Key Takeaways:

• Increased student absenteeism: The pandemic has caused a significant rise in student absenteeism, particularly among Latino, suburban, and rural communities. This is a major concern for educators and parents.
• Possible reasons for attendance improvement:  Personalized attention, a nurturing environment, and increased confidence due to better preparation might contribute to reduced absenteeism.
• Benefits beyond academics: High-impact tutoring can foster a sense of belonging and community, potentially addressing broader challenges like educational equity and access.
• Improved attendance: A study conducted by Saga Education showed a 10% increase in attendance among students who received their tutoring program compared to those who didn’t.

Jump to section:

1. Saga Education: Bridging the Gap, Boosting Attendance
2. Building Relationships, Boosting Engagement
3. The Power of Effective Tutoring
4. A Solution with Far-Reaching Benefits

As public schools navigate the aftermath of the pandemic, a concerning trend has emerged: a dramatic increase in student absenteeism, particularly among Latino, suburban, and rural communities. This poses a significant challenge to both educators and parents who are committed to student success.

However, there’s a glimmer of hope. A pre-pandemic initiative at a New York City high school points towards a potentially surprising solution: high-impact tutoring.

Saga Education: Bridging the Gap, Boosting Attendance

Saga Education, a non-profit organization founded in 2014, champions the integration of high-impact tutoring within the school day, particularly for Algebra 1. We work extensively with states and districts to implement in-school-day high-impact tutoring programs tailored to their specific needs.

Our story at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, New York City, exemplifies the potential of this approach. Here, in the 2015-2017 school years, researchers conducted a study involving the freshman class of 400 students. Based on incoming math assessments, the class was divided in half – those who needed the most math support received a designated period of Saga tutoring during the school day, replacing an elective, while the other half continued with their regular schedule.

The results for student achievement were excellent; the results for student absenteeism were unexpected and therefore, noteworthy. Students who received Saga’s high-impact tutoring program attended an average of 148 days of school during the 2015-2016 school year, a full 18 days more than their counterparts who didn’t receive tutoring (130 days). This translates to a 10% increase in attendance over a typical 180-day school year.

The other intriguing fact is this: on the NY Algebra 1 Regents test day, in June, 25% of 9th graders at the high school skipped school–they didn’t want to take the test. Only 7% of Saga kids did. Our theory? They felt more prepared and more confident.

Building Relationships, Boosting Engagement

It’s important to note that this NYC study design isn’t the gold standard (a randomized controlled trial would be ideal). While some recent research does confirm this finding, in DC in particular, some other Saga studies have not yet replicated this finding. The evidence to date provides an intriguing area for further study. We believe the personalized attention and nurturing environment fostered by high-impact tutoring contributes to a sense of belonging, confidence, and engagement in students. These factors likely play a role not just in academic success, but also in attendance.

The Power of Effective Tutoring

At its core, high-impact tutoring is about creating meaningful relationships between tutors and students. This approach empowers teachers, enriches the learning experience for students, and introduces fresh talent into the education system. The preliminary success of programs like Saga’s demonstrates the potential of integrating tutoring into broader strategies to combat absenteeism and promote academic achievement.

A Solution with Far-Reaching Benefits

High-impact tutoring, when done right, goes beyond academics. It fosters a sense of community and belonging, which can be a powerful tool in addressing absenteeism. This approach has the potential to be part of the solution not just for chronic absenteeism, but also for the broader challenges of educational equity and access.

Effective tutoring isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, and further research is necessary. But for our children, their families, and our educators, the need to address these issues is urgent. Let’s explore the power of high-impact tutoring and its potential to transform how our schools are designed to work for kids.

Alan Safran, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chair of the Board of Saga, has a 30-year public education career specializing in high-impact tutoring programs. He holds a law degree from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton. Alan splits his time between Boston and Washington, DC, with his wife Dana, a nonprofit healthcare CEO, and their black labrador Colbie.

LEARN HOW SAGA CAN HELP YOUR STUDENTS SUCCEED!

The post Can Tutoring Help Reduce Student Absenteeism? Surprising Results from Saga Education appeared first on Saga Education.

