FCPS Data shows that Tutor.com is a failture

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was only rolled out on April 14 of SY 2021-22. Is that even two months? Maybe it's a total failure but it seems premature to say so now.

+1. My God.

FCPS introduces a measure to address learning loss - an unprecedented event - it doesn't go well for the first quarter and then people are screaming failure. Give it a chance. One issue we have run into is a tutor not being available at a desired time. I don't know if that's a widespread problem though.

They made a mess of it by keeping kids out of school for so long so no, we are not in the mood to be “understanding”

LOL. We spent all of last year trying to keep your kids from leaving class to roam the hallways with their friends and fight in the bathrooms, and this year we can't even get a large number of them to attend regularly enough to pass their classes. The "kept schools closed" argument is a cheap scapegoat whose time has passed.

I don't blame teachers for closing schools - it seemed like a good idea at the time. But I think many people are discounting the extreme and long-lasting effects it had on children, teens, and adults.

My grandparents never recovered from the Great Depression. I don't discount the trauma of the short overall period of time of closures.

This.

As someone who worked in hospital, I will never be able to forget how public schools cavalierly abandoned their sacred duties during the 2020-21 school year.

And how I was told that I was “selfish” for wanting my child with an IEP learn in person. And the IEP meeting where the case manager lied over and over agin about how services were being delivered effectively. And spent money that I don’t have to pay for a tutor trying to help him catch up when it was clear that the school was not going to do anything about his lack of progress since March of 2020.

Sorry, but the trauma was real. I’m so very glad not every family experienced what I did. But it was and is awful that schools did this to many children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was only rolled out on April 14 of SY 2021-22. Is that even two months? Maybe it's a total failure but it seems premature to say so now.

+1. My God.

FCPS introduces a measure to address learning loss - an unprecedented event - it doesn't go well for the first quarter and then people are screaming failure. Give it a chance. One issue we have run into is a tutor not being available at a desired time. I don't know if that's a widespread problem though.

They made a mess of it by keeping kids out of school for so long so no, we are not in the mood to be “understanding”

LOL. We spent all of last year trying to keep your kids from leaving class to roam the hallways with their friends and fight in the bathrooms, and this year we can't even get a large number of them to attend regularly enough to pass their classes. The "kept schools closed" argument is a cheap scapegoat whose time has passed.

I don't blame teachers for closing schools - it seemed like a good idea at the time. But I think many people are discounting the extreme and long-lasting effects it had on children, teens, and adults.

My grandparents never recovered from the Great Depression. I don't discount the trauma of the short overall period of time of closures.

This.

As someone who worked in hospital, I will never be able to forget how public schools cavalierly abandoned their sacred duties during the 2020-21 school year.

And how I was told that I was “selfish” for wanting my child with an IEP learn in person. And the IEP meeting where the case manager lied over and over agin about how services were being delivered effectively. And spent money that I don’t have to pay for a tutor trying to help him catch up when it was clear that the school was not going to do anything about his lack of progress since March of 2020.

Sorry, but the trauma was real. I’m so very glad not every family experienced what I did. But it was and is awful that schools did this to many children.

So maybe, just maybe, instead of spending buckets of money on this ridiculous Tutor.com contract, find a way to actually HELP kids that are behind. Cause a texting website if not helping 95% of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are tired of online school, including tutoring. They should have used the funds to hire in person tutors to come to the schools before or after the school day or on weekends for consistent help for the students who really need it.

Are you willing to tutor? Because there’s nobody to hire.

[Anonymous]

My 6th grader and 8th grader never have any homework. The ES is a no homeowrk school. The MS-er seems to get tons and tons of freetime during the day to do work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it depressing that parents and kids couldn’t be bothered to use free tutor.com help. At least try it before assuming it doesn’t work.

There is no staffing to hire in person tutors. And you can’t use ESSER money to hire staff (and there is no one to hire anyway).

This. Who the hell cares if “people are tired of online school?” They made the tutors available. If your kid needs help and you didn’t use them, that’s a You Problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read about this on Twitter from one of the parent advocacy groups. Normally I discount everything that they say, but I'm glad that they highlighted this failure. In the wake of this report, the school board working session on November 1st to discuss this report and FCPS's learning loss efforts, more generally, was unexpectedly canceled.

