Is Factoring right for your SES Provider Business?

What is Factoring?

Factoring is the name given to financial services that use short term loans to businesses. The businesses usually have a sizable outlay of capital that goes along with delivering their products or services. These expenditures are typically covered when the invoice is paid by the recipient of the products or services.

Since in most cases payment terms are agreed upon in advance, there may be a 30 to 90 day delay before the provider business receives payment. As more and more orders for products/services are received, the outlay of capital approaches a limit set by the business operations. With the outstanding receivables not yet due or received, the business must find other ways to meet operational expenses.

Enter Factoring financial services. Factoring companies provide short term loans to these businesses to help them maintain proper cashflow to meet their operational expenses. Usually the loans come due in 90 days or less. Loans are secured by the contract for payment (e.g. the invoice to customer) being held as collateral.

Why is Factoring important to SES Providers?

Businesses that typically rely on Factoring financial services are usually in the shipping or trucking industry. Within the past few years Financial Services companies have extended their business model to include Supplemental Educational Services Providers. Because SES Providers usually have a contract with the School Districts which they serve, the invoice for tutoring services becomes a reliable element of collateral that can be used to secure a short term loan.

The Factoring service loan helps the SES Provider meet their expenses including rent, utilities, insurance and salaries while waiting the 30 days or so for the District to reimburse them for the tutoring services they have provided. When the District releases the monies they are paid directly to the Factoring services company which, in turn, recovers their part of the loan then releases any outstanding funds (less a small percentage service fee) to the Provider.

Is Factoring right for your SES business?

“We factor all types of businesses on a daily basis to the tune of $300M a year,” says Trent Shepard of Aero Fund Financial, the leading resource for Factoring for SES Providers. “For SES Provider companies, whether we can factor with them depends on whether the school district will allow it. To date we have only had two school districts (in the country) that do not work with factoring companies,” continues Shepard.

Shepard notes that in a factoring scenario, the contractual relationship between the District and the SES Provider remains undisturbed. “Keep in mind you are not assigning the contract,” says Shepard. “You are simply changing the remit address to our address and keeping your name on the payment.” Once the factoring company has verified the invoice with the District, factoring monies can be disbursed. Usually verification is done via a phone call to the District, but “In the case of a school using the Cayen system, we can verify by logging onto the Cayen system,” finishes Shepard.

Factoring is an excellent way for SES Providers to maintain their cashflow while meeting the operating expenses in providing services to school districts. Aero Fund Financial is the leader in providing such loans to SES Providers. Aero Fund Financial has been loaning to Provides for more than 5 years and they have an in depth understanding of how the SES business works.

For more information contact ODDTech SES @ 614.946.9541.

What Districts are looking for in your Student Learning Plan (Pt. 2)

Preparing Your Student Learning Plan

The Student Learning Plan (SLP) is the most important tool you will have when determining the best way to achieve the goals established for the student through your Assessment Testing. The Learning Plan outlines not only What is to be achieved (e.g. the goals) but also addresses the questions of How, When and Where this achievement will take place.

In our previous post we discussed how to establish the goals of an SLP using the S.M.A.R.T method. Once your Learning Plan goals have been identified, assembling the complete SLP will rough in all the necessary elements that make achieving the goals not only possible but, if implemented correctly, probable.

Getting Organized

The first step in creating your Learning Plans is to organize all the information necessary to create a successful Plan. In a nutshell you will need the following items for each student:

1. Assessment Scores
2. Name and Description of Tutoring Materials
3. Name and addresses of Tutoring Locations
4. Estimate of how many Tutoring Sessions you plan to offer
5. Tutoring Session schedule (e.g. days, start/end times)

In the event of online tutoring you will not need to be specific about #5 since these typically are not Teacher Directed group sessions. For all other types of tutoring (e.g. small group, large group, one-on-one, in-home) you will need to have each item specifically addressed for all students.

We typically recommend Providers setup a table or spreadsheet with columns representing each piece of information to be collected. This table should be sorted for the most efficient processing. The sorting should be first by the column representing Location, then by Student Grade. On a separate table list the Student Name, ID and goals selected (or a group of goals from which the final goals are to be selected). With these two tables complete, you are ready to begin assembling the Learning Plans in an efficient and organized fashion.

Coding the Goals

In our last post we talked about the different categorization of goals to which a Provider must adhere. Depending on the District, the Provider must choose from state standard, District mandated or Provider/Tutor custom goals. In the event the Provider is required to use a state or District standard it becomes important to be able to choose among many goals quickly and efficiently to establish the Student Learning Plan.

