SAILs program teaches kids math, could save state millions
By Tim Omarzu
Deb Weiss’ math class at Red Bank High School may earn a place in Tennessee education history.
Three years ago, her classroom was ground zero for SAILS, or Seamless Alignment and Learning Support, a online remedial math class that’s sweeping the state. According to its supporters, it shows promise to solve the widespread problem of college freshman who need remedial coursework when they show up unprepared from high school.
This so-called “13th grade” is said to cost Tennessee and other states millions of dollars in a variety of ways. One is the extra money spent at community colleges on remedial classes – about $18 million in Tennessee last year. Another is the estimated lost income and taxes when students discouraged by having to take remedial classes drop out of college, never to return, thereby lowering their lifetime earnings.