to take advantage of it for this previous summer ... and we did end up with (fewer than 10) families that were interested," Superintendent Catherine McClure said.

When fewer than 10 students take advantage of SES, the number is not released for anonymity reasons, Marcoux said.

Jack Glade, director of The Tutorial Center, said the Bennington facility could accommodate "dozens" of students through SES, and said that with five local schools qualifying, The Tutorial Center is prepared to accommodate more this year.

Glade said he believes the reason more families have not taken advantage of the services is a combination of a lack of communication to make parents understand the opportunities as well as scheduling and transportation conflicts.

The same low participation numbers are mirrored around the state, as less than 200 students took advantage of SES services in Vermont last year, Marcoux said.

Marcoux said she believed public awareness could be part of the reason so few families take advantage of free tutoring services, but said she really didn't know what other factors there could be.

"Anything would be a guess ... (but) it is certainly important that we recruit," Marcoux said.

Any qualifying families who wish to learn more about SES or sign their child up for tutoring can do so by calling Central Office at 447-7501.

Contact Dawson Raspuzzi at draspuzzi@benningtonbanner.com