Tutoring Achieves Program

Stamford Achieves has started "Tutoring Achieves," which is already making a difference in the reading skills of the 100 students from Davenport and Springdale Schools who received remedial help last summer and during this program year. With the state accreditation that was just received, Stamford Achieves will be able expand that program and initiate others in the coming school years to help more students, and to work with parents to help them become more involved with the education of their children.

In May 2007, Tutoring Achieves was designed in order to support the two pilot schools, Springdale and Davenport with specific assistance for the students farthest from achieving in literacy. Using the Benchmark series, a research proven intervention, tutors were hired and trained to provide after school instruction one hour three times a week. The program continued in the summer. The gains made prove that it is possible for these students to make progress. It takes a proven program, qualified and trained tutors and small group intensive instruction.

The Stamford School District requested that Stamford Achieves apply for State endorsement as a provider of Title 1 Supplemental Educational Services. This was accomplished and Tutoring Achieves currently has programs in four collaborative sites: Yerwood Community Center, Boys and Girls Club, CTE and Stark School. Over a hundred children have been served and the statistics from the summer indicate that of those children receiving 34 hours of service, 82% made significant improvement. Some children went from "seriously deficient" to "on grade level" in reading according to DRAs (specialized instruments) administered by the school district. This year’s data is still being collected but informal results for the more than 100 students served from September 2007 to June 2008 indicate similar excellent progress.

Objectives for Tutoring Achieves
Act as a research and development site in determining what interventions are successful models and then advocating for the use of these interventions.
Create a program that provides quality service and yet can be supported by the Title 1 funding mechanism.

Transfer the programmatic elements to the host community based organizations while maintaining a quality assurance, oversight of educational program and staff development elements that would be difficult and costly for non-profits.


Continue to attempt to assure that all eligible children receive this free and available service. Hundreds of children do not take advantage of this resource each year.

Accomplishments

Second Year of Title 1 Funded Supplemental Educational Services Tutoring

In the second year of service to eligible students identified by economic need, attendance in a school in need of improvement and their individual academic scores farthest from goal, Tutoring Achieves served 94 students in three community center locations: CTE, Boys and Girls Club, Yerwood Center.

78% of the 1st -3rd grade students served experienced a rise in their district reading DRA scores on their report cards
63% of all K-5th grade students experienced a rise on their program pre/post test scores.
24 students (about ¼) scored over 75% on the post test

Students leaving “the gap” by reaching grade level through a score of proficient had to rise two levels from “below standard” to “proficient” on district report cards:
2 first grade children achieved proficient
3 second grade children achieved proficient
1 second grade child reached “advanced” – 3 levels up to above grade level
2 third grade children achieved proficient
2 fifth grade children achieved proficient

Simply put, 10 children came out of the lowest remedial level with 9 coming up to grade level and one to above grade level as measured by the school district. This is over 10% of the children we served, making remarkable progress with less than 30 hours of small group tutoring.

Imagine if all children caught in the gap were provided with high quality supplemental services to address their needs?