Several East Williston parents said Wednesday they oppose changes to the school district’s tutoring policy that the school board has heard many parents favor.
The change would prohibit East Williston teachers from tutoring students within the district for a fee, which the current policy allows as long as the student is not in any of the teacher’s classes.
Five parents said their children’s success in school might suffer with the change because district teachers know the students and the material they are learning in ways outside tutors would not.
“If the policy was changed and we had to go outside of the district, as parents, as a group, we’re probably wasting some percentage of that money on the teacher trying to figure out what’s happening in the school, how’s it being taught, what’s the curriculum,” parent Craig Gitlitz said. “It would be a shot to every parent, a loss to every parent, to have teachers from outside the district.”
The current policy, adopted in 2011, says the district generally discourages private tutoring and that students should first try to use free district services if they need help in a class. Teachers are also supposed to give students as much extra help in class as they can, board President Mark Kamberg said.
The school board opened a discussion on the policy at its May 4 work session after officials heard concerns from many parents that the policy was unfair, Kamberg said.
For instance, he said, some students cannot use district teachers because they are in classes with all the teachers who offer them.
“That student is actually at a disadvantage to other students that have the advantage to work with (district) teachers,” Kamberg said.
But parents speaking Wednesday said district teachers help their students learn material the way it is taught in their classes without the anxiety of a classroom setting, which an outside tutor could not do.
They can also speak with students’ teachers to understand what each child is struggling with, parent Gabby Yakubovich said.
Parent Alicia Gitlitz said East Williston teachers have always been professional and never tried to give her son any unfair advantage.
Changing the policy could also take away income on which teachers have come to rely, meaning they may have to tutor students elsewhere, parent Dale Bennett said.
“We’re sending off our best teachers to help students in other districts,” she said. “That doesn’t make sense to me. It’s counterintuitive.”
No parents spoke in favor of the policy change Wednesday, but parent Tasmeen Meghji said she thinks the current policy and the proposed change pose disadvantages because it is difficult to find outside tutors who match a child’s learning style as well as teachers.
Other North Shore districts including Roslyn, Herricks, Manhasset, Port Washington and Great Neck allow students to pay district teachers for tutoring, Craig Gitlitz said. But Kamberg said several other comparable districts prohibit the practice.
District officials first discussed the issue in 2010, but the school board has not taken any action on it, Trustee David Keefe said.
Policy changes would have to be publicly read at three board meetings before the board could adopt it, Kamberg said.
Gitlitz and 2011 Wheatley School graduate Jesse Manor asked why the school board did not do more to publicize Wednesday’s discussion, as they knew many parents would want to participate.
The notice was included in Superintendent Elaine Kanas’ weekly newsletter for multiple weeks leading up to the meeting, said Kamberg, adding that he was surprised more parents did not attend.
Reach reporter Noah Manskar by e-mail at nmanskar@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @noahmanskar and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
