Watch the RecordingListen to the Podcast

Recent test scores show learning gaps still exist as students lag behind proficiency standards in mathematics and literacy. New federal guidance opens the door for districts to use school improvement funds and accelerate learning with proven strategies like high-impact tutoring.

During the edLeader Panel “Turning Around Schools with High-Impact Tutoring,” district and school leaders addressed how leaders can make space for change and secure flexible funding to increase learning gains, drive attendance, and increase teacher hires from underrepresented groups.

“95% of initiatives fail not because people aren’t trying to do them well, but because the resources aren’t organized in a way that supports them,” said Jess O’Connor, Leader of Education Resource Strategies’ School Design Practice Area.

Time and money create barriers for leaders wanting to adopt a tutoring program, but they are not insurmountable. For example, the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) fully recovered in literacy and made sizable gains in math after the pandemic, thanks to its high-impact tutoring strategy. Partnering with local nonprofit CityTutor, district leaders used federal recovery funds to invest $35-38 million over several years.

“I would draw a line directly to the investment made in high-impact tutoring to see that progress bear out on the NAEP exam,” said Dr. Christina Grant, Executive Director of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University. DCPS also partnered to study the effort. Research and evidence definitively showed the strategy:

• Moved the needle on student outcomes
• Increased teacher recruitment
• Improved attendance, especially among middle school students
• Created positive social and emotional well-being
• Became a sustainable systemwide approach with inclusion in local operating budgets

Affording High-Impact Change

According to the panelists, three critical steps are necessary for leaders to effectively use funding and avoid common pitfalls for a high-impact tutoring program.

1. Make a clear, coherent plan. Systems must outline an approach based on evidence and what works specifically for kids in the district, and it must be easily understood and clearly outlined for all to follow. “You can’t just have tutoring on top of your existing strategy and expect a significantly different outcome for kids,” stated O’Connor.
2. Deeply understand how resources are used and what opportunities exist to move resources. “A lot of the work that we do is at the district level because it allows us to have the kinds of conversations about how you need to reallocate resources, not just within a school but across schools, across types of dollars,” O’Connor explained
3. Monitor closely and adjust in real time to ensure long-term success. “It was critical that in 90-day increments, we were able to look at the data, we knew how many students had received sessions, and we knew which students didn’t receive their sessions. So it allowed us to pivot in real time as we were trying to get through year one, year two,” said Dr. Grant.

District leaders can also dip into state funds and work-study programs to stretch tight budgets. Through Section 1003(A) of Title I, funding can support tutoring as a core strategy to improve outcomes in underperforming schools. States can use up to 3% of their Title I allocation to fund direct student services and improve academic outcomes. In addition, states that receive Title 1 must reserve 7% of the amount for school improvement and targeted support, and the majority of those monies must be used with local educational agencies.

Work studies also provide a unique opportunity to tap into local college students for districts short on teachers or tutors—and have the added benefit of serving as a pipeline for potential teacher hires. In DC, “we had a large array of college students who were leveraging work study dollars to tutor inside the school system. And I would say those are the ones that actually decided to make teaching their profession,” said Dr. Grant.

Katie Tennessen Hooten, Founder of the Ignite Fellowship at Teach For America, is currently working on research to measure the impact of such programs. She said the early research suggests that “tutoring with Teach For America Ignite can nearly triple” the likelihood that those tutors will enter the teaching profession, and that the largest effects typically occur among underrepresented groups.

Overall, even in resource-constrained environments, there is so much research that shows tutoring will move the needle for students. “And so even when people say, we don’t have enough, you should try to find resources to make this real in your communities,” said Dr. Grant.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, Turning Around Schools with High-Impact Tutoring, sponsored by Saga Education.

Watch the RecordingListen to the Podcast

Join the Community

Professional Learning & Practice is a free professional learning community that presents edWebinars and hosts online discussion forums on a wide range of issues on professional learning and educator practice.

Article by Suzanne Bell, based on this edLeader Panel