We usually recommend Coding the Goals using this simple process: first divide the lists of goals up by subject (math or reading). Next, sort the goals by grade level. Once this is done you should be able to list the goals alpha numerically on a sheet of paper. From here, simply apply a number (or alpha character) to each goal within each grade level. For example, for grade level 3 reading (3rd Grade) there may be seven goals/sub-goals listed. By listing each goal and it’s sub-component with an alpha character, you can easily identify the goal to be used for the student. In our example, our goal for student Darlene for reading may be 3g-1 (3rd grade goal G sub goal 1). Using this method to “code” all the goals simplifies the process of creating the Learning Plan by making it easy to identify what goals should be included in the Student’s plan.

Summary

The keys to creating successful Student Learning Plans lie in the planning and organization of information necessary to complete the Plan. It does take a fair amount of work to create a great Learning Plan, however, once completed, the SLP is your most effective tool for ensuring the success of your Tutoring efforts. For more information on SLPs or to obtain assistance click here.

What Districts are looking for in your Student Learning Plan (Pt. 1)

What exactly constitutes a great Learning Plan?

Creating successful Learning Plans can be challenging for SES or Private Tutoring Organizations. Learning Plans must demonstrate that the Tutor has a clear understanding of what the specific need of each child is relative to a set of standardized or customized grade-level based goals. The Learning Plan must also succinctly describe the steps to be taken in service of achieving the stated goals. Finally, the Plan must identify evaluation tools and the changes in student performance expected to be measured with proper and consistent application of these tools.

In this two-part post, The Last Period will examine the best practices for establishing Learning Plan goals as well as what information you will need to assemble a successful Plan. At this point it bears mentioning that ODDTech SES is not a Tutor Organization, nor are we educators. At ODDTech SES we serve as a consultants to SES Providers, offering services and solutions that assist them in their daily operations and planning. We have created hundreds of Learning Plans on behalf of SES Providers and, based upon our experience, have a pretty good handle on what separates a successful Plan from one less likely to succeed.

Assessing the Goals

A Learning Plan goal ideally represents a very specific focus on a child’s ability in an area of academic study. Most often the areas of academic study are limited to math and reading. However, in the SES world, and certainly in the private Tutoring environment, other areas of study are available. We’ll focus on the two main areas (math & reading) when referencing goals and Learning Plans here.

The first step in establishing a goal is an accurate assessment of the students performance level in the main areas and sub-categories in those areas. The Tutoring Organization must provide a tool to evaluate the student’s performance on what is typically referred to as an Assessment Test. The Assessment Test quantifies the student’s performance and gives them an Assessment Score or value. Assessment Scores recorded at the beginning of the school term are typically called pre-assessments while test results at the end of the term are called post assessment scores. Most Districts require a provider submit both a pre-assessment and post assessment test scores during a term.

The Tutor must analyze the pre-assessment test scores to determine which goals will best serve to strengthen the student’s weak areas of performance. A good Assessment Test tool will identify not only the deficient subject but also the sub-areas within a goal that may be targeted to improve the student’s performance. For example, reading goals may be broken down into Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and Word Recognition. Within each of these areas, performance should be measured and compared against standards offered by the state, District or other educational resource. Once the assessment has been analyzed, the recommendation for which goals should be pursued are outlined for the Learning Plan.

Using the S.M.A.R.T. method for establishing Learning Plan Goals

In the event that the Tutoring Organization is required to submit “custom” goals for each child, careful planning and attention to detail separate the successful Learning Plans from those which tend to be less successful. Our experience has found that Tutoring Organizations using the S.M.A.R.T. method to create the “custom” goals often end up with a more focused and, subsequently achievable, Learning Plan.

What are S.M.A.R.T. Goals? “Smart” goals are Provider customized goals that adhere to the following guidelines:

• Specific – Goals must be precise in what they are setup to accomplish. In many cases this precision can be measured subjectively using evaluation tools to test the subject. The goals should also be significant in that they carry consequence to the child’s learning strategy.
• Measurable – Your program must be able to objectively quantify results. Thus the goals you establish for each child must be measurable on a published scale. Goals under this criteria must also be meaningful in that they show correlation with the child’s areas of opportunity as presented by the pre-assessment test results.
• Achievable – Goals must be able to be reached within the confines of the tutoring sessions
  available, student’s ability and tutoring term.
• Relevant – Create goals that will precipitate a positive change in the student’s understanding of or competency with the subject matter. Nothing is more frustrating than having goals that offer no strategic benefit to the participants.
• Time-based – Let’s face it, you only have a relatively small amount of time with the student each week. Your goals must be achievable within a timetable that make practical sense. Goals that
  require more time than realistically available will only frustrate your Tutors and the child.