Key Takeaways:

• AI Coaching Important Support for Tutors: Tutoring programs often have tutors who attended college but didn’t get teaching training. These tutors need someone to support them and help them improve their communication and teaching skills.
• Coaching for Tutors: Traditionally, coaches provide feedback to tutors through time-consuming in-person meetings. Research shows how an AI system (HTCT) can analyze tutoring sessions and provide coaches with data-driven feedback.
• Benefits of AI Coaching:  AI coaching can provide coaches with target feedback for tutors to improve tutoring and increase student achievement.
• AI-based coaching can help scale high-impact tutoring programs

Jump to section:

1. Helping Tutoring Shine: How Coaches Unlock Tutor Potential
2. AI Coaches Could Help Teachers Talk Better with Students
3. AI Coaches Can Help More Teachers, Early Results Promise

Many tutoring programs hire tutors who have gone to college but don’t have any teaching training. These tutors can be helpful, but they could still use feedback to improve their work. Normally, coaches watch teachers and give them feedback during meetings. But these meetings take up a lot of time and don’t always cover all the new things observed. With an automated approach, coaches and tutors can get feedback more often, based on data, all at a lower cost. A new research paper talks about a new technology called human-tutor coaching technology (HTCT). HTCT looks at recordings of tutoring sessions and shows the information in a way that helps coaches give detailed advice to tutors. The main goal is to improve tutoring and help students do even better in school.

Researchers worked with Saga Education to test HTCT with coaches tutoring high school math in low-income areas. They looked at how coaches used HTCT, what they felt about it, and if students’ communication got better when coaches used HTCT data for feedback.

High-impact tutoring is different from regular teaching. It is frequent and takes place during school hours with appropriate tutoring materials. Paraprofessional tutors can benefit from coaching to enhance their skills. Coaching also helps teachers get better at what they do. However, more research is needed to see how coaching can help tutors. This study wants to see how coaching can assist paraprofessional tutors.

Helping Tutoring Shine: How Coaches Unlock Tutor Potential

Teachers and tutors help students learn, but their jobs are different. Teachers have a whole class of students, while tutors work with only one or a few students at a time. Tutors can provide tutoring during school, in-person, or online. They can even tutor during regular school hours! According to the US Department of Education, the most effective tutoring occurs frequently, at least three times a week for 30-50 minutes, and uses appropriate learning materials.

Tutors don’t have formal teaching training, therefore coaches can assist them. Coaches are like specialists who give tutors advice on how to improve. Coaching helps teachers enhance their skills, and researchers are exploring how it can benefit tutors too!

AI Coaches Could Help Teachers Talk Better with Students

Picture having a coach who listens to your classroom lessons. They advise how to have more engaging discussions with your students. That’s exactly why artificial intelligence (AI) tools like HTCT can help teachers!

These AI coaches wouldn’t replace teachers. Instead, they can help teachers learn and identify new teaching strategies. Here’s how it might work:

1. Focus on Talk Moves: Talk Moves are specific ways teachers can talk to encourage students to participate in class discussions. For example, a teacher might ask a question that gets students thinking (“Why do you think that happened?”) or have students explain their ideas to each other (“Can someone share how they solved this problem?”).
2. AI Analyzes Classroom Talk: The AI coach will listen to the recordings of your lessons and look for these talk moves.
3. Feedback for Improvement: The AI coach would then give you feedback on how often you use these talk moves and suggest ways to improve.
4. This feedback could be helpful for teachers, especially those new to the job or interested in trying new teaching methods.

AI Coaches Can Help More Teachers, Early Results Promise

Some studies have already been done on these AI coaches, and the results are encouraging. Teachers like getting feedback from the AI, and some studies even showed that teachers used talk moves more often after using the AI coach. While research has been done on helping experienced teachers, AI coaches can be great for new teachers or those with little training. Teaching assistants and tutors who are new to teaching can also benefit from these coaches. AI can help teachers improve their classroom discussions and help more students learn. Future research will need to see if AI coaches can work well in different teaching situations and with different types of teachers.

Empower Your Tutors and Boost Student Achievement with Saga Coach.

The post New Research Shows How AI Can Improve Tutor Communications appeared first on Saga Education.

If you missed our event, you can watch it here on demand.

