>Were you around
>when this policy was instituted, and how did that process go?
I must have been, as I've been around since The Flood. Since I never heard
a peep about it, I'm just going to assume it was a good idea that someone
had and was able to just "make it so."
>How do new
>tutors unfamiliar with this requirement react when told about it?
Well, I don't actually know, but I would kind of think that the quid pro
quo--"We're giving you access to our stocked pond of kids, a place to do
your business that reduces some of the time you have to schlep around the
Boston burbs to make your living; now you give us some free or
reduced-rate hours with a few other kids as your way to 'pay your
rent'"--isn't so unreasonable. I suppose if they don't like it, they can
choose to drive around Newton and Brookline a few more hours in the
evenings or weekends.
>How is
>the determination made which students need tutoring but can't afford it?
More or less proportional to school financial aid award--the academic
services person has that confidential information.
Incidentally, we have a similar arrangement with a local SAT prep outfit,
whereby the benefit of the "partnership" to our community is a course
pricing structure that is proportional to FA award. Our business office
handles the confidential info and payment/billing. The company gets to
know that many of our full-pay families will work with them (convenient
on-campus weeknight classes), so a bunch of discounted enrollees are a
reasonable "price" the company is willing to pay--and the arrangement
gives us the opportunity to offer this service to all kids with a sense
that there is equity--i.e., not just test prep for the affluent; we even
supply free pizza for the weeknight classes and the offer of a van ride to
public transportation. (To get this arrangement we put out a full RFP to a
number of test-prep vendors, and several were willing to make similar
arrangments.)
Cheers--Peter Gow
Peter Gow, Director of College Counseling and Special Programs
Beaver Country Day School
791 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
www.bcdschool.org
Tel. 617-738-2755
FAX 617-738-2701
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