my recipe for succ-SES (har har)

file under not at all surprising.

test prep companies don't get paid if the kids don't show up. i know from the EIA meeting mentioned in my last post that this part of the legislation is something the for-profits are lobbying against. but for the moment, they still have to get the kids to show up.

which brings me back to what i've been saying all along -- if you're a company wanting to get into the SES business, you can do no better than trying to get the teachers on your side:

• research shows that tutoring is most effective when there's a partnership between tutors and teachers.
• currently, teachers feel threatened by SES, the premise of which is that test prep instructor with a couple days' training can do their job better than they can.
• now, imagine there's an organization that makes teachers feel like they're a vital part of this SES process. they woo the teachers, make the teachers believe that their students will benefit most from enrolling in their program.
• once the teachers are wooed, maybe they will mention this organization at parent-teacher conferences, PTA meetings, and the like; this will
• increase word of mouth, and therefore
  
• increase enrollment, and
• reduce absences, since the teachers have more direct contact with the kids and teachers and may be more effective in getting them to show up.
• everyone wins, especially the kids, who benefit from a coordinated effort to meet their individual needs.

why isn't everyone having this lucrative insight? i got my answer when i floated the idea with the SES people at the major test prep company for which i work. they do not trust teachers. or rather, they don't trust teachers in the schools they're working in.

what's too bad is that it isn't only the for-profits' loss; it's the kids' loss.