Column: Executive Director's Desk
NCLB "Relief" and "Flexibility" May Trample Free Tutoring
Submitted By: Steve Pines, EIA Executive Director
Published: October 2011
The Obama Administration last week repeatedly used the words “flexibility” and “relief” in its announcement that the U.S. Department of Education would soon grant to states waivers from the requirements of the “No Child Left Behind” education law.
The words sound great, but make no mistake: when it comes to the law’s requirement that after-school tutoring be provided to students who attend failing schools, the only ones who will enjoy flexibility and relief will be the education administrators running our nation’s public schools. Parents and students stuck in failing schools will likely encounter inflexibility when they try to re-enroll for federally funded free tutoring as administrators relievethem of their right to select from among numerous approved providers of what is called supplemental educational services.
One early clue of how States may treat after school tutoring (SES) will come in their waiver applications, the first wave of which are due November 14. The Department will post to the www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility website a list of States that intend to apply, the requests themselves, peer comments on the requests, and the Department’s determinations on the requests. This public notice of State waivers will provide, in real-time, the specific wishes of States for flexibility, the comments of peer reviewers and the final decision by the Secretary.
The Education Industry Association (EIA), many of whose members for the last nine years have served as providers of supplemental educational services to our nation’s most deserving students, calls on President Obama, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and the nation’s governors to maintain, improve, and grow the highly successful supplemental educational services program.
Here’s why:
SES has a record of success and is working for low-income families: More than 2 million students and their families (since its inception), including approximately 600,000 this year alone, can attest to the positive impact SES has had on their attitude toward learning, academic skills, and achievement in school. In a March, 2011 report, Supplemental Educational Services in Five Waiver Districts, the U.S. Department of Education said that the vast majority of students participating in SES are from underrepresented, minority backgrounds, and that SES participation and achievement gains were statistically significant in both reading and math.
SES represents a very, tangible choice for families with few other choices: The Department’s plans to offer waivers from No Child Left Behind threaten the one real choice and program parents have available to them now: SES. Allowing states and school districts to turn their backs on SES means taking away a parent’s voice and influence over the child’s education. With his announcement of waivers, how can U.S. Education Secretary Duncan claim he has not gutted parental options offered by No Child Left Behind?
SES has made some significant economic impact in the communiites in which it operates: EIA research among members indicates that tens of thousands of part time SES instructors – the overwhelming majority of whom are certified teachers who belong to teachers unions such as the NEA and AFT –each received, on average, almost $3,900 in supplemental income during the 2008-2009 school year. When the Obama Administration talks about job creation and protection, it should remind itself that the SES program has an impact on future job opportunities for students, and on the immediate financial stability of our hard-working teachers.
As we have since the inception of SES in 2002, EIA and our member organizations will continue to fight on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of students and their families for whom federally funded after-school tutoring represents their only real path toward academic success. And EIA will fight for you, our members, by making the case for free tutoring to State education agencies with specific ideas that will both preserve this life-line for low income students and improve its design.
And if some of our members choose to migrate to other opportunities in student and school improvement, the EIA will help you discover those new business opportunities.
All of these activities are directly supported by your participation in the EIA SES Coalition—please join that special interest subgroup of EIA today so we can begin working for you tomorrow. For more information on the SES Coalition go to http://www.educationindustry.org/ses-coalition or call 1-800-858-3340.
Published: October 2011
The Obama Administration last week repeatedly used the words “flexibility” and “relief” in its announcement that the U.S. Department of Education would soon grant to states waivers from the requirements of the “No Child Left Behind” education law.
The words sound great, but make no mistake: when it comes to the law’s requirement that after-school tutoring be provided to students who attend failing schools, the only ones who will enjoy flexibility and relief will be the education administrators running our nation’s public schools. Parents and students stuck in failing schools will likely encounter inflexibility when they try to re-enroll for federally funded free tutoring as administrators relievethem of their right to select from among numerous approved providers of what is called supplemental educational services.
One early clue of how States may treat after school tutoring (SES) will come in their waiver applications, the first wave of which are due November 14. The Department will post to the www.ed.gov/esea/flexibility website a list of States that intend to apply, the requests themselves, peer comments on the requests, and the Department’s determinations on the requests. This public notice of State waivers will provide, in real-time, the specific wishes of States for flexibility, the comments of peer reviewers and the final decision by the Secretary.
The Education Industry Association (EIA), many of whose members for the last nine years have served as providers of supplemental educational services to our nation’s most deserving students, calls on President Obama, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and the nation’s governors to maintain, improve, and grow the highly successful supplemental educational services program.
Here’s why:
SES has a record of success and is working for low-income families: More than 2 million students and their families (since its inception), including approximately 600,000 this year alone, can attest to the positive impact SES has had on their attitude toward learning, academic skills, and achievement in school. In a March, 2011 report, Supplemental Educational Services in Five Waiver Districts, the U.S. Department of Education said that the vast majority of students participating in SES are from underrepresented, minority backgrounds, and that SES participation and achievement gains were statistically significant in both reading and math.
SES represents a very, tangible choice for families with few other choices: The Department’s plans to offer waivers from No Child Left Behind threaten the one real choice and program parents have available to them now: SES. Allowing states and school districts to turn their backs on SES means taking away a parent’s voice and influence over the child’s education. With his announcement of waivers, how can U.S. Education Secretary Duncan claim he has not gutted parental options offered by No Child Left Behind?
SES has made some significant economic impact in the communiites in which it operates: EIA research among members indicates that tens of thousands of part time SES instructors – the overwhelming majority of whom are certified teachers who belong to teachers unions such as the NEA and AFT –each received, on average, almost $3,900 in supplemental income during the 2008-2009 school year. When the Obama Administration talks about job creation and protection, it should remind itself that the SES program has an impact on future job opportunities for students, and on the immediate financial stability of our hard-working teachers.
As we have since the inception of SES in 2002, EIA and our member organizations will continue to fight on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of students and their families for whom federally funded after-school tutoring represents their only real path toward academic success. And EIA will fight for you, our members, by making the case for free tutoring to State education agencies with specific ideas that will both preserve this life-line for low income students and improve its design.
And if some of our members choose to migrate to other opportunities in student and school improvement, the EIA will help you discover those new business opportunities.
All of these activities are directly supported by your participation in the EIA SES Coalition—please join that special interest subgroup of EIA today so we can begin working for you tomorrow. For more information on the SES Coalition go to http://www.educationindustry.org/ses-coalition or call 1-800-858-3340.
About the Executive Director
Steve Pines
Steve Pines has served as the Executive Director of the Education Industry Association since January 2004. Prior to joining EIA, Mr. Pines was a Vice-President for Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. (1993-2003) managing workforce development services and education programs for at-risk youth. During this time, Mr. Pines also developed a new business channel with two and four-year colleges for developmental education services, as well as in the corporate training area. Mr. Pines worked for eight years as a Deputy Director at the Enterprise Foundation, working to revitalize low income neighborhoods nationwide. His initial work in education and employment policy spanned positions at the National Alliance of Business, the National Association of Counties, and the United States Department of Labor- Employment and Training Administration, where he worked during the Carter Administration. Pines has a MBA from Southern Illinois University, a MA in education psychology from the University of Connecticut, and a BA from Hobart College.