Struggling to implement high-impact tutoring (HIT) programs in your school? Worried about funding your tutoring initiatives after ESSER funds run out?

This free webinar addresses your biggest concerns and provides practical solutions to improve your tutoring programs.

Join Saga Education, a trusted partner for over 400 schools nationwide. We understand the challenges of high-impact tutoring (HIT) programs, and we’re here to help you succeed.

In this webinar, learn from district leaders who have overcome common hurdles:

• Scheduling and structuring: Discover how to design tutoring programs for maximum academic impact.
• Finding great tutors: Explore effective strategies to source skilled and passionate tutors.
• Funding your program: Learn how to secure funding for sustainable tutoring initiatives beyond ESSER grants.

Don’t miss this chance to:

• Gain valuable insights from industry leaders and educators.
• Learn from the successes (and challenges) of real-world school districts.
• Take your tutoring program to the next level and unlock its full potential.

Hear from a panel of industry experts:

• Alan Safran (Saga Education CEO)
• Maryellen Leneghan (Saga Chief State and District Partnerships Officer) – Moderator
• Michelle Korbakes (New Mexico Public Education Department)
• Hannah Zey (Fulton County, GA Public Schools)
• Katie Tennessen Hooten (Teach for America)
• Sam Olivieri (Step Up Tutoring)

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and transform your tutoring programs!

Register today (limited spots available): https://bit.ly/EDWeek-Saga-Webinar

Date: Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024 Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET Location: Online

About Saga Education

Saga Education is a national leader in high-impact, in-school tutoring that leverages both the power of human capital and technology to accelerate student outcomes and create more equitable learning for students.

The post Free Tutoring Webinar: How To Tackle The Biggest Hurdles To Effective Tutoring appeared first on Saga Education.

Key Takeaways:

• Tutoring Works: In-school, high-impact tutoring delivered significant learning gains, with math improvements equivalent to regaining two-thirds of a year lost during the pandemic.
• Coaching for Tutors: Delivery Matters: Out-of-school tutoring programs saw lower participation rates than in-school options.
• Benefits of AI Coaching:  AI coaching can provide coaches with target feedback for tutors to improve tutoring and increase student achievement.
• Funding Limitations: ESSER funds provided a good start, but more resources are needed to serve all students who need help.

In this article:

1. Pandemic School Disruptions Threaten Long-Term Learning for All Students
2. Lasting Gains with In-School High-Impact Tutoring
3. The Time to Act is Now: Prioritize High-Impact Tutoring to Address Learning Loss

A new study by the University of Chicago Education Lab highlights the effectiveness of district-led tutoring programs co-designed with Saga Education to solve pandemic-related learning loss. The report indicates how in-school high-impact tutoring positively impacted student math learning delivered in the aftermath of the pandemic and diverse academic settings. Through a collaboration between MDRC and the Education Lab, the Personalized Learning Initiative (PLI) was established as a research and development program to explore ways to expand tutoring services for students nationwide and address the learning setbacks caused by the pandemic. The initiative aims to ensure that an entire generation of students is not at risk of missing critical developmental milestones.

Pandemic School Disruptions Threaten Long-Term Learning for All Students

The pandemic’s impact goes beyond temporary learning loss. Remote schooling and absenteeism have exacerbated educational inequalities and may set students back for years.

Why?

• Grade-Level Focus: Schools typically promote students regardless of mastery, creating a wide range of skill levels within each grade.
• Teacher Challenges: Teachers need help teaching effectively in a classroom with varied learning needs.
• Disadvantaged Hit Hardest: The pandemic disproportionately impacted disadvantaged students, further widening the achievement gap.
• Missed Milestones: Missing key learning benchmarks like reading fluency in 3rd grade can have lasting consequences.

Without immediate interventions, many students will fall behind with limited opportunities to catch up, impacting their long-term academic success and graduation rates.

High-impact tutoring by Saga Education, distinct from regular instruction, “scales up individualized instruction without doing so on the backs of already overburdened and hard-working, professionally trained school teachers” (REPORT, 6). Instead, tutors are hired as a sustainable education workforce to simultaneously deliver personalized learning to a small group of students, cultivating consistent, supportive, and trusting relationships with students as an integral part of their academic journey. 

