P.S. 55 Uses Remote Tutoring to Promote Literacy

Students at P.S. 55 in the South Bronx get help from tutors. But instead of appearing in-person, they tutor remotely, using software developed by Innovations for Learning.

A student reads while talking the phone with a tutor.  The tutor sees a computer display of the book and coaches students as they sound out words.

P.S. 55 (and schools in Chicago, Detroit, Miami and Washington) is testing the program with its fourth grade class. In 2010, only 15 percent of the school’s third graders passed the state English exam.

According to The New York Times, tutors are reluctant to show up at the school because of its location, a 20-minute walk from the closest subway in a tough neighborhood.

But not everyone is convinced the technology works as well as a tutor who is present. Joanne Meier, of the literacy-based initiative Reading Rockets, told the Times that remote tutors aren’t as effective if they can’t read a student’s facial expressions and body language. “Subtleties are missed with a phone call,” she told the Times.

The New York Times