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District will spend $168,000 from federal Title-1 funds on tutoring at three schools These names might not immediately ring a bell with parents. They're among the 16 outside tutoring services approved by the state Department of Education to provide tutoring in three county schools. The school district will spend $168,000 in federal Title-1 funds this spring so tutoring can be provided, district Title-1 coordinator Elizabeth Brittain said. Title-1 is a federal school improvement program that supports schools with high poverty student enrollments. The providers will serve students at Title-1 schools Blacksburg Primary, Blacksburg Elementary and Mary Bramlett Elementary. The three schools are under federal No Child Left Behind sanctions for not meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP) for a third straight year, Brittain said. AYP is the federal criteria schools must meet to show improvement each year on the state's Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test. Most companies providing the service are based in Rock Hill and Spartanburg. Certified teachers and other employees will travel to Cherokee County. "The tutoring is free to the child and is done away from the school site. To be eligible, the students must receive free or reduced lunches," Brittain said. "The outside providers may provide a home tutor, an online component or will rent places such as churches to offer their tutoring service locally." A maximum of 110 students in the schools can receive the tutoring. As of today's deadline, district figures showed 106 students had applied. "We have seen more interest in supplemental services than other school districts in our area," Brittain said. "If we get too many students, we will begin prioritizing which students are served. We may limit it by grade level. We will also look to make sure the tutoring is provided to those students with the greatest need." The tutoring does not come cheap. The district will spend $1,143 for each child to receive outside tutoring. For example, one service provider will provide twelve 90-minute tutoring sessions for a student. The tutoring will begin shortly after today's enrollment deadline passes. Transportation is not provided by the school district. Brittain said she will join Title-1 parent program coordinators Shirley Birch and Lakesha Logan in conducting visits to monitor the tutoring services students receive. Tests are done afterwards to track the progress students made towards goals set by the tutoring service providers. |
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