“The preliminary results from the Personalized Learning Initiative are very promising,” says Saga Education CEO and co-founder Alan Safran. “These early findings show that districts can use high-impact tutoring to help students accelerate their learning. This is a significant milestone for Saga as we co-design and collaborate with states and districts to develop and implement high-quality, in-school tutoring models.”

Lasting Gains with In-School High-Impact Tutoring

Saga Education was one of four education agencies to deliver high-impact tutoring to the following school districts: Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Illinois; Fulton County Schools, Georgia; the New Mexico Public Education Department; and a mid-sized urban school district in California.

Findings from the research revealed key factors influencing the success of high-impact tutoring, such as location and timing:

• Chicago’s Advantage 

• • Chicago, a large city, offered a wealth of recent graduates eager to tutor. This readily available talent pool made in-person tutoring during the school day feasible.

• New Mexico’s Challenge

• • With a more rural population and potential labor shortages, New Mexico opted for virtual tutoring to offer flexibility and avoid disrupting the school day. However, this resulted in low participation – only 1.5% of eligible students signed up for evening and weekend sessions. Additionally, rural students participated less than their urban counterparts.

• California’s Scheduling Mishap

• • A large California district planned to integrate tutoring into its existing after-school program. While seemingly convenient, low attendance hampered this strategy. This could be due to the program’s late launch or parents finding alternative childcare solutions.

In Chicago Public Schools (IL) and Fulton County Schools (GA), high-impact tutoring was delivered during the school day. Around 2,000 students enrolled in Chicago Public Schools and Fulton County Schools demonstrated significant progress in their math skills due to participating in districtwide, in-school tutoring sessions throughout the 2022-23 academic year. These findings provide initial evidence that large-scale in-school high-impact tutoring can effectively address the learning setbacks caused by the pandemic. Participating students showed improved learning equivalent to nearly a full year of learning, potentially reversing pandemic losses for the average student.

The positive effects went beyond immediate test scores. Studies showed that the gains in math achievement persisted even into the following year (11th grade), with students scoring an average of 0.23 standard deviations (SDs) higher. This research highlights the potential of Saga’s approach to deliver intensive, personalized tutoring in a cost-effective way, leading to significant and lasting improvements in student learning.

Lessons Learned:

• In-person tutoring in well-populated areas can be a viable option.
• Virtual tutoring in rural areas requires innovative strategies to boost participation.
• Timing is crucial. Integrating tutoring into the school day or existing programs with high attendance can improve engagement.
• These learnings inform the design of future high-impact tutoring models, ensuring they reach more students and maximize their educational impact.

The Time to Act is Now: Prioritize High-Impact Tutoring to Address Learning Loss

While this study is ongoing, these initial findings hold immense weight in today’s educational landscape. With federal relief funds expiring in September 2024, school districts are actively planning for the 2024-2025 school year, underscoring the importance of acting now.

The research reveals a clear path forward: high-impact tutoring delivered during the school day by paid and trained tutors using a structured curriculum is a powerful resource. Saga Education is proud to pioneer this crucial work to improve pandemic-related student learning. By prioritizing this strategy, school districts can turn the tide and ensure a brighter future for our students.

Let’s leverage these promising findings and work together to bridge the educational gap, one tutored session at a time.

The post Tutoring Programs Co-Designed by Saga Education Reveal Promising Success appeared first on Saga Education.

Key Takeaways:

• Algebra I is a crucial indicator of high school graduation rates. Students failing this course have a significantly lower chance of graduating.
• High-impact tutoring can improve graduation rates by providing targeted interventions and personalized instruction to students.
• Students of color, students experiencing poverty, and those with learning disabilities are most at risk of benefiting from high-impact tutoring.
• High-impact tutoring can address achievement gaps and improve overall student outcomes.

Jump to section:

1. The Relationship Between Math and Graduation Rates
2. Identifying Students in Need of High-Impact Tutoring Students
3. How High-impact Tutoring Contributes to Long-term Success Beyond High School
4. Improve Graduation Rates by Closing the Achievement Gap with High-impact Tutoring

High school graduation rates tell a story about the state of education and accessibility to quality education in safe and supportive learning environments. While efforts to increase graduation rates have proven successful overall, many disparities exist between students from different backgrounds and demographics.

