A New Vision of Academic Support
Tutorial Program
By
Danny Byrnes
What is it
• A mainstream academic support program.
• An alternative to the traditional special education style
learning.
• Regular education teachers can meet with students that have
learning problems
• Tutorial is helpful for the learning disabled students in getting
away from the special education classrooms.
Why it was created
• Educators believed that too many students were being
diagnosed with learning disabilities.
• Creation of the tutorial was an alternative to special
education learning.
• The previous special education system was costly.
• Parents had concerns for the children about not getting
enough help in the content subjects from the special
education classroom.
• Students are in need of content based support.
Goals of program
• Originated in 2002 from a visit to Oxford by Robert
Weintraub(Headmaster of Brookline High school)
• He liked the content based tutorial teaching style and felt it had potential
in helping students who struggle academically.
• Wanted to have a mainstream approach in having students succeed
academically
• Less time in special education rooms, less paperwork, increase in morale,
and save the district money.
How it works
• Offers teams of two academic teachers: pairing a humanities
teacher with a math or sciences teacher.
• Each team is assigned 10 students for the school year.
• Matching student needs with teacher strengths.
• Meet once a day for 50 mins.
• Teachers help with content in specific areas, setting goals,
establish benchmarks, and communicate with other teachers
and parents.
How it works
• More available teachers if necessary.
• Ex: A student needs help to prepare for a test in world
language. The student can find a teacher in another tutorial
team that teaches world language. Same goes for math,
science, etc.
• Subject specific support.
How to pay for it
• How to spend $150,000 through the budget?
• Brookline high school has a 21st century fund and includes
help from alumni, parents, educators and philanthropists that
provide funds.
• Venture capital fund that supports solving problems in public
education.
Evaluation
• Harvard graduate school of education focused on 80 students. 40 from the
tutorial and 40 from the special education learning centers.
• Evaluators looked at academic performance from PSAT, SAT, state
assessments and grades
• Also took data from observations, teacher interviews, focus groups, parent
surveys, IEP’s and 504 plans.
• Results showed that students from the tutorial program had improved
grade scores, test scores, self confidence, and organization skills more
than the students in the special education learning center.
Results
• 40 students in the tutorial in 2002 compared to the 200 in 2009.
• Special education learning center numbers have dropped from 260
students to 160.
• From 2002 -2007, budget went from 110 million to 116 million- 20% to 25
%.
• Results show that students with disabilities in integrated and inclusive
classrooms have academic improvement in tests, goals, grades, behavior,
and motivation to learn.
Questions
• From what university did the tutorial program
originate from?
Answer
• Oxford University in 2002
Question 2
• Name one of the ways teachers help the
students in the tutorial setting?
Answer 2
•
•
•
•
Setting goals
Establishing benchmarks
Content in subject areas.
Communication with parents and teachers.
Question 3
• How does the school fund the tutorial
program?
Answer 3
• 21st century venture capital fund involving
alumni, parents educators, and
philanthropists.
• Julie Joyal Mowschenson, , and Robert J.
Weintraub. "Beyond Special Education- A New
Vision of Academic Support." (2009): 751-755.
Web. 29 Sep 2009.