Aida Mieja’s daughter ended middle school last year with two D’s — grades that left her feeling discouraged and self-conscious about being an English learner.
When her daughter entered Huntington Park High School in Los Angeles this fall, Mieja asked if tutoring was available, but was told only students with F’s or a teacher’s referral were eligible.
Meija picked up extra shifts cleaning offices on nights and weekends to pay the $470 a month to get a private tutor. She wonders, however, why that was necessary: The Los Angeles Unified School District is receiving $2.6 billion in federal relief funds through the American Rescue Plan — 20 percent of which has to be spent to address learning loss, according to the law.
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“Many educators are understandably exhausted from these past 18 months of school disruptions,” said Susanna Loeb, director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. “Implementing a new program — no matter how much funding is available for it or how much research supports its effectiveness — takes effort.”