The most informative quote from the report:

During the fourth grading quarter, 3,189 FCPS students and families, just 1.6% of the FCPS population, accessed the platform for learning support, which equates to a cost per participant of $153 for those who used it. With a median of 29 minutes among those using Tutor.com during SY 2021-22, data indicate that half of all FCPS users accessing the platform did so for less than 30 minutes while the other half did so for more than 30 minutes. The total time among all FCPS users logged into Tutor.com during SY 2021-22 (3,760 hours) translates into an hourly tutoring cost of $130 per hour. Furthermore, while the amount of time individual students or families were logged into Tutor.com ranged from 1 to 2,699 minutes, analyses indicate that almost three-quarters of student users (72 percent) used it for less than one hour, an amount of time that is unlikely to yield tangible benefits to student achievement, particularly for those with greater academic need.

You would think that this would mean that Gatehouse would recommend that FCPS terminate the contract. Nope!

Recommendations to the Superintendent
Based on the conclusions in this report, ORSI offers the following recommendations to the Superintendent.
• Increase communication regarding use of Tutor.com as an intervention resource for students with greater academic need.
• Continue to monitor usage of the Tutor.com resource during SY 2022-23.
• Monitor equity of access to the resource by student academic risk and student group.
• Explore differences in responses to academic intervention by academic risk group.

Ridiculous!

Read the rest of the report here: https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/CKQJTV4EC65A/$file/Tutor.com%20write%20up%20%20mf.pdf

Tutor.com fleeced FCPS. They charged FCPS $153 an hour while turning around and paying the people they employ to work as "tutors" $15 an hour. Gross.

This is typical big govt.....why didnt parents get wyzant vouchers? actually can pick decent tutors, money goes to them and wyzant charges just a couple of bucks--which is really minimal--and yet even qyzant probably makes money---this is why I vote only one way...big govt is only good for non individuals...

You’re not getting vouchers. Not for school and not for tutoring. Give it up with this tired old song.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn’t physical textbooks help more? If a child was confused, they could refer to their math textbook? It could also help parents explain if their child is using a method that they are unfamiliar with.

Just a thought.

It’s 2022, not 1990. Not happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

You aren’t getting vouchers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was only rolled out on April 14 of SY 2021-22. Is that even two months? Maybe it's a total failure but it seems premature to say so now.

+1. My God.

FCPS introduces a measure to address learning loss - an unprecedented event - it doesn't go well for the first quarter and then people are screaming failure. Give it a chance. One issue we have run into is a tutor not being available at a desired time. I don't know if that's a widespread problem though.

They made a mess of it by keeping kids out of school for so long so no, we are not in the mood to be “understanding”

Yawwwwwn. You’re boring. Your perseveration is mentally unhealthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was only rolled out on April 14 of SY 2021-22. Is that even two months? Maybe it's a total failure but it seems premature to say so now.

+1. My God.

FCPS introduces a measure to address learning loss - an unprecedented event - it doesn't go well for the first quarter and then people are screaming failure. Give it a chance. One issue we have run into is a tutor not being available at a desired time. I don't know if that's a widespread problem though.

They made a mess of it by keeping kids out of school for so long so no, we are not in the mood to be “understanding”

LOL. We spent all of last year trying to keep your kids from leaving class to roam the hallways with their friends and fight in the bathrooms, and this year we can't even get a large number of them to attend regularly enough to pass their classes. The "kept schools closed" argument is a cheap scapegoat whose time has passed.

I don't blame teachers for closing schools - it seemed like a good idea at the time. But I think many people are discounting the extreme and long-lasting effects it had on children, teens, and adults.

My grandparents never recovered from the Great Depression. I don't discount the trauma of the short overall period of time of closures.

This.

As someone who worked in hospital, I will never be able to forget how public schools cavalierly abandoned their sacred duties during the 2020-21 school year.

And how I was told that I was “selfish” for wanting my child with an IEP learn in person. And the IEP meeting where the case manager lied over and over agin about how services were being delivered effectively. And spent money that I don’t have to pay for a tutor trying to help him catch up when it was clear that the school was not going to do anything about his lack of progress since March of 2020.

Sorry, but the trauma was real. I’m so very glad not every family experienced what I did. But it was and is awful that schools did this to many children.

Are you always this absurdly melodramatic, or only on DCUM?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was only rolled out on April 14 of SY 2021-22. Is that even two months? Maybe it's a total failure but it seems premature to say so now.

+1. My God.

FCPS introduces a measure to address learning loss - an unprecedented event - it doesn't go well for the first quarter and then people are screaming failure. Give it a chance. One issue we have run into is a tutor not being available at a desired time. I don't know if that's a widespread problem though.

They made a mess of it by keeping kids out of school for so long so no, we are not in the mood to be “understanding”

LOL. We spent all of last year trying to keep your kids from leaving class to roam the hallways with their friends and fight in the bathrooms, and this year we can't even get a large number of them to attend regularly enough to pass their classes. The "kept schools closed" argument is a cheap scapegoat whose time has passed.

