Going to school is all about learning the facts. It's also about gaining knowledge on how to interpret these facts and form opinions based on them. While many students excel academically, there are an equal amount of those who do not. And the number of minority and low-income students in the San Diego Public Schools who don't succeed is way too high.

It's important to not only identify the students who are struggling, but to get them the help they need to succeed in school without feeling discouraged or stupid. Students attending San Diego Schools are among the millions of students throughout the nation who can take advantage of free services to help them catch up in school. While each individual school district offers a variety of programs to get students back on track when they need the extra help, can these programs alone meet the need?

Free Programs at San Diego Schools

San Diego Schools offer two interesting programs; tutor provider fairs, and live, on-line homework help. The homework help for students attending San Diego Schools is provided in conjunction with the San Diego Public Library, the City of San Diego, and http://tutor.com. Parents of students attending Program Improvement schools in San Diego Schools have been invited to attend one of seven tutoring provider fairs scheduled in July and August. This is key, because reaching out to parents of struggling students is often the answer.

The service provider fairs give San Diego Schools parents the opportunity to meet and speak with the tutoring providers and choose the one that best fits their students? needs.

Schools That Need Help

In many cases, entire San Diego Schools are the case in need. The federal No Child Left Behind Act provides options to parents of San Diego Schools students attending campuses that have been categorized as ?Program Improvement? for a minimum of one school year. Under the act, schools in program improvement for 2 years more must offer these San Diego Schools students supplemental educational services, which include free tutoring. San Diego Schools parents of students in affected schools received a booklet by mail detailing the program. More than 30 education providers are expected to attend. These programs are approved by the California Department of Education.

Live Homework Help is a free, live, one-to-one online tutoring service connecting students in San Diego Schools to qualified tutors from any Internet-enabled computer. English and Spanish-speaking tutors are available. San Diego Schools students, parents and teachers can connect to online tutors -- seven days a week any time between 1:00 - 10:00 pm. Students can use Live Homework Help whenever they need assistance. Currently, the service is only accessible on computers running Microsoft Windows. Work is underway to provide the service across other computer platforms, as well as within San Diego Schools themselves. Of course, that asks the question- do low-income students have access to computers?

To use Live Homework Help and connect with a live online tutor, a San Diego Schools student needs either a valid San Diego Public Library card number and Personal Identification Number (PIN) or a San Diego Public Library Access Card.