FCPS Data shows that Tutor.com is a failture

[Anonymous]

For the thousandth time, they didn’t have enough teachers wiling to teach summer school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best and easiest plan of action was for FCPS to temporarily extensively offer summer school (essentially 11 month teacher contracts). Students who didn't want to or need to attend these schools would not need to but otherwise it would be widely available.

What happened is that summer school was a last minute rush so parents had already made plans like camp, etc. We were told our children could attend summer session a week before the school year ended. We had already spent thousands in camps/daycare, so it was a no for us, but I imagine many parents were in the same boat.

My view is summer school notices and plans should be firms set BEFORE spring break not the week before school ends.

The staffing for the doesn't exist.

A pony would be more feasible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear in the wake of this report that online hw help cannot be the primary answer when it comes to how FCPS addresses learning loss.

Instead, FCPS must level with parents where students are behind & provide direct academic intervention to those students most in need.

As a parent, how do you NOT know where your kids are deficient? I get that there are some parents who can't or don't have the time to know this information. The vast majority, however, do. So pick up the slack and do it.

You can rest on righteous principle ("It's not mY rESponsIbIlTy!") or make sure your kids succeed.

Because parents trust the schools -- the "experts" -- thinking that the schools will remediate any issues, or at least let the parents know if they see a problem. Some of this is a layover when schools were more capable, could communicate in clearer language, and had smaller numbers of difficult students with which to deal. But a) schools aren't very good at remediation, and b) communication is limited, misleading, and opaque. It can be very difficult to penetrate through the jargon for smart, well-educated people; it is much worse for the not-so-smart and poorly educated who don't read bureaucratic educationese, and whose children are more likely to have problems.

https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2020/08/06/what-the-words-say

"But the schools kept telling her C.J. was doing fine. His grades were good. He was a well-behaved kid. Then, seventh grade, 2018. C.J. had moved to a new school that year, a public charter school in Nashville. C.J.’s adviser called Sonya in for a meeting. She told her that C.J. was reading on a second-grade level."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best and easiest plan of action was for FCPS to temporarily extensively offer summer school (essentially 11 month teacher contracts). Students who didn't want to or need to attend these schools would not need to but otherwise it would be widely available.

What happened is that summer school was a last minute rush so parents had already made plans like camp, etc. We were told our children could attend summer session a week before the school year ended. We had already spent thousands in camps/daycare, so it was a no for us, but I imagine many parents were in the same boat.

My view is summer school notices and plans should be firms set BEFORE spring break not the week before school ends.

The staffing for the doesn't exist.

A pony would be more feasible.

Then the answer is not to waste funds on ineffective programs.

If they cannot staff remediation, then they need to outsource it via vouchers etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My high school daughter has used it successfully for IB math homework. She’s very happy with it and is ticked that the students were never told directly about it. She didn’t believe me the first few times I mentioned it, but when she finally agreed to try it, she liked it (ish). By no means does this mean she is caught up in math, though. So much damage was done here.

My high schooler’s teachers all mentioned it in the syllabus. I looked into it and it seemed like voice or text help online. My kid did not do well with virtual school and it seemed like more of that. It seems like an organized student could take advantage of this if they had specific, targeted questions. That’s not my kid who’s basically like - I don’t know how to start this project so I didn’t do it.

Exactly. FCPS' own data shows that Tutor.com was accessed almost entirely by students who were already high achieving.

[Anonymous]

of course it is a failure. it is over the phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tutor.com was always pointless because it's just one off homework help. If they had partnered with a group that offered regular sessions to help a student catch up rather than just helping with discreet problems, it might have worked.

Yes, I would have liked a regular tutor to provide overall help in academics for my kids, but we never used tutor.com because it’s just for specific homework questions.

[Anonymous]

Here is the thing. My child was struggling with a high school class last year. I wasn't going to mess around with this tutor.com bc I needed the child to get consistent help from the same person as the grade was going on the transcript. And this child is great at math, but clearly missed some basics during the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:of course it is a failure. it is over the phone.

Read the report. Most kids gave positive feedback to the service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best and easiest plan of action was for FCPS to temporarily extensively offer summer school (essentially 11 month teacher contracts). Students who didn't want to or need to attend these schools would not need to but otherwise it would be widely available.

What happened is that summer school was a last minute rush so parents had already made plans like camp, etc. We were told our children could attend summer session a week before the school year ended. We had already spent thousands in camps/daycare, so it was a no for us, but I imagine many parents were in the same boat.

My view is summer school notices and plans should be firms set BEFORE spring break not the week before school ends.

The staffing for the doesn't exist.

A pony would be more feasible.

Actually, FCPS did run various schools on a year round calendar. They cut it for cost saving during the 2008 recession when property tax revenues went in the crapper.

Operationally, this is definitely possible. They would need to pay in alignment with the teacher's actual salary (so based on the experience/education of the teacher instead of a low flat payment). But if they did this and told me to plan for this now, I could easily fully staff a summer program in my school for every student that is struggling or wants summer learning.

I had one week to plan for this last year. Staffing, identifying students, and figuring out schedules. In the middle of SOL remediation and re-takes, end of the year IEP meetings, etc. So, it was a mess.

I've asked for more lead time, but the answer has been stalling from my supervisors.

-Elem. principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the thousandth time, they didn’t have enough teachers wiling to teach summer school.

+1, yep. No one wants to teach it.

[Anonymous]

We used tutor.com and my main complaint was that they focused on one question when they should be willing to help the kid work through a whole assignment to really understand the concepts. Sessions definitely too short in my opinion and kids are not the best at figuring out how to ask for help.

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher in Loudoun County and have found it to be successful with students and a much needed service! The demographic is perhaps different but I do not understand a parent complaining about a service such as this being offered. The goal is to reach students that do not have the financial ability to seek out private tutoring and the services are made available 24/7. This is a free opportunity..if it does not meet your needs then you may choose to not utilize the services. If your student needs more or different services then this is not for you. The attitudes of Fairfax County never cease to amaze me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the thousandth time, they didn’t have enough teachers wiling to teach summer school.

…for what they were paying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the thousandth time, they didn’t have enough teachers wiling to teach summer school.

+1, yep. No one wants to teach it.

…for what they were paying.