Fentress County Schools set to use a $75,000 Tutoring Innovation Grant to help bolster their in-house tutoring services.
Fentress County Schools Director Kristi Hall said the grant is intended to increase the number of tutoring instructors. They will also use training to help guide students towards academic success.
“Our students in Fentress County will be able to access tutoring before school, after school, or during the school day — whatever meets their schedule the best,” Hall said. “We’ve got some great instructors for this, and so we’ve really encouraged parents to take advantage of it.”
Hall said the state requires small-group tutoring sessions be offered within public schools, but normally does not provide additional funding to accompany the new legislation. Hall said the new grant will help bridge the gap and give the students a leg-up toward their academic goals.
“So to really boost our students’ success in their subject areas,” Hall said. “So this has given them some very intensive, very small ratio group instruction that will really help them toward mastering our standards.”
Hall said the school system is using a variety of teachers as tutoring instructors and have even tapped into a pool of retired teachers who are coming back to help out and provide further academic expertise.
“We like to call it a boost rather than tutoring,” Hall said. “We know that while core instruction is a wonderful opportunity for students to learn, sometimes students need just a little additional support and push. And so we’re grateful to be able to have this grant.”
Hall said the newly-bolstered tutoring program will impact young learners all across Fentress County.
“We are going to strengthen our instructor’s capacity providing great services with some support, some coaching support through this grant, and then again, ultimately improving our student outcomes,” Hall said.
Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program testing for Fentress County Schools started on Tuesday for middle school and elementary school students along with high school end-of-course exams.
“The laws is that we have to provide these services,” Hall said. “So this is exciting. It’s a way for us to learn and grow alongside the students.”
