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White County School System
After losing grant funding for its 21st Century program, White County Schools will still offer after-school tutoring this year on a reduced scale.
Student Accountability Director Jennifer King says the school system will offer academic tutoring in conjunction with school homework centers.
Homework centers have been offered for several years at all the elementary schools for grades K-5, King said. At the after-school homework centers, students receive a snack, work on their homework and do other activities. However, with 21st Century, students would do homework, then receive additional academic tutoring by grade level.
King said academic tutor funds would pay for the 15 to 20 students per school in grades 3-5 who will be invited to attend this program. Students will be selected based on Milestones scores.
“Our after school academic tutor will support students that scored below grade level from Milestones EOG results,” King said.
There will be one teacher at each school who will provide the academic tutoring, which will be held Monday through Thursday. Funding will come from the federal funds that are based on the needs of the school system, King said.
“The funds we have will pay for that tutor to help the children,” she says. “We’ll continue with the snacks and transportation home. The difference is it’s a smaller number [of students], but we feel like we are identifying the children that truly need the academic tutoring.”
While the federally funded 21st Century program offered tutoring at no costs to parents and guardians, there is a fee for using a homework center. It is available to all students in grades K-5. The cost is $8 a day or $40 a week, and it is offered Monday through Friday from 3-6 p.m.
If a family needs help paying for the Homework Center, they can apply for assistance, King said.
“The [state] CAPS [Children and Parent Services] program and scholarships [through homework center] will be for students that were not included to receive the academic tutor support and is available to students that qualify,” King said. “Both CAPS and scholarships are based on family financial need.”
Those interested in finding out more information about the homework center can find out more information during the school’s open house on Tuesday, Aug. 6. from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., King said. There will be information at the front office and in the back to school packets that parents receive.
“I think this is the very best that we can do with the money that we have,” said White County School Superintendent Dr. Laurie Burkett. “In a very bad situation, I think it’s a really good plan.”
The school system announced in June it did not receive a pair of grants totaling $700,000 that has funded the local 21st Century program for the past 13 years. The federal program involved around 300 students from the system’s four elementary schools in after-school and summer programming.
The grant paid for 55 the after school staff positions, including teachers, paraprofessionals and lab technicians. (Most of the employees also held regular positions with the school system.)
Officials have said they plan to re-apply for the grants for 21st Century next year.