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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, November 17, 2003

Thousands of students qualify for free tutoring

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer

The parents of more than 30,000 Hawai'i students will soon be notified that their children are eligible for free tutoring — an opportunity few took advantage of last school year.

Jarelynn Abraham's son, Justin Longoria, 9, and a fourth-grader at Nanakuli Elementary, was tutored last spring under a No Child Left Behind program.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The extra academic help, available to low-income students at 81 public schools that have not met performance standards, is required by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Under the law, public schools that receive federal money to help educate low-income students and that fail to meet performance goals for three years must offer free tutoring or remedial classes. The law also lets parents transfer their children to another public school if a school fails to make improvements for two years.

Hawai'i public schools were supposed to start free tutoring in the fall of 2002, but were not ready until early this year. According to the state Department of Education, thousands of low-income students from 76 schools were eligible for tutoring, but only 1,406 students received it during the spring and summer.

Last school year was the first time free tutoring was offered, so some parents might not have been aware of the service. Others might have decided that their children did not need extra help. And some students were already participating in other after-school education programs.

Still, the gap is substantial.

"The total eligible is a huge number," said Elaine Takenaka, the director of educational administrative services at the DOE's Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Student Support. "Sometimes numbers do not provide a fair picture of what is going on. It comes down to the school, and the decision is really up to the parent."

Jarelynn Abraham learned about the free tutoring last fall during a parent-teacher conference at Nanakuli Elementary School. Her son, fourth-grader Justin Longoria, was tutored last spring by College Connections Hawai'i, one of the vendors chosen by the state.

"He needed some help and it just worked out for us," said Abraham, who added that her son took a greater interest in reading afterward. "He couldn't wait. He would say, 'Mom, I have tutoring today.' I think it's a great idea. But I think a lot of parents don't know about the program."

The DOE pays College Connections $45 an hour for two tutoring sessions a week for eight weeks. Each tutor usually works with two students at their school. Another vendor, Kumon Math and Reading Centers, receives $80 a month per student for its tutoring, which involves two visits a week from January to June to one of the Kumon centers. Several other vendors have applied to the DOE to offer tutoring.

Tutoring began too late last school year to have an effect on state math and reading tests, which are given in the spring, so educators will not be able to tell how the initiative is working until students are tested again in 2004. The objective is to improve test scores under No Child Left Behind, which requires that all students be proficient in core subjects by 2014.

Nationally, some educators complain that the money used for tutoring could be better spent on existing school programs for low-income students. Supporters of the law, meanwhile, suggest that some schools have not been aggressive in giving parents the option of tutoring or moving their child to a different school.

States may not always have enough money to pay for tutoring for everyone eligible, so schools are allowed to rank by need, with priority given to the lowest-achieving students from low-income families.

Hawai'i's DOE spent only a small fraction of the money set aside last school year for tutoring and transportation costs for transfers, so the rest will be rolled over to this school year. At some point, if more parents request tutoring or transfers, schools will have to choose which students get extra help.

Deborah Clark, a special education teacher at Kuhio Elementary School who also tutors for College Connections, said she felt the students she worked with over the spring and summer made progress.

"Anybody can spend the time helping the kids with homework," she said. "We try to teach them tools that they can use themselves in the future.

"But it's up to the parents to make the call."

A College Connections survey found that 79 percent of parents said their children were better able to complete homework independently after tutoring, and 67 percent of teachers said the students' classroom performance improved.

Matthew Lupsha, vice president at Kumon in Teaneck, N.J., said Kumon integrates low-income students into its regular tutoring sessions with students whose parents are paying. Students and parents must sign an agreement that the student will do the Kumon homework and participate in classroom assignments.

The Kumon tutoring is different than College Connections, which involves lengthier direct interaction between tutors and students. "We believe children learn better and retain information longer if it's given to them in short daily increments," Lupsha said. "I've talked to the parents, and they've seen a difference.

"There is a huge reservoir of potential in these schools. The teachers just need a little extra support to draw it out. These kids are no different than any other. They have the ability to do algebra and read and analyze Shakespeare."

Longoria, the Nanakuli fourth-grader, said the extra work has helped him. "I know I can do reading now," he said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.


Correction: Kumon Math and Reading Centers will offer six months of free tutoring, from January to June 2004, for low-income students who qualify under federal law and are referred by the state Department of Education. A previous version of this story was incorrect.