I don't blame teachers for closing schools - it seemed like a good idea at the time. But I think many people are discounting the extreme and long-lasting effects it had on children, teens, and adults.

My grandparents never recovered from the Great Depression. I don't discount the trauma of the short overall period of time of closures.

This.

As someone who worked in hospital, I will never be able to forget how public schools cavalierly abandoned their sacred duties during the 2020-21 school year.

And how I was told that I was “selfish” for wanting my child with an IEP learn in person. And the IEP meeting where the case manager lied over and over agin about how services were being delivered effectively. And spent money that I don’t have to pay for a tutor trying to help him catch up when it was clear that the school was not going to do anything about his lack of progress since March of 2020.

Sorry, but the trauma was real. I’m so very glad not every family experienced what I did. But it was and is awful that schools did this to many children.

Are you always this absurdly melodramatic, or only on DCUM?

Are you seriously making fun of the mom of a kid with an IEP who missed out on key services for over a year? Shame on you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it depressing that parents and kids couldn’t be bothered to use free tutor.com help. At least try it before assuming it doesn’t work.

There is no staffing to hire in person tutors. And you can’t use ESSER money to hire staff (and there is no one to hire anyway).

This. Who the hell cares if “people are tired of online school?” They made the tutors available. If your kid needs help and you didn’t use them, that’s a You Problem.

Okay, so I guess blaming parents for not using Tutor.com is the 2022 version of blaming parents in 2020 for their children not thriving in virtual school. Got it. Thanks FCPS booster.

BTW, we tried Tutor.com. It was not helpful. The person was unfamiliar with the math approach that DD's teacher used and first tried to teach her another approach. Over text. It only confused DD more and wasted everyone's time and energy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it depressing that parents and kids couldn’t be bothered to use free tutor.com help. At least try it before assuming it doesn’t work.

There is no staffing to hire in person tutors. And you can’t use ESSER money to hire staff (and there is no one to hire anyway).

This. Who the hell cares if “people are tired of online school?” They made the tutors available. If your kid needs help and you didn’t use them, that’s a You Problem.

Exactly, use it or don’t. It’s one more tool and it works form some people. There is not a solution without any obstacles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was only rolled out on April 14 of SY 2021-22. Is that even two months? Maybe it's a total failure but it seems premature to say so now.

+1. My God.

FCPS introduces a measure to address learning loss - an unprecedented event - it doesn't go well for the first quarter and then people are screaming failure. Give it a chance. One issue we have run into is a tutor not being available at a desired time. I don't know if that's a widespread problem though.

They made a mess of it by keeping kids out of school for so long so no, we are not in the mood to be “understanding”

LOL. We spent all of last year trying to keep your kids from leaving class to roam the hallways with their friends and fight in the bathrooms, and this year we can't even get a large number of them to attend regularly enough to pass their classes. The "kept schools closed" argument is a cheap scapegoat whose time has passed.

I don't blame teachers for closing schools - it seemed like a good idea at the time. But I think many people are discounting the extreme and long-lasting effects it had on children, teens, and adults.

My grandparents never recovered from the Great Depression. I don't discount the trauma of the short overall period of time of closures.

This.

As someone who worked in hospital, I will never be able to forget how public schools cavalierly abandoned their sacred duties during the 2020-21 school year.

And how I was told that I was “selfish” for wanting my child with an IEP learn in person. And the IEP meeting where the case manager lied over and over agin about how services were being delivered effectively. And spent money that I don’t have to pay for a tutor trying to help him catch up when it was clear that the school was not going to do anything about his lack of progress since March of 2020.

Sorry, but the trauma was real. I’m so very glad not every family experienced what I did. But it was and is awful that schools did this to many children.

Are you always this absurdly melodramatic, or only on DCUM?

Are you seriously making fun of the mom of a kid with an IEP who missed out on key services for over a year? Shame on you.

I’m not the PP but I’m gonna add another insight as both a parent of a child with an IEP and a teacher. The special education services that FCPS provide are not great and to be frank they’re really horrible. I can’t imagine that the student missed a lot because what if FCPS provides is practically nothing. When you go to IEP meetings, just assume that half of the services they tell you the student is getting and half of the progress they report is fabricated. When I have attended meetings and they reported on progress, I personally have not seen that progress. I have attend meetings where they make up data. And as a teacher, the SPED support is often, repeat often, not in the room for the hours indicated in the IEP.

[Anonymous]

The burdens imposed by federal law in schools for special education are ridiculous since they don’t come with money to fulfill them. FCPS spends a huge amount on special Ed and people are still unhappy. It seems it would be better to provide specialized services in special schools.