It isn’t necessarily possible to help all students reach graduation using the same interventions, as the reasons behind high dropout rates and expulsions can vary. However, research has shown strong relationships between specific benchmarks for learning and the probability of graduating high school. These indicators demonstrate that we can implement targeted interventions at critical learning points to improve student outcomes.

This blog will explore how implementing high-impact tutoring can increase student achievement by closing opportunity gaps, addressing learning loss, and accelerating learning. In doing so, high-impact tutoring can significantly impact graduation rates and long-term success for students from all backgrounds.

The Relationship Between Math and Graduation Rates

Studies have found that students who do not pass 9th-grade Algebra I have a significantly lower high school completion rate. Saga has identified Algebra I as one of the most crucial indicators for future academic success. Failure in only one full-year course in 9th grade decreases graduation odds by 30%. However, if that failed course is Algebra I, only 13% of those students will likely graduate in four years.

Students must pass Algebra I to graduate high school. Still, it is important to comprehend and retain course information, not just make it through. Algebra I teaches skills and theory that carry over into other math and science classes. If students cannot build on what they have already learned or have a shaky understanding of the material, their opportunities for college and specific careers are significantly impacted. Students must receive interventions in 9th grade to have opportunities and choices through high school, college, and beyond.

Identifying Students in Need of High-Impact Tutoring Students

High-need demographic groups can show us where to focus efforts and expand access to quality instruction, aggressive intervention, and resources to close opportunity gaps. Students of color are more likely to drop out of high school than white students. The reasons behind this fact are numerous and complex, including the likelihood of lower socioeconomic status and living in historically underserved communities. Other factors can include experiencing the presence of disabilities, previous learning loss, learning loss due to COVID-19, unsafe school environments, hazardous or insecure travel to and from school, ESL or families whose language or education barriers may prevent them from assisting with schoolwork, housing insecurity, and the effects of systemic racism. 

In addition, in many communities where students of color are the predominant demographic, teachers and staff may still be primarily white. Students may not have access to culturally relevant education or teachers and school role models in which they can see themselves. It is important that students are represented in staffing and administration and that they receive education and lessons that reflect the world and cultures they live in.

The work to address inequities and overcome opportunity gaps is our responsibility. Interventions are proven effective for high-need students when all students are given access and are not singled out or required to use out-of-school time and resources to improve.

Interventions like high-impact tutoring have proven to increase learning outcomes by providing students with remediation and accelerated learning as part of regular classroom time. High-impact tutoring also increases social and educational support for students by providing tutors to work with small groups of students in math for the entire academic year. This can bolster the effectiveness of regular class instruction, provide differentiated learning opportunities, and help students build good habits, confidence, and skills. The lessons are culturally relevant and tailored to their current needs and goals.

How High-impact Tutoring Contributes to Long-term Success Beyond High School

High-impact tutoring optimizes learning for students by providing educational experiences that can be difficult for public schools to guarantee due to large class sizes and low funding. Experiences like one-to-one attention, personalized instruction, and targeted support are made even more effective through ongoing assessment by a trained tutor.

High-impact tutoring can show students how to unlock their potential and provide them with the necessary skills to succeed in high school and beyond. If a student is disengaged or has low confidence, having opportunities to take risks, learn in safe spaces, and receive information that makes sense to them can inspire confidence and increase engagement.

Investing in high-impact tutoring programs is a means to improve graduation rates and empower students for future success.

Improve Graduation Rates by Closing the Achievement Gap with High-impact Tutoring

High-impact tutoring also addresses graduation rates by offering differentiated instruction and giving students an additional source of support. Students of color, students experiencing poverty, and those with learning disabilities are most at risk for dropping out of high school. When teachers and schools see indicators of academic trouble, like chronic absenteeism, disengagement, and low test scores, they can implement interventions and approach remediation.

However, if high-impact tutoring is already in place, students can receive the attention and personalized instruction they need without having to seek it out or wait for an educator to flag issues and start remediation. High-impact tutoring is embedded into regular classroom time, supporting learning for all students and improving outcomes across the board.

