2023 Annual Report
Table of Contents
Letter from Leadership
Saga’s Story
Saga's Impact
Advocacy
Philanthropy
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, + Belonging (DEIB)
Connect with Us
*For additional information, including insights about Saga technology, our team, and financials, download the full Annual Report PDF below.
Letter from Leadership
Dear Partners and Friends,
Since Saga’s beginning, our goal has been to use high-quality, personalized learning as a powerful catalyst for educational equity and to leverage the best evidence-based practices for student learning and growth. By incorporating high-impact tutoring (HIT) with its personalized instruction into the core educational experience, we know we can lift students academically, break the cycle of generational inequity, and increase economic mobility.
Achieving educational equity must be at the heart of our nation’s future. With the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealing alarming declines in math and reading proficiency levels, the urgency to act is clear. Our vision is not only to rectify this decline but also to permanently support and transform the public education system by embedding high-quality tutoring into the regular school day for all students who need it. Tutoring should be provided in the grade levels and subjects where it has the most impact on a student’s graduation from high school, free of cost to the student and family, and be supportive of hard-working teachers and of students who need to be taught at the academic levels at which they arrive. We see this as part of the sacred obligation of America’s schools: to provide a free, appropriate, and effective public education.
Our work over the years has influenced decision-making across the educational spectrum, from the policy realm to the classroom. Today, we not only deliver HIT directly, but we also support a number of school district partners in implementing district-led HIT programs, providing a suite of software solutions, and leading cohorts of districts in communities of practice. This 360-degree approach has helped Saga to shape itself into the nation’s trusted partner for high-impact tutoring. We have carried this momentum throughout the academic year.
Our audacious plan is to create long-term systems change. By 2033, we aim to have the key elements of our framework for personalized learning intervention ingrained into every American school district’s budget, schedule, and approach to human capital. That means high-impact tutoring is a part of the regular school
day, with the student-to-tutor relationship at its center and with tutors supported by coaching, and with students provided sufficient dosage to make a measurable difference. We seek to challenge the status quo and show that there is indeed a better way to educate our children and, as a closely associated benefit, to bring a new pipeline of educators into our schools. Our ultimate goal is to reach 3 million students in third and ninth grades in U.S. public schools who are at risk of failing. We intend to uplift these students and others at the critical leverage points in K–12 education – third-grade literacy and eighth and ninth-grade Algebra 1. Rigorous research shows that an effective intervention at each of these critical leverage points will quadruple the likelihood of high school graduation.
There is much to do to effectively scale HIT and ensure its sustainability. It is essential for us to take bold, strategic steps. We began this fiscal year with a renewed focus. Within the pages of this FY23 Annual Report, we will document the work of our team – redirecting our efforts, amplifying our learnings, and increasing our impact on students – all with the aim of supporting and transforming public education. As we clearly declare our vision and lay out a solid roadmap toward a more equitable future in education, we are grateful for the support of our partners and collaborators, and we look forward to working together to make a difference in students’ lives across the country. We introduce to you Impact – with a focus on scale and sustainability.
Onwards,
AJ Gutierrez and Alan Safran
Co-founders, Saga Education
Antonio (AJ) AJ Gutierrez
Co-founder, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors
Alan Safran
Co-founder, CEO, Chair of the Board of Directors
Saga's Story
Founded in 2014, Saga Education began as SAGA Innovations, a spin-off program from Match Education Charter High School’s successful in-class tutoring program established in 2004 in Boston, MA.
Systemic
Change
The umbrella under which Saga’s two main bodies of work exist – (1) Direct Program, which is Saga’s vehicle for fidelity, and (2) Widespread Scale, Saga’s vehicle for scale.
Saga's Direct Program HIT model
Addresses educational inequity by targeting schools and districts with high populations of Black and Latinx students and students experiencing poverty. Saga’s model entails real-time, in-the-classroom support during the school day. This is our test kitchen, used for demonstrating and analyzing iterations of our model to achieve
maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
Saga's Widespread Scale model
Created to scale HIT to districts and schools across the country, and conceived as the solution to achieving long-term, sustainable impact. This work entails Saga helping school districts build their capacity to implement their own high-impact tutoring models, using Saga-trained tutors and managers and supported by learning technology. Saga is facilitating communities of practice among the districts so they can also learn from each other’s work. This model will be rigorously evaluated and shared widely to demonstrate the potential for delivering high-quality education at scale.
