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March 9, 2005
Update: Chicago tutoring standoff resolved
The showdown between Chicago Public Schools and the federal government over who can provide tutoring under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has ended, with both sides more or less declaring victory. Here's a summary of the Ed Week coverage, along with information about other supplemental educational services (SES) tiffs and bumps in the road, including one in Philadelphia that was amicably resolved.
SES challenges for school districts include urging more students to take advantage of SES, getting the most bang for the SES buck, and hoping the feds and states recognize the need to separate the quality programs from the fly-by-night's attracted by the big bucks. Chicago just pulled the plug on Platform Learning, reports the Chicago Tribune's Tracey Dell'Angela, amid parent and administrator complaints echoed in other districts that the program hasn't delivered.
In fairness, as we've noted, there are bound to be start-up difficulties with things like SES. Platform says it's working on the problems and will return. But it's understandable that school districts, which face greater and more urgent NCLB accountability than the feds, the states, or private players, may lose patience with providers who have better business plans than academic ones. NSBA's proposed fixes to NCLB address these kinds of issues, too.
Posted March 9, 2005 12:00 AM
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