How to Design, Fund and Implement an Effective Program for Student Success
Results for America, in partnership with the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) and the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, invites teams from local education agencies (LEAs) – including public school districts and public charter networks or schools – to apply for this 7-session virtual learning opportunity. Teams should be committed and positioned to advancing high-impact tutoring in the schools they oversee.
If chosen to participate, teams will receive expert guidance on designing, funding and implementing a high-impact tutoring program. Participants will learn best practices from leading LEAs, nonprofits and community partners that are successfully improving student outcomes with high-impact tutoring, including through networking opportunities with others in various stages of program design and implementation.
Key Dates:
- Applications due: Sunday, June 16, 2024
- Applicants will be notified by: Tuesday, June 18, 2024
- Sprint Kickoff: Thursday, June 27, 2024
- Duration: 7 sessions running over 8 weeks (June 27 – August 15, 2024, excluding the July 4th holiday), on Thursdays from 2:30 – 4 p.m. ET
APPLY HERE ▶
Sprint Goals & Objectives:
Participating teams will work through a 7-session online learning curriculum with a cohort of peers from public school districts, public charter networks and public charter schools across the nation. By the end of the sprint, participants will:
- Understand how a high-impact tutoring program can advance student achievement goals
- Understand the key design features of an effective and evidence-based high-impact tutoring program
- Identify federal, state and local funding sources they can use for high-impact tutoring
- Understand and be able to apply evidence-based spending strategies to increase the impact of investments in high-impact tutoring
- Learn from local education agencies that have implemented effective high-impact tutoring programs and apply those lessons to their local context
- Learn how to use data in designing, evaluating and improving high-impact tutoring programs
At the end of the sprint, participants will have created an action plan that could include:
- A high-impact tutoring model that reflects the evidence base and local capacity
- A scope of work for an evidence-based budget and/or a draft request for proposals or notice of funding opportunity and/or a scope of work for defining and prioritizing evidence
- At least one funding source identified to launch, expand or sustain a tutoring program
- A data collection and evaluation plan
- A concrete timeline and next steps for implementation
SPRINT DETAILS:
- When: Weekly 1.5 hour sessions on Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. ET from June 27 – August 15, 2024 (excluding the July 4th holiday)
- Where: Virtually via webinars and cohort discussions on Zoom
WHO SHOULD APPLY:
Teams from local education agencies (e.g., school districts, public charter schools, public charter networks, etc.), along with their partners, who are interested in implementing or expanding effective high-impact tutoring programs in their schools.
TEAM REQUIREMENTS:
- At least 2 members, although 3+ are recommended
- Familiarity with high-impact tutoring
- At least one participant from local education agencies (public school districts, public charter schools, public charter networks, etc.), with participation from the following offices/titles:
- Academics/Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
- School/Student Support
- Research/Evaluation/Data Systems
- District Tutoring Coordinator
- Recommended to include team members in the following office or titles:
- School leaders, educators, union (as appropriate)
- Families, Caregivers, and/or Family Engagement Office
- School board members
- Budget/Procurement
- Federal Programs
- Director of Expanded Learning (or similar)
- Community-based partners/advocacy organizations
- Tutoring providers
ABOUT THE SPRINT FACILITATORS:
Weekly sessions will be designed and led by:
- National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA), a program housed at Stanford University that offers schools, local education agencies, states and tutoring providers open access tools and technical assistance for implementing and improving high-impact tutoring programs.
- Results for America (RFA), a non-profit organization that works with governments to identify and implement evidence-based policies and practices. Over the last several years, RFA has successfully run various Solutions Sprints, supporting over 100 jurisdictions in implementing evidence-based solutions and benchmarking their progress towards better outcomes for their communities.
- The Annenberg Institute at Brown University, which is dedicated to understanding the causes and consequences of educational inequality and to reducing this inequality through innovative, multidimensional, and research-informed approaches.
QUESTIONS?
Email: [email protected]
Apply for the Sprint by Sunday, June 16 ▶
WHY IMPLEMENT HIGH-IMPACT TUTORING?
Rigorous research has shown that high-impact tutoring can accelerate learning for a wide range of students, particularly those who have fallen behind academically. A review of nearly 200 studies found that high-impact tutoring is one of a few school-based interventions that produce large, positive effects on both math and reading. For students from lower income families, tutoring has been shown to be one of the most effective educational approaches to improve academic achievement.
Tutoring is considered high-impact if it:
- Provides school-day tutoring sessions three or more times per week.
- Pairs groups of four or fewer students with a consistent, well-trained and supported tutor.
- Uses high-quality instructional materials aligned with classroom content.
- Regularly assesses student progress and tailors instruction to meet their needs.
Go deeper: Read an EdResearch for Action brief examining the evidence for high-impact tutoring and outlining proven design principles of effective programs. Explore best practices for implementing a high-impact tutoring program on Results for America’s Economic Mobility Catalog.
Why now: Student test scores in reading and math fell sharply during the pandemic. Historically-large federal investments in K-12 schools have helped reverse some of those losses, but recovery has slowed with many students still behind. Evidence-based high-impact tutoring can serve as a key strategy for accelerating student learning.
Yet, despite the robust evidence base and widespread support for high-impact tutoring, challenges around design, funding and implementation have limited its availability for students. Less than 40% of schools nationwide offered high-impact tutoring during the 2023-2024 school year, with only 11% of students on average receiving it. The Biden-Harris Administration’s 2024 Student Achievement Agenda includes expanding high-impact tutoring to more schools, and federal and state funding opportunities continue to support it.
Local education agencies have until September 30, 2024 to commit their final tranche of federal pandemic recovery funds, known as ESSER III. For those interested in implementing high-impact tutoring, the next four months represent the last chance to dedicate ESSER III funds to it. While ESSER III funds are required to be liquidated by the end of January 2025, the U.S. Department of Education has said that it will consider granting 18-month liquidation extensions, particularly for funding used for “high-quality” tutoring programs.
A successful model in Chicago: Read a case study of how Chicago Public Schools implemented high-impact math tutoring and is doubling – and sometimes tripling – the amount of math over 2,500 students learn each year.