AMHERST — A tutoring program designed to help elementary students in Amherst Exempted Village Schools improve their reading skills has been put on hold.
The move stems from the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to pull back the final COVID-19 relief funds that the State of Ohio was utilizing to cover expenses. States like Ohio had been granted spending extensions or deadlines.
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce said funding from the Education Stabilization Fund was supposed to last through the end of June.
In an email, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce told me, “On March 28, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to State Chiefs of Education modifying the liquidation time period of the Education Stabilization Fund. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is looking into available options for impacted funds.”
Mike Molnar, superintendent of Amherst Exempted Village Schools, was shocked to learn about the change.
“It was immediate. We received the email on March 31, and the pause went into effect on March 28. Fortunately, we were approaching spring break, so we had some time to think and process what was happening. But essentially, it shut down our high-dosage tutoring right away,” Molnar said.
Molnar provided a copy of the email that came from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
The email said, “On Friday, state education agencies were informed by the U.S. Department of Education that late liquidation requests for COVID funds, including CARES, CRRSA, and ARP programs, will no longer be honored after March 28. The high-dosage tutoring your students are currently receiving through state contracts is supported by this funding. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is currently assessing the implications and timing of this notification. Additional guidance from the U.S. Department of Education is expected soon. In the meantime, tutoring vendors have been directed to pause work immediately. We apologize for this sudden change. The Department will provide further updates as more information becomes available.”
High-dosage tutoring
High-dosage tutoring is a state requirement for students on reading improvement monitoring plans (RIMP).
District leaders told me about 140 students at Powers Elementary and Walter G. Nord School took part in the tutoring, which occurred during the school day three times a week for 30 minutes each session.
Amplify, a vendor approved by the state and based in New York, provided the online tutoring and worked with small groups of students (four or fewer).
Mackenzie Hall, the district’s director of curriculum and intervention, said the program has helped close achievement gaps.
“I actually had an opportunity to sit in on some of their tutoring sessions as part of our review process and was just really impressed with the quality of the instruction, its alignment to the science of reading and our reading curriculum,” Hall said. “So, it has been a great support for our kids.”
Molnar and Hall said the district is now working on a plan to still provide targeted reading instruction to ensure students don’t lose the extra support they need.
Molnar said it would cost about $30,000 to continue services with Amplify for the rest of the school year.
“So that option’s still on the table,” Molnar said. “But again, as we're approaching May, the end of the school year, most of our funds that were allocated and budgeted for the year are pretty much spent and used.”