We must address contributors to high school dropout rates so that all students can choose the next steps in their education and careers. Students from all backgrounds deserve bright, prosperous futures that benefit themselves, their families, and their communities. 

Support and advocate for initiatives that provide high-quality tutoring programs in your school districts to close the achievement gap and ensure success and well-being of all students. 

Discover how Saga Education Solutions can close the learning gap at your school or district.

The post Closing the Achievement Gap: High-Impact Tutoring and the Path to Graduation Equity appeared first on Saga Education.

Although high-impact tutoring has proven essential for helping students make up for lost time, ESSER funding is expected to end in September 2024, with a possible extension to 2026. With federal funding only covering 10% of education costs, districts must identify new ways to invest in learning recovery efforts and effective practices like tutoring.

In the latest white paper, Accelerate Learning Now, Saga proposes several alternative strategies to help students catch up on their learning. Learn to identify additional funding resources, prospective partners, and other tactics to help your students.

What is High Impact Tutoring?

High-impact tutoring involves small group sessions with a 3:1 student-to-tutor ratio, working with the same tutor for 30-60 minutes, three times a week, for 10 to 36 weeks. Tutors are well-trained and supported, using a tutoring curriculum that supports a teacher’s curriculum.

About Saga

Saga Education is a national leader in high-impact, in-school tutoring that leverages both the power of human capital and technology to accelerate student outcomes and create more equitable learning for students.

The post Schools Need New Plans to Help Students Catch Up When ESSER Funding Ends appeared first on Saga Education.

The post Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at Saga – Adriana Colom Cruz appeared first on Saga Education.

In mid-February, the National Education Association, the nation’s largest union, endorsed in-school-day high-impact tutoring. Here’s the heart of what they said:  “The research is clear: high-impact tutoring improves student learning. Over the past few years, finding a consensus around the most effective strategies and interventions to address post-COVID learning recovery has largely been elusive. However, there is widespread agreement that high-impact, or high-dosage, tutoring holds tremendous promise. Where it has been properly implemented, high-impact tutoring produces large learning gains for many students, particularly those who have fallen behind academically.

That’s the conclusion of an increasing number of researchers, school leaders, and classroom teachers who have seen the practice in action. High-impact tutoring has been shown to be 20 times more effective than standard tutoring models for math and 15 times more effective for reading. Studies demonstrate that the practice increases students’ learning by an additional three to 15 months across grade levels. High-impact tutoring has not been enacted in many districts, but it should be.

As one of the two co-designers who pioneered in-school-day tutoring in a US public school (Mike Goldstein and I, at Match Charter High School in 2004), and subsequently, as co-founder of the nation’s trusted nonprofit partner for helping states and districts get tutoring right (Saga Education), I was thrilled to read this important announcement. Here’s why.

Replicating the Success of High-Dosage Tutoring

Tutoring in public schools began in 2004 at a little school in Boston. There, our students, who came to our high school in an open admission lottery, were, on average, three years behind grade level when they enrolled as high school freshmen. That startled me. Prior to Match, I had served with the MA Department of Education for nine years, including a period as Deputy Commissioner, and the fact that the average ninth grader comes to public high school in Massachusetts cities three years behind grade level was never discussed or even noticed. And yet, it was the reality on the ground, not only at this little charter school near Boston University but across the nation’s cities.

When kids come to 9th grade three years behind, how does a teacher, no matter how knowledgeable of their content, industrious, committed, and determined, catch kids up in a class where the heterogeneity of kids could be as wide as 6 to 8 years? Especially for rookie teachers and even those in their second year (together, they comprise 50% of urban teachers), differentiating instruction to meet the kids where they are is a hypothetical impossibility. And therefore, kids get triaged. The stumbling block–the chokepoint toward high school graduation–is Algebra 1. Many students fail high school Algebra 1 because they haven’t mastered the prerequisite skills that should be gained in middle school–ratios, fractions, proportions, and decimals. Kids who fail Algebra 1 graduate at a rate one-fourth as high as those who pass it because many drop out for academic failure, and Algebra 1 is the most failed course in HS. So we face a structural, chronic crisis that falls mercilessly on the backs of kids who come from families experiencing poverty, which in this country means, for the large part, kids who are Black and brown.

