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Tutors at Boys & Girls Clubs of Maury County get unique access to grade portal reserved for parents

Posted at 7:44 AM, Jan 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-28 08:44:28-05

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WTVF) — One-hundred percent of Maury County high school seniors graduate on time if they are enrolled in a tutoring and academic case management program at the local Boys & Girls Clubs.

"It really takes an intensive, individualized effort to bring them up to where they need to be," said Robyn Peery, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Maury County.

Students making Ds and Fs, those that have truancy issues or present other drop-out risk factors can receive personalized lessons from after-school tutors. The tutors have access to the school district's parent portal so they can monitor a student's performance in real-time.

"Instead of having to wait for report cards to come out four times a year, this is much more powerful data," said Peery.

During the 2018-2019 school year, 172 kids were tutored at the Boys & Girls Clubs in the county. Seven in ten students improved their grades by the fourth quarter. Almost all of the students, 93 percent, saw improvements in a core subject. At the end of the year, none of these students were held back.

"When you're not in the classroom with them and working with them everyday and you're not sure what's going on and where they're struggling... [the portal] helps," said Fran Tyson, a tutor.

The chairman of the Maury County School Board agreed that it was a smart decision to give tutors access to the website that was initially designed just for parents.

"It's almost a 24-hour learning situation [now]," Betty Kinser said. "This to me is just another connection... that can put [students] on the right path."

Last year, Boys & Girls Clubs of Maury County received a national award for the success of this academic program.