TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Students, parents and faculty at Standard Middle School in Oildale are proud of the significant academic improvement achieved by the school over the past six years.

But now a key factor in that success is in danger of being terminated.

Tutor Time is an after-school educational enrichment program for students throughout Oildale and North Bakersfield, administered by the Henrietta Weill Memorial Child Guidance Clinic. It provides first- through eighth-graders with one-on-one academic support and homework assistance from teachers, volunteers and clinic staff.

Schools in the area have come to rely on the Tutor Time program to improve attendance and behavior as well as math, English, history and science scores.

In a recent letter to the program coordinator, Standard Middle School Principal Tonny Gisbertz expressed disappointment with the impending closure of Tutor Time at Standard, saying the program has had "a positive affect on the academic development of our students."

Funding for the portion of Tutor Time that serves Standard Middle School is scheduled to end Dec. 31, leaving the school with no alternative to help students succeed or to assist in preparing them for the scholastic exams this spring.

Standard's after-school tutoring program started as the "Homework Club" nearly 10 years ago through a grant from the North Bakersfield Recreation and Parks District. That grant was terminated four years ago, though the school was able to carve enough money from its own budget to continue the program until last year.

At that time, the Child Guidance Clinic -- with a grant from the Kern Community Foundation-Weingart Fund -- was able to step in and continue the much-needed services by expanding its Tutor Time program.

In addition to one-on-one tutoring, the program provides the students with Internet access and learning materials to help further their education.

Since January 2008, the main component of the Tutor Time program has been serving elementary school-aged children of Oildale at the clinic's Oildale site, 2001 N. Chester Ave.

This portion of the program is also seeking funds to continue operating once the grant from the Blanche and Irma Weill Foundation phases out June 30.

Of course, with tightening budgets at federal, state and local foundations compounded with the redirection to fund mostly safety net and basic needs programs, special projects such as Tutor Time are left with very few options in terms of finding sustaining dollars.

The Henrietta Weill Memorial Child Guidance Clinic is a private, nonprofit, outpatient mental health center for children and families.

It opened in 1946 and has facilities in Bakersfield, Oildale and Delano.