During the 2008-09 school year two of our students accessed Supplemental Educational Services. 154 students were eligible.
January 20, 2010
Dear Parent/ Guardian of a Middle School Student:
You are most likely already aware of our status as a “school in need of improvement”. We were in “Year 2 School Improvement” last year because our NECAP scores in 2008 showed that the entire student population, including students from low socio-economic backgrounds did not make adequate yearly progress in math.
Although we made adequate yearly progress in reading for the second year in a row, taking us off the “school in need of improvement” list for reading; the 2008 NECAP results in mathematics placed us in Year 1 Corrective Action, with additional consequences. The district continues to have to set aside 20% of its Title 1 grant funds to provide outside tutoring services for all Riverside students who qualify for free or reduced lunch (Students don’t have to actually accept free or reduced lunch, they need only be eligible). The monies available for this tutoring are $5,057.00 per child, and were be available September 1, 2009.
How Does My Child Qualify?
All children who are eligible for free or reduced lunch qualify for supplemental tutoring services, regardless of whether they belong to a subgroup that performed poorly. In fact, even students who did well on the NECAP can access this service.
Should demand for the monies set aside for tutoring exceed that which we were required to set aside, priority will be given to the lowest performing students. At this point, there is enough set aside for 37 students.
How Do I Access These Services?
Enclosed you will find an application for free and reduced lunch, and a form entitled Notification of Intent to Access Supplemental Tutoring Services. Please fill out, the application for free and reduced lunch, even if you have no intention of accepting free or reduced lunch, and return it to the school. This is how the district will determine whether your child meets the financial criteria to receive supplemental tutoring services.
If you intend to get supplemental tutoring services for your child, please fill out the Notification of Intent to Access Supplemental Tutoring Services form and mail it to the school. The school must receive this form no later than February 22, 2010 for you to access funds to pay for tutoring. Notices received after February 22 cannot be honored.
Also enclosed, you will find a list of supplemental tutoring service providers. You may select from any of these on the list, and supply the provider contact information on the Notification of Intent to Access Supplemental Tutoring Services form. The Central Office will contact the provider to draft a contract and arrange for billing and payment. You will also be given papers to fill out and sign giving us permission to share information about your child with the provider. The central office coordinator of SES is Dr. Vincent Hawkins, Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, Springfield School District, 60 Park St., Springfield, VT 05156.
What Else Do I Need to Know?
Tutoring services must be provided by a person or entity listed on the Vermont’s Approved Providers of Supplemental Educational Services For School Year 2009-2010 document. The district is not allowed to pay for the services of tutors who do not appear on the list. We are also not allowed to recommend a particular provider, although you may call us if you have any questions. You will need to notify us of your choice of tutors, fill out and sign paperwork we send you, and schedule your child’s tutoring sessions. The district will contact the provider to draw up a contract and coordinate communication between the tutor and your child’s teachers.
Tutoring services must be provided after or before school hours, during vacations, or on weekends. This tutoring cannot happen during the school day, and may not be able to occur at the school. Parents are responsible for providing transportation.
I would encourage you to remember that we will continue to offer an outstanding Homework Café and Help Nights after school. Please contact Pollyanna Bladyka about Homework Café. Arrangements for Help Nights should be made with individual teachers.
If you have any questions or concerns about supplemental tutoring services please feel free to contact me at school. This is a new endeavor for me, but if I don’t know the answer I will find it for you.
Sincerely,
Becky A.S. Read
Principal
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