Cape Girardeau School District paying for tutoring of middle school students

The Cape Girardeau School District will spend up to $175,000 this school year to send Central Middle School students to private tutoring sessions.

The federal government requires the district to offer "supplemental services" because for three consecutive years middle school students did not meet proficiency standards in communication arts.

The only approved vendor in Cape Girardeau is Sylvan Learning Center. Children who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches will be eligible to attend a two-hour session twice a week for nine weeks.

"We've had to cut other programs in order to pay for this," said Gerald Richards, coordinator for federal programs. He cited certain professional development sessions for teachers and instructional materials as those on the chopping block.

A session for parents explaining tutoring options, yet to be scheduled, will be held later this month. Parents will be required to sign up for services by Dec. 1, with tutoring beginning over the Christmas holiday or after the first of the year. Sessions will run through the start of the Missouri Assessment Program testing window in late March.

Elsewhere in the district, afternoon tutoring programs run by school personnel are starting. At Alma Schrader, Clippard, Franklin and Jefferson elementary schools, programs began late last month. At Blanchard Elementary, "Sparklers" kicked off Tuesday and "Math Club" meets today. Besides the supplemental services, Central Middle School will also offer its own after-school program later this month. It will run two days a week, and transportation will be provided.

With the private service, a maximum of about 150 middle school students could be served. If more people sign up than can be paid for, students with the lowest test scores will receive priority. Parents will be required to provide transportation to the tutoring center, where the teacher to student ratio is expected to be 1 to 3.

"We don't really know how many will take advantage of the tutoring services. Generally the first year, the numbers are quite small, from what we've heard," Richards said.

Funding for the service will be paid through the district's Title 1 funds. Federal Title 1 funds are allocated to each school based on the number of low-income students.

In the past, administrators have had some freedom in deciding how to use the monies. But this year, portions are restricted because of low test scores. Besides the money for supplemental tutoring at the middle school, the district is spending about $45,000 to bus 38 former Jefferson Elementary students to better-performing schools through a school-choice provision.

No teachers eliminated

While some professional development sessions and instructional materials have been cut, Richards said, it was a priority that no teacher positions be eliminated. "To make class sizes bigger would be like shooting yourself in the foot," he said.

Franklin Elementary is also dealing with financial challenges. For the past several years, its after-school program has been funded through a 21st Century grant, which officially ended last school year. The school has been setting aside funds for the program, but the program will be scaled back.

A daily program featuring enrichment such as guitar lessons and physical fitness activities has been replaced with a three-day-a-week tutoring program focused strictly on reading and math remediation.

"We're trying to hit those students who may have difficulties in certain areas, working on those basic skills," said principal Rhonda Dunham. She said Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors and high school students are helping teachers give more individualized instruction.

The tutoring program at Jefferson Elementary, funded by Title 1 dollars, is also remediation-based. Principal Mark Cook said the program has been designed to be more hands-on this year. It will include educational games and a "readers theater," for example, where students read and perform scripts to practice reading fluency.

At Blanchard Elementary, tutoring takes on a different tone than in the rest of the district. Sessions, open to anyone, are shorter and feature field trips, guest speakers and enrichment activities. The word "tutoring" is not used. Principal Dr. Barbara Kohlfeld said she wants the program to be "very different" than the regular school day.

"We don't want it to become tedious or laborious. It's a very vibrant program," she said.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

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