Tutoring report and guide for community-based organizations

By Jennifer Krajewski, Johns Hopkins University

A new report from Accelerate and ProvenTutoring tells the story of seven community-based organizations (CBOs) who partnered with schools to implement high-dosage, in-person tutoring programs during the school day across a range of contexts and using various  approaches. It synthesizes the successes, challenges, and lessons learned during the planning, implementation, and evaluation process. The report provides guidance and raises key questions about supporting community-based organizations in scaling their tutoring models.

The report suggests that CBOs have a vital role to play in the scaling and sustaining of high-dosage, in-person, school day tutoring to address pandemic learning loss and longstanding inequities. Their local knowledge, relationships, expertise in delivering other community programs, and resources make them valuable school partners. A few of the report’s main points are as follows:

• Clarity on Tutoring Goals: CBOs and their school partners need to agree on what they are hoping to achieve and use those goals to guide planning and implementation.
• Support in Tutor Recruitment and Training: CBOs can provide valuable support in recruiting, training, and supporting invested adults to serve as tutors.
• Adopting Proven Models: CBOs and school partners should adopt a proven, high-dosage tutoring model because it offers the greatest promise of impact on learning outcomes. Building your own model requires an enormous amount of trial and error to make the program effective. It is generally beyond the expertise of CBOs to adapt school materials or develop its own content.
• Continuous Improvement: Getting tutoring right is challenging. A commitment to continuous improvement, guided by evidence, is necessary to ensure that high-dosage tutoring achieves the desired outcomes.

A companion step-by-step guide is also available for organizations planning to implement tutoring.