80 Ashton and B.F. Norton students getting after-school tutoring

CUMBERLAND - School Committee members last week agreed to direct $126,000 in federal funds to an after-school tutoring program for 80 children attending Ashton and B.F. Norton elementary schools who've been identified as "at risk" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Both schools were singled out by state officials last spring for having population subgroups, the disabled and disadvantaged, that have repeatedly missed expectations for achievement in math or language arts or both.

Cumberland administrators were required to allow parents of all children in both schools to switch to another elementary school in town. About two dozen from each school are attending a different school this year. Many changed schools to be near day-care providers, according to Superintendent Donna Morelle.

The new after-school program will be managed by the Dunn Institute, the same organization that brought a literacy professional development program to elementary school teachers last year.

Morelle told the School Committee the funding covers 15 weeks of instruction, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., Mondays and Tuesdays, along with supplies and late busing. Classes will begin on Nov. 9.

Funds became available for this program, member Lisa Beaulieu noted, because the two schools have populations of low-income students that made them eligible for extra federal funds.

She expressed the hope that at-risk children in schools that don't qualify for the federal Title I funding might also get the extra after-school help.