School District Partnerships

Critical Questions
  • How does the higher education institution (HEI) high-impact tutoring partnership with the K-12 district add value to the school district?
  • Where are opportunities to align with district priorities and existing strategies?
  • What existing district programs best align with tutoring?
Implementation Checklist
  • If launching a new partnership, determine which districts are seeking tutoring services. In addition to asking district staff in your local network about tutoring, consider searching for Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for tutoring services. 
  • If your local district is not actively seeking tutoring services, consider approaching district leadership to determine if there is an opportunity for the HEI to form a new partnership, particularly given the extensive research on the benefits of high-impact tutoring. 
  • For existing or new partnerships, review the district priorities and existing strategies to determine opportunities for greater alignment to district context. 
  • Determine opportunities for tutoring to occur during existing programs outside of Tier 1 core instruction. 
  • Establish regular cadence of ongoing partnership meetings to track progress.
Implementation Tools

HEI Specific Tools:

From Existing Resources: 
Key Insights

Some HEI tutoring partnerships with K-12 districts begin with a local school connection, while others begin with a district-wide connection. Both the district relationship and the school relationship are important for successful partnerships as the program is implemented and continues to grow. 

  • Formalizing partnerships through a contract or memorandum of understanding (MOU) helps clarify leader role clarity and can help ensure sustainable funding sources for tutoring services. 
  • Ongoing meetings between the HEI and school district/site-based teams help address implementation challenges to ensure continuous improvement efforts occur.
  • Consider opportunities to engage K-12 students in campus activities at the higher education institution to foster their understanding of higher education opportunities in their local community.