Using the “Smart” Goals method can not only speed the process of creating customized Learning Plan goals, it can also help the Tutoring Organization focus on what is achievable for each child’s performance test results. In our next post we will cover how to get your information organized when putting together successful Learning Plans.

Cayen Systems’ SST v6.0 Training feedback (Pt. 2)

Thoughts on Progress Reports in Cayen Systems’ SST

Note: we are continuing our brief overview of the four options for Progress Notes data entry on the Cayen Systems’ SST. Keep in mind your District(s) will determine which method you will be required to use as part of your tracking and reporting process. Only a small percentage of the Districts using the SST are employing the full Option 4 settings.

Did you know there were four different Options for creating Progress Reports in the Cayen Systems SST?

Depending on what your District(s) selects, you may be required to provide more than just textual comments in the Progress Report section. Progress Report Options include:

• Option 1: Basic Progress Report – this option is primarily textual. Enter date, Tutor name and
  notes.

• Option 2: Progress Report linked to Learning Plan Goals – this option requires linking Progress Notes to specific Learning Plan goals. Select a goal for each student, enter the Progress Notes under specific activity and continue until all notes entered. Goals not addressed will show “no progress toward goal” in printed report.
• Option 3: Progress Report Linked to Learning Plan Goals w/Parent Action – this option is same as Option 2 except for the addition of a Parent Action Items and additional Tutor comments.
• Option 4: Progress Report with Mastery Goal Percentage tracking – this option lets you enter Percentage Mastery information if required by your District(s). You must designate Assessment Tool and Grading Scale when using this option. When you enter the Assessment information in the Student
  Registration you will create your Initial Percentage of Mastery profile. Then in the Progress Report enter the
  numeric value representing Percent of Mastery observed during tutoring session.

Calculating the Percentage Mastery

When entering the Percentage Mastery as part of the Progress Notes Option 4 it is important to remember the number represents a percentage not a score. The percentage is used when Reporting the trend of the Mastery Progress in the application. It might seem easy to remember, but many times as you enter more and more data, the possibility of overlooking important steps increases.

Calculating the Percentage Mastery requires only basic linear algebra skills. You can actually setup an Excel Spreadsheet to run the calculations for you. From there you would just need to copy the values into the Cayen Systems’ SST.

Now, let’s take an example of a student required to reach a certain mastery level in reading. The Assessment tool you have chosen uses numeric values to determine the students test results. So assume we are working on a scale from 1 (lowest possible test score) to 15 (highest possible test score). The goal is to have the student reach 82% Mastery of goal (based upon post Assessment test scores).

The range of values, excluding the start point, spans 14 units, so if we multiply 14 times 82% we get 11.5. (Why have we excluded the start point? Because the student would get 1 point even if they did not show up for the test. So by default they are given a boost to 7% Mastery). Alright, that was easy so far. Now if we pre-test the student and arrive at a grade of 6 we know that the student’s initial Percentage Mastery looks something like this:

Initial Percentage Mastery = (Student Score)/(Highest Possible Score – Lowest Possible Score)

or

PM¹=6/(15-1)=42%

The following week the student is tested again and receives an 8. So following in our example:

PM²=8/(15-1)=57%

You may have noticed if the student scores the highest possible score on the test, this calculation would show they have a 107% Mastery. While this can be confusing, remember the lowest possible test score of 1 is still some level of Mastery (7%). So by reaching the highest possible score they will have covered 100% of the 14 unit span for a total Percent Mastery of 107.

You should continue to use these calculations to add PM values to the Cayen System Progress Notes as often as required by your District(s). At the end of the term you and the District will be able to see a nice graph chart in the Cayen reports showing progress of student toward a mastery goal over time.

Cayen Systems’ SST v6.0 Training feedback (Pt. 1)

In this post we are going to discuss some of the newer features added to the Cayen Systems’ Supplemental Services Tracker (SST) v6.0 for the ’09 – ’10 school term. We have only seen these recently, the first time being in the District Training class we attended last week.

There are a couple new significant developments in the v6.0 of SST. The first is the creation of a Placement Session in the Activities area. The Placement Session is a great idea for Districts and Providers alike. It allows the Districts to save significant time when assigning registered students to Providers and the start of the term.