So we took this idea of high-dosage tutoring out of the little Match School in Boston and tried it in Houston, TX. And it worked there. And we took it to Lawrence, MA, a district under state receivership–and it worked there. Then, Stamford, CT; Chicago, IL; New York City, D.C.; Broward County, FL; Charleston, SC; Providence, RI–and it works when done correctly.

Then COVID arrived. With kids’ rate of learning stymied, policymakers, researchers, and philanthropists all said to look at the evidence about tutoring.

Leveraging High-Impact Tutoring as a Tool for Educational Innovation

And if they’d asked, they would have found teachers who agreed. Teachers like those in Lawrence, MA, who initially were afraid of tutors coming to their schools (“They’re coming to take your jobs!” some declared). Instead, teachers would give their struggling students notes to work with their tutor on this standard. Teachers would come into the tutoring room and watch their kids behave differently from the way they behave in a class of 25 or 30. In a tutorial of 2 or 3, kids show what they know and are not afraid to show what they don’t know, unlike a classroom where many would disengage or deflect or hide from peer scrutiny. In tutorials, tutors can work on what the students need in real-time, personalized to where they are.

I’ve recently visited teachers in Orlando, FL, and Odessa, TX, who have their tutors in their classrooms. The teacher oversees the tutoring, gives tutors their own small groups, and keeps some groups for themselves. There’s a partnership. Teachers now say they can’t do without the tutors.

So–when the teachers union endorses this idea, the possibility that this can last just gained a major boost. Interestingly, plenty of others, including conservative groups that are typically skeptical of public education’s chances, say they like tutoring too because the evidence is clear that there’s a strong return on investment.

Investment in expanding tutoring is a must. Multiple federal funding streams, including Title 1, AmeriCorps, and federal work-study funds that could pay the wages of college undergrads to serve as tutors, can and should be used (and, in some places, are being used) to support tutoring. With the support of teachers, this intervention has traction. It could be a lever not only to support kids but to support their hardworking teachers…and to redesign how we educate kids in this country for generations to come.

Alan Safran, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chair of the Board of Saga, has a 30-year public education career specializing in high-impact tutoring programs. He holds a law degree from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton. Alan splits his time between Boston and Washington, DC, with his wife, three adult children, and a black labrador named Colbie.

LEARN HOW SAGA CAN HELP YOUR STUDENTS SUCCEED!

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Tutoring is a proven method to help P–12 students improve their learning. Still, it has typically been limited to those who can afford it. Previous attempts to expand tutoring nationwide have failed, partly because they relied on volunteers and placed the burden on parents to find tutors for their children. The National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) has shown a decline in math and reading scores, with the most significant decline in math occurring in 2023. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the academic progress of P–12 students, especially those from high-poverty communities.

In a recent white paper, Saga Education explores the potential of using Federal Work-Study (FWS) as a funding source to place college students in support roles for P–12 students, such as tutoring, coaching, and mentoring. Research has demonstrated that high-intensity, personalized tutoring provided during the school day can lead to significant learning gains. To expand tutoring beyond 2024, we can utilize programs like the FWS program.

The FWS program has provided financial aid and work experience to college students from lower-income backgrounds for nearly 60 years. It was established in 1964 to promote part-time employment opportunities for low-income college students. It has undergone updates and reauthorizations over the years. In 2000, Congress mandated that 7 percent of FWS funds be allocated to community service activities. 

In May 2023, the Department of Education urged colleges and universities to publicly commit to using a minimum of 15 percent of their FWS funds in the next two years to pay college students who work in community service. So far, 49 colleges and universities have agreed to use a minimum of 15 percent of their FWS funds for beneficial tutoring collaborations with P–12 public schools. 

Several higher education institutions (HEIs) and organizations are highlighted in this white paper for their use of FWS to expand high-impact tutoring (HIT) programs:

• George Washington University
• Grand Valley State University
• Step Up Tutoring
• Salisbury University
• Spelman College
• Teach for America – Ignite Fellowship

The post Leveraging the Federal Work-Study Program to Fund High-Impact Tutoring in P-12 Schools appeared first on Saga Education.