District begins process of leaving no child behind

By Steven Gnagni
Managing Editor

A free tutoring program for students in 17 of District 9’s schools attracted 1,080 applicants. All of those applicants were accepted and started receiving tutoring Tuesday, January 21.

According to Melvin Thompson, District 9’s assistant superintendent for grants and contracts and No Child Left Behind district liaison, of the 1,080 students, 578 will receive tutoring from outside tutoring providers—the likes of Kaplan, Score, and Citizens Advice Bureau, which is located on the Grand Concourse. The other 502 students will receive tutoring from the district’s Success Prep tutoring program.

“I didn’t think we would have this big of a response,” Mr. Thompson said. “I am pleasantly surprised.”

The free tutoring program—also known as Supplemental Educational Services—was mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind act, which was signed into law in January 2002. In the final months of 2002, school districts in New York City and around the country hurried to get parents to sign their children up for the services.

In District 9, parents found out about the program in October. They had until mid-November to sign up for the program, until the deadline was pushed back to late November because the process was confusing. Parents had to shop for providers before signing up for the program.

The tutoring, which was supposed to begin after Thanksgiving, was also pushed back—it was supposed to begin in December. And while tutoring is just starting up now, Thompson says the district allowed parents to come to the district office in December and complete the “student plan” portion of the application.

The tutoring will run through June 19, and parents will have to reapply for next year’s program before September. Thompson said that as of yet, the central administration has not informed him of when that process will begin.

Students in the following District 9 schools are eligible for the free tutoring: I.S. 166 Roberto Clemente; I.S. 303; J.H.S. 22 J. L. Mott J.H.S.; J.H.S. 145 A. Toscanini J.H.S.; P.S. 2 Morrisania School; P.S. 11 Highbridge School; P.S. 42 Claremont Comm. School; P.S. 53 Basheer Quisim; P.S. 55 Benjamin Franklin School; P.S. 58; P.S. 70 Max Schoenfeld School; P.S. 73; P.S. 90 George Meany; P.S. 109 Sedgwick School; P.S. 110 Theo Schoenfeld School; P.S. 132 Garrett A. Morgan School; and P.S. 230 Dr. Roland N. Patterson.