Basically the Placement Session is a “place holder” for students that are assigned to the Provider. The Provider must then, before they can enter assessment scores or develop Learning Plan, place the student in the proper Session (math, reading, language arts, science, etc.) by removing them from the Placement Session.

The Mechanics

There are basically two ways to work with the Placement Session to get students into the proper session. The first involves use of the Roster feature Groups then select Quick Session Selection. Each time you select a student’s name it identifies the Session the child has been enrolled on the right. By clicking a different Session you can move student from one Session to another (note: a child can only be enrolled in one session at a time in Cayen).

The second way to remove a student from the Placement Session is to go to the individual Registration record for that student. By selecting Enrollment, the student can be added to the appropriate Session much the same way as was done in the Activities/Rosters section. The downside to this approach is that the Provider must return to the Registration list to pick students to modify for each. This can be time consuming for Providers with large numbers of students to place.

A Class Act?

The Placement Session feature is something that was necessary for the Districts to place students more quickly. This is good. After all, the sooner the District can place the kids, the sooner we can get the assessments and learning plans done and start doing the fun stuff (e.g. activities we actually get paid to do – like tutoring). Another benefit is that this feature forces the Provider to take ownership of placing the students in the proper Session, which means they actually have to think about where a student is setup. So the more organized Providers will be able to move through this quickly and get it done with very little “thrash”.

The downside of the Placement has less to do with the practicality of the feature than the implementation. If you have many students it is way too easy to “miss” a student while placing them in the proper sessions. You will know whether you missed a student when you go to do your Assessment testing results then you will have to back track to get the student placed before you can go forward.

This is probably inevitable for larger Providers and pretty much easily corrected. Perhaps a reminder on the Welcome Messages showing how many students are still in Placement Session would be helpful? I would suggest they show just the number of students lacking proper placement then have a hot-link to the list of affected students. Ideally this list would be in the Quick Session Selection module where all the Provider would need to do is click on the student’s name and the appropriate Session on the right. The Quick Data Entry module also lends itself to help in this area.

The second feature enhancement I want to discuss is the Rooms module added to the Site Info section. The Rooms feature allows you to identify within an Activity/Session a more specific location for tutoring activities. For example a tutoring Session may be at the community center with several rooms. The Session has a max capacity of 25 students but each room may only hold 10 students. Therefore you will be able to place 20 students in this Session then possibly have to create another Session to handle the other five students.

The Mechanics

In the Site Info choose Rooms then add/edit/delete room. You’ll need to specify the maximum capacity for each Room you setup and, of course, link to the proper Location. Choose a unique name then save the room. Next, within the Activities/Sessions choose location and Room for each new Session you create. You’ll be able to specify the maximum number in the Session.

A Class Act?

The Rooms feature addition is a boon for Districts looking to have more granular Provider reports. It can provide additional detail on Roster reports by defining exactly which students are in which room for any given Session. This supports on-site visits by District officials used to reconcile the Roster with actual attendance on any given day.

For Providers there is a little bit more work to setup, but once students start getting assigned, it may require the Provider add more Sessions when a room reaches maximum capacity. In theory this makes sense, but are we really expecting 100% attendance at each Session? In other words, if we specify room capacity at 10 kids and in reality only 7 or 8 show up regularly, we will not be able to add more children to this Session even though it regularly is below capacity. So we add another Session that will, of course, be operated below capacity.

The Rooms feature is a great addition to the SST. Rosters need to be as detailed as possible as a benefit to both the District and Providers. The question is how many Providers will use this feature without direction from the District(s)?

That’s it for now. Next time out I want to talk about the Progress Reports feature of the Cayen Systems’ SST (APlus) and its several different levels. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.

The New Word for Supplemental Educational Services Providers

Welcome to the ODDTech SES Blog!

We will be using this space to comment on developments in the Supplemental Educational Services world as they pertain to SES Providers delivering tutoring services to Title I School Districts across the country. We hope to offer you, the Provider Tutoring Organization, helpful tips, hints, comments and updates that will assist you in performing the tasks of tracking your Student and Tutors in your organization.

We’ll also comment about the leading technologies such as the Cayen Systems SST and SSTPro as they may or may not fit into your daily workflow. We’ll discuss the good and the bad and, with your feedback, offer suggestions for improvement to make your life easier.

Finally, we will highlight some of the SES Providers across the country using the ODDTech SES Administrative Services and Solutions for streamlining their organizations processes and getting paid faster! We hope to hear from as many of you as possible to tell us your thoughts on how we’re doing or just the SES World in general.

Thank you for visiting!