Learn More about SES
What is Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Program?
Supplemental Educational Services (SES) tutoring is available free-of-charge to students of low-income families whose Title 1 school has failed to make adequate academic improvements over time. SES refers to academic tutoring and remedial help in subjects such as reading, language arts and math. This extra help is free to students because it is paid for by the federal government and can be provided before or after school, on weekends, or even during the summer. Providers of SES may include non-profit and for-profit entities, public schools, public charter schools, private schools, higher education institutions, faith-based organizations and more. Each school year, a district must present a list of state approved SES providers for parents to select from.
Why is SES at Risk?
Congress is considering eliminating SES or making SES optional even if students are attending a failing school and their families can not afford to pay for tutoring. A failing school could decide to stop offering tutoring to students who need it, and keep the money the federal government has been providing for itself. Federal officials are not convinced that after school tutoring is effective, and local school districts are happy about getting a new pot of money. Unless parents and students speak up, SES is at risk of going away completely leaving low income students in need of tutoring with no more SES.
Why is SES Important?
SES is important for many reasons:
- SES Helps Students
Education is a fundamental civil right -- one which is not available to all children on an equal basis. SES offers students a unique chance to break the cycle of poor education by receiving the type of intensive academic help required to catch up, excel, and create opportunities for the future. - SES Helps Teachers
Teachers are often overworked and underpaid, and districts have trouble recruiting good talent. SES helps teachers make their time go further by supplementing instruction with the type of time-consuming personal attention that teachers are not always able to offer. - SES Creates Jobs
Providers of SES Tutoring create thousands of good jobs every year. These jobs are both Part-Time and Full-Time. They exist in every state. They are impossible to ship overseas. And, fundamentally, people working these jobs help make America's future labor force more competitive.
