Seeking to mitigate the effects of learning loss and socioeconomic disparities, Saga prioritizes populations of primarily Black, Latinx, and low-income students through consistent, in-school-day Algebra I tutorials that unify small-group tutoring, personalized instruction, mentorship, relationship-building, and feedback, which results in closing the opportunity gap.

David Fanning, Principal of A. Philip Randolph High School in Harlem, recently spoke with Saga Education about the impact he has seen through implementing Saga’s high-impact tutoring program. Saga has served over 500 students at A. Philip Randolph since 2020. Randolph utilizes Saga’s Live-Online/Blended model, which features Live-Online Fellows (tutors) and students alternating between working with the Fellows and on an adaptive learning platform, offering individualized instruction tailored to each student’s needs.

“Over fifty percent of the students who come into Randolph are not where they are supposed to be with math,” Principal Fanning shared. “That gives us a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time. And that’s difficult when you’ve got to cover the regular curriculum. When you walk into the Saga Math Lab, we’re not teaching to the core; we’re teaching to you.”

Principal Fanning credits Saga Education’s intervention for an increase in Regents Exam scores across the student body. According to Regents Exam score data, for the 2022-2023  school year, A. Philip Randolph High School’s student population saw a pass rate of 62% on the Algebra Regents, while the citywide average was 50%. David Fanning cites Saga Education’s high-impact tutoring intervention as key to his students’ success.

The Regents Exam is a New York statewide standardized test that examines a student’s competency in core high school subjects. Students need a passing score of 65 or higher on the Algebra I, Algebra II, or Geometry exam to graduate from high school. Mathematics often proves a stumbling block for high school students, particularly students who are considered at risk due to socioeconomic factors.

“These are kids who had profound learning loss. You can’t take COVID out of the question. These are kids that for two years were not getting the math support they should have had,” Principal Fanning said. “Some of the kids who were behind catch up, which tells me that this isn’t about aptitude. It’s about exposure.”

When considering Saga’s methodology, Principal Fanning cites Saga Education’s flexibility with a blended learning model that allows students to be present in the classroom with multiple instructors guiding their tutoring.

“The idea that there is a physical place in my building called the Saga Math Lab that also has people online supporting it. There are people inside the building every day, adults in the math lab, but they’re also supported by the tutors who come in as force multipliers that give the kids the level of differentiation they need. You’d never be able to pull that off completely in-person. It’s not a replacement for in-person; it’s a supplement that allows us to meet the needs of people who need a lot of one-on-one attention.”

During the 2023-2024 school year, A. Philip Randolph High School’s high-impact tutoring program will expand to include both ninth and tenth grades, allowing students to continue receiving the intervention they deserve for a longer period of time. As Principal Fanning says, “Serving ninth and tenth graders will allow us to double-down on helping the kids who need it most.”

David Fanning sees Saga’s intervention as an approach worth the value. “If we’re committed to repairing the damage of COVID and also repairing the damage of inequities in our society, our students will do well. I’m proud to have partners like Saga that allows us to address symptoms of a problem and fix it for them so students do well.”

The post Empowering Success in Harlem: High-impact Tutoring Elevates Students Above the Citywide Average on Regents Exams appeared first on Saga Education.

When 9th grader Valentino Santana talks about Saga Math Lab, the first word he uses is “comfortable.” Why comfortable?” “Miss Weiss greets me in the morning, she asks me how I’m doing, I trust her,” he said.

Santana said that working with his tutor is a different experience than being in a classroom. As teachers become more and more overextended, it becomes more difficult for them to provide customized support for each student. That’s where the AmeriCorps members serving with Saga come in. “My old teachers would sometimes scold me if I got something wrong but Miss Weiss helps me,” he said.

Anthony Onica, Site Director at Roberto Clemente Academy in Chicago, IL, noticed something special about the relationship between Santana and Weiss. “Ms. Weiss saw a kindred spirit in Valentino, and her patience has coaxed a lot of academic and emotional growth out of him. He’s a remarkable young man, and his relationship with his tutor has only accentuated that quality,” said Onica,

Their relationship began with …pastries?

“I remember on one of the first days we worked with him, he bonded with Ms. Weiss over their shared love of The Great British Bake-off. He did an impersonation of one of the people on the show, and the rest, as they say, was history,” said Onica.

Weiss said that she “loves math,” but she remembered when she didn’t like it as much in high school. “I try to express that to my students, and make it less intimidating,” she said.

A Math Mind
But as Santana improved in his understanding of the subject, the math became more challenging. At that point, Weiss said that she treated it as a partnership. “Let’s take this more seriously,” she told him. As time went on, Santana was able to work more independently. “Santana has a math mind,” said Weiss.

How to Study for Algebra
Of course, Weiss tutors her students on the foundational skills of Algebra 1, but she also focuses on the grade-level content that teachers are covering and shows them how to study. It turned out to pay off for Santana, because he ended up raising his grade from a D to an A. “He takes beautiful notes, he’s shown that he can do it. He’s challenging his fear of math,” she said.

In fact, Santana has come so far that now he helps other students in his class, and he even catches Weiss when she makes a mistake. “I gave him an example that had a mistake, and he found the mistake right away,” she said.

Onica said he’s also seen Santana make strides in his grades, confidence and overall maturity. “We’ve seen growth in Valentino’s math grades, and he’s been a lot more consistent with holding a strong score. Even so, I think the most impressive growth we’ve seen from Valentino is emotional. He’s more willing to engage in conversations when he’s struggling with content or personal challenges. He’s a student that I feel like I can always talk things through with, which is an impressive sign of maturity, in my opinion,” said Onica.

Although high school graduation is a few years away, Santana knows what he wants to do next. “I want to go to college. I want to become an engineer,” he said.

This goal comes as no surprise to Weiss. “I have so much faith that he can do math at such a high level,” she said.

“We’re very proud of him for being chosen for college preparation/planning programs here at Clemente,” said Onica.

The post Getting Comfortable with Math appeared first on Saga Education.