District Administration - October 2006 - (Page 54)

OUTSOURCING O UT is in By Carl Vogel More districts are hiring outside firms for everything from after-school tutoring to writing curricula specialist. Why wouldn't you some- NEARLY HALF OF THE STUDENTS materials and helps administer the t i mes call in a specialist, fi nd the classes. And after the session is over, at the McDonald County R-1 School best people you can for a job? Newton polls the parents to see how it District went to optional sum- went this year, more than 90 percent mer school for most of June this The Federal Mandate said they'd recommend the program year kids who were falling behind, That Keeps Giving to another parent. kids at the top of their class and When it comes to educational out- Summer Adventure is only one of kids in between. Six years ago, the sourcing, the big player in the field over several programs offered by Newton, 3,800-student district in southwest the last few years is Supplemental Edu- which is itself only one company in Missouri began offering Summer cational Services, which provides tutor- the burgeoning field of educational Adventure when it was on the verge ing for low-income students required outsourcing. School districts hire com- of being unaccredited due to its by No Child Left Behind for schools panies to run their bus service or bal- test scores. It's worked. Test scores that have not met state performance ance the books and since the 1970s, are up, and this summer McDonald goals for three consecutive years. many school districts have looked County was accredited with distinc- Although the law says eligible schools outside their payroll for help with the t ion. Summer Adventure had some- must spend 20 percent of their Title special instruction required for some t h i ng to do with that, says Superin- I money on SES, if enough children special education. But more and more, tendent Randy Smith. It's hard to don't sign up for the voluntary tutoring, districts are hiring an outside firm for separate out all the changes and give schools can keep the money in-house. everything from after-school tutoring them exact due, but I know the pro- SES participation among eligible stu- to college counseling, from analyzing g ra m has played a big, big role. dents was at 12 percent during the test scores to writing the curriculum It's a nice success story for the 2003-2004 school year, increasing to see sidebar on page 56 . McDonald County district, but they 19 percent in 2004-2005, according to It's not only schools every orga- can't take all the credit. Summer a recent report by the federal Govern- n i zat ion in America is moving in Adventure isn't run by McDonald ment Accountability Office. the direction of outsourcing, says County. It's a program that's now in While some districts fight the Arthur Levine, the former president place in about a quarter of the school requirement to spend district dollars of Teachers College in Columbia districts in Missouri and is run by on outside tutors, most notably Chi- University and now the president of Newton Learning, a division of Edison cago, others are glad to have a hand. the Woodrow Wilson National Fel- Schools. In the spring Newton brings With anything new, you see a con- lowsh ip Foundation. Here's an anal- magicians and skits to every grade to tinuum of adaptation. We've seen a lot og y: I have an internist that gives me get kids excited to sign up. The com- of schools embrace the opportunity to tests, but periodically she makes a pany provides the curriculum, trains work with another entity to help kids diagnosis and thinks I should see a the teachers, delivers all the necessary 54 October 2006 District Administration outsourcing.indd 54 9/15/06 1:50:33 PM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - October 2006

Table of Contents
Editor's Letter
Snapshots
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administration Profile
District Profile
Disaster Recovery
Tech Trends
COVER STORY: The Chicago Team
Out Is In
Algebra's At-Risk Solution
Rural Quality
Struggling Readers
The Online Edge
Speaking Out
Principal Opinion
Problem/Solution
Research Corner
Leadership Books
New Products
By the Numbers

District Administration - October 2006