Roanoke City schools have used tutoring in the past to help increase test scores on Adequate Yearly Progress. Those tutors were from the Sylvan Learning Center in Roanoke.
30 students are taking summer classes right now at Sylvan including Ollie Howie. He's enrolled in an SAT prep class.
"I won't have that summer lag in the beginning," says Howie who will be a junior this year at William Fleming High School, "Some kids just try to catch up and I'll already be still sharp."
Mateya Holterman is almost finished a six week course. Her mom says it's working.
"She's been struggling in reading since she's been in school and we just want to take an opportunity to give her a more focused one-on-one program," says Brooke Holterman, "There's a level of excitement to come and to learn that's normally not there with school."
Holterman knows all about AYP. She's a teacher in Roanoke City.
"Annual yearly progress is something I think that each school uses to notify the community if our school is up to par," says Holterman, "I don't think it's the end all if we made it or if we didn't make it."
Of course success in school starts at home.
Sylvan's Director of Education Carrie Crush says parents need to be involved in their child's education. That could include reading with them or helping with homework.
