Wake wants to start a new after-school math tutoring program. But there’s a hitch.

The severe school bus driver shortage could limit Wake County’s ability to start a new after-school math tutoring program for middle school students.

The Wake County school system plans to pilot the after-school math tutoring program for middle school students beginning in April or May before expanding it to more schools in the fall.

But one of the major limitations, school officials said, is having enough bus drivers to transport students who will attend the tutoring program.

“This is another area where things like transportation, in full transparency, become a challenge,” Drew Cook, assistant superintendent for academics, said at a recent school board student achievement committee meeting.

Test scores across the state and nation have dropped sharply since the pandemic. Wake school leaders have warned that the impact of the pandemic learning disruptions will likely be felt for years to come.

Wake has used COVID relief aid to address learning loss, particularly when it comes to helping students catch up on their literacy skills. But Cook said they also realize that the performance data shows a need to address math skills.

Transportation challenge

Using state funds, Cook said Wake will begin the after-school math tutoring program for middle school students at some schools and community sites in the spring. The district will provide the curriculum, teacher training and guidance on which students to prioritize.

Wake will also provide transportation at a time when there’s a 32% bus driver vacancy rate. The high number of vacancies is causing problems such as some bus runs going uncovered, forcing families to provide their own transportation when the bus doesn’t come.

Cook said the start date for the program is contingent upon the district’s ability to provide transportation at the school sites. He said it may come down to whether regional transportation managers think they have the capacity.

“You can and probably will end up with some schools being able to offer a program like this and some who will not be able to offer the programs, to put it bluntly,” Cook told school board members.

Summer programs

Cook also presented a preview of the summer learning programs that the district is planning to offer. He said it’s “not reality” to offer summer programs to everyone who wants it, so the school system has to prioritize what can be provided.

Wake will continue to provide Read To Achieve camps for second-grade and third-grade students who need help with reading. Last summer, 2,100 students attended the camp.

The district will also continue to offer the Power Scholars program, a partnership with the YMCA to provide additional education to students at a handful of elementary schools..

Wake is rebooting W.A.K.E. Learns, a program that will serve about 100 rising third-grade students who have above-average reading skills.

A program allowing elementary, middle and high school students to retake the state exams they failed will be back. Last year, Wake students retook 9,310 state end-of-grade exams.

At the high school level, Wake will continue to offer credit recovery programs this summer for students who failed courses. The Career Accelerator program will also be back to allow high school students to learn about different job fields.

Wake will start some new programs:

▪ On The Rise will serve about 100 rising sixth-grade and ninth-grade students who need additional math and reading help.

▪ Navigating New Environments will serve rising fourth-grade and fifth-grade students who are “multilingual learners” who need additional help with their English skills.

▪ Some academically gifted middle school and high school students will travel to the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics’ campus in Morganton for a one-week program.