A harder look at after-school help

It's 3:15 p.m. at William Monroe Trotter Elementary School, and instead of heading for the exit through the school's peach-colored and electric blue doors, many students are breaking into small clusters for their after-school tutoring session.

Third-grader Justin Murray is sitting at a table with classmates, excited about what he learns reading books out loud with his peers. "The words make more sense when you read as a group," he says.

Trotter Elementary is one of about 8,000 schools nationwide required by the government to provide supplemental educational services - a formal name for after-school tutoring - at no charge. The extra help is mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind education act, which celebrated its second anniversary on Jan. 8. The law states that any school failing to make "adequate yearly progress" (AYP) three years in a row must provide free tutoring when requested.

It's one of the provisions of the law that would seem to be above reproach: How could offering extra instruction to students at poorly performing schools possibly be less than a good idea? But some of those on the front lines say the system has yet to prove its own worth.

"This is really a pilot program to see how well children will do," says Trotter principal Gail Forbes-Harris, whose school offers a choice of three tutoring providers - two private companies, and the Boston Public School District. "People are feeling good about it, but then the proof is in the pudding when we're able to see if the children have made real gains."

The results may take a while. Since many under-performing schools are only in their first year of offering the after-school tutoring program, it's a tad too early to hand out progress reports.

But a new report by the American Enterprise

Institute (AEI), a think tank in Washington, D.C., reveals that there are wrinkles still to be ironed out.

The report pinpoints some challenges of supplemental services: some parents were never notified of the free tutoring; states didn't finish their lists of approved providers until after the school year started; and - even though tuition is free - some areas have low participation rates. In addition, Congress left it up to the states to define their own adequate yearly progress, which means standards as to who must provide the services vary widely.

"There's this tremendous murkiness factor," says Frederick Hess, director of Education Policy Studies and Resident Scholar, at AEI.

The startup of the system has been difficult, acknowledges Nina Rees, deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the US Department of Education. But as implementation continues and the programs are better publicized, she insists, things will get better. "Districts are going to have to spend more time implementing the law, and parents are going to have more information about providers."

The cost per child to the school district can vary substantially, ranging from about $800 to $2,000 per student annually, depending upon how much the district receives in Title I money. According to the AEI report, whatever money goes unspent, districts get to keep. That can amount to as much as $37 million for a large city like New York or several thousand dollars for smaller cities.

Page: 1 | 2