Free Arizona tutoring program ends this summer. Families can still sign up
Parents have one more chance to sign their children up for a free tutoring program that the Arizona Department of Education said has resulted in notable academic gains.
The final six-week tutoring session begins Tuesday and will run through the first week of July.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne established the Achievement Tutoring Program last fall to address pandemic-related learning loss by paying teachers to help struggling students outside of the class day. More than 17,000 students have registered so far, according to an Arizona Department of Education news release, and pre- and post-tutoring test data shows 23% of students improved by half a school year in proficiency during the session that ran from January to February.
“Other students have seen smaller gains, and some have exceeded a half-year’s progress, but every increase in the proficiency rate is important,” Horne said in the release. “I urge parents of public-school children to take advantage of this opportunity. ... A child who is struggling in reading or math deserves this chance to be more successful in the classroom and children already doing well can do even better.”
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Participating schools offer tutoring on-site before or after the school day. Students can also receive help through private tutoring services free of charge.
Justina Ortiz, a special education worker in the Dysart Unified School District, characterized the program as a success. The program paid Ortiz to provide math tutoring to a fourth-grade student.
“Sometimes it’s hard, especially as a gen ed teacher. You have 30 kids, sometimes more, in your class, and you don’t always get that half-hour one-on-one with a student. So getting to know her and see the way her brain processes different things was really beneficial,” Ortiz said. “I saw the growth. I saw the success.”
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The department launched its first of five tutoring sessions in November. There are no current plans to continue the program in the future because the $40 million effort is funded through federal COVID-19 relief dollars that run out this year.
Ashley Sanchez, a teacher at Marley Park Elementary School in Surprise whose first grade son participated in an early tutoring session, said she saw his reading comprehension score double from two to four points in a 20-question assessment after tutoring. He's a “stubborn kid,” she said, with more ability than his performance might indicate.
The tutoring sessions can benefit students like her son who respond well to quiet settings outside of the classroom, Sanchez said.
“He’s just a different kid, and trying to get him to put in that effort can be a challenge,” Sanchez said. “It was better for him to be in a small group, like one in three, versus being in the whole class where he can be sneaky and not do the work.”
The program is open to K-12 students enrolled in a public district or charter school and covers math and English language arts skills. Students deemed below proficient by Arizona’s annual standardized tests are especially encouraged to apply. Parents can sign up by contacting AchievementTutoring@azed.gov.
Reach the reporter at nicholas.sullivan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Free Arizona tutoring program ends this summer. How to sign up
