AIR Provides Guidance on Free Tutoring Offered Under NCLB, Releases New Toolkit for Parents and Community Leaders
Washington, D.C. – The American Institutes for Research has developed and released a new toolkit that offers parents and community leaders tips, tools, and strategies to learn more about free tutoring for students in schools designated as needing improvement under the No Child Left Behind Act.
These tutoring services, known as supplemental education services (SES), are easier to navigate with the help of the toolkit, which assists parents in signing up for the services and provides tips on how to pick a SES provider for their children. For example, the toolkit contains a checklist of questions that families can ask when choosing a provider to help them compare services. The checklist and other tools are provided in English and Spanish.
SES in Action: A Toolkit for Parents and Community Leaders was developed by the Supplemental Educational Services Quality Center, which is funded through a grant to AIR from the Office of Innovation and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education.
“The Toolkit is a free resource available to help parents and community leaders better understand what SES resources are available and how to take advantage of them,” said Jennifer Harmon of AIR who is director of SESQ Center.
Generally, supplemental educational services ( SES) are freetutoring services that must be offered to low-income children who attend a Title I school that has not made adequate yearly progress (AYP) for at least 3 consecutive years. The tutoring is paid for by the school district and is available in reading, math and other core subjects. It may be offered before or after school, on weekends or in the summer. Parents may choose a local tutoring provider from a list developed by their state.
A copy of the Toolkit is available online at: http://www.tutorsforkids.org/ToolkitDownload2.asp or by calling 1-866-544-8686 or by sending an email to tutorsforkids@air.org.
Through the Supplemental Educational Services Quality (SESQ) Center, AIR staff provides technical assistance to states, school districts, providers and community organizations. The SESQ Center will be convening the second in a series of regional workshops for state and district SES coordinators in New Orleans on September 13-14. During the day and a half workshop, participants will share tips and strategies for tackling critical challenges in SES implementation and work together to develop action plans for improving SES implementation.
The SESQ Center recently released an issue brief for states that provides guidance on the evaluation of quality tutoring programs. The SESQ Center web site offers tools and resources on effective supplemental education services implementation.
For more information on the SESQ Center visit www.tutorsforkids.org.
About AIR
The American Institutes for Research, founded in 1946, is a leader in the behavioral and social sciences. AIR is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization engaged in domestic and international research, development, evaluation, analysis, product development, training and technical assistance and assessment.