Saga's Impact
Widespread Scale: Empowering Districts & Schools
Saga officially launched its Widespread Scale program during the 2022-2023 academic year. Saga has identified that the best path to more rapidly scale high-impact tutoring (HIT) will be through school districts directly implementing their own versions of Saga’s model, using Saga’s framework and custom software solutions, tools, and resources to support a strong impact. Through Saga’s technical assistance and consulting, Widespread Scale builds the capacity of states and school districts nationally. Saga’s Technology team has created a suite of tutoring products with educators in mind, including a platform for accessing materials, scheduling sessions, tracking progress, and collaborating online. Saga offers a free online tutor training program to help educators assist students in improving their grades and confidence, which can be used by novice or seasoned educators to become more effective tutors. Additionally, Saga provides a math curriculum for middle and high schools to support teachers in the classroom.
During the 2022-2023 school year, Saga supported approximately 12,200 students across the following 12 jurisdictions:
- Chicago Public Schools – IL
- Cincinnati Public Schools – OH
- Fairfax County Public Schools – VA
- Fulton County Schools – GA
- Green Dot Public Schools – CA
- Guilford County Schools – NC
- Jackson Public Schools – MS
- Maryland State Department of Education
- Metro Nashville Public Schools
- New Mexico Public Education Department
- Oklahoma State Department of Education
- Orange County Public Schools – FL
Building Communities of Practice
With investment from Blue Meridian, Saga is building the capacity of districts across the nation to support high-impact, grades 6–12 math tutoring through our Widespread Scale program. Saga’s vision is for high-impact tutoring to be a part of the fabric of America’s public education system in 20 districts over the next three years. Thanks to the support of Blue Meridian, that vision is becoming a reality.
Direct Program Impact
Saga’s high-impact, in-school-day, evidence-based Direct Program model has helped to establish the gold standard for high-impact tutoring as an effective academic intervention. It is also the foundation upon which we launched our program to scale HIT and ensure its future sustainability. Initially serving 1,393 students in Chicago and New York City in 2015, Saga’s Direct Program has grown to provide Algebra 1 tutoring to nearly 30,000 students nationwide in six separate locations.
Direct Program: By the Numbers
During the 2022-2023 academic year, Saga students were supported by 47 teams of 239 AmeriCorps Members, 48 Site Directors, 9 Resident Site Directors, and 13 Learning Coordinators.
View Our Full Impact + Newsworthy Moments
ADVOCACY
During FY23, Saga turned its attention and focus toward increasing our efforts in the advocacy space. High-impact tutoring is not only a proven strategy to help students catch up and accelerate, it can act as a lever to redesign schools that work for teachers and students.
To this end, Saga focused this year on shifting mindsets, relationships, and power by highlighting the needs and amplifying the voices of those most affected by inequity in schools. We have been working to change policies, practices, and build resources to strengthen programs and visions for change. This work has included informing policymakers, the education community, parents, and the public at large about high-impact tutoring as an effective, scalable and sustainable, evidence-based solution to increase academic performance and accelerate educational equity for underserved students.
Philanthropy
Spotlight on our Funders
Saga is an organization that is relationship-driven, growth-minded, and impact-oriented. Our organization’s work is driven by our core values. We are proud and grateful to acknowledge the partners and supporters who share our core values. These relationships are essential to our work as they enable Saga to advance our mission and vision. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few of our amazing partners and supporters.
Interested in Contributing?
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging (DEIB)
At Saga Education, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) are not just buzzwords but the very foundation upon which our mission and vision are built. We strive to cultivate a vibrant community that celebrates and amplifies the voices of individuals from all backgrounds and experiences. This commitment is evident in our diverse workforce. Our staff and Fellows are reflective of the students and communities in which we serve.