After Misuse, a Push to Continue Tutoring Mandate
Enlargephoto by: Douglas Young
This is the fourth story in a series on how the state spent millions tutoring its poorest students — and has little to show for it. Find the first story here, the second story here and the third story here.
A decade after it became law as a part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, a tutoring program heralded as an academic safety net for children from low-income families in struggling schools has earned few champions — and lost many supporters.
“It was an unmitigated disaster,” said Michael Petrilli, a former Bush administration official who helped develop and promote the initiative during his four years in the federal Education Department. “It was a poorly thought-through policy, and I think it has run its course and should be allowed to die.”
Under the No Child Left Behind tutoring program, underperforming schools had to set aside a portion of the federal financing they received for economically disadvantaged students to
