FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Info:
Samuel_Madison@brown.edu
Annenberg Institute
Brown University
Providence, RI [Brown University] – The National Student Support Accelerator is releasing the High-Impact Tutoring: District Playbook (the Playbook), a downloadable online manual with detailed instructions about how to implement a high-impact tutoring program. The Playbook offers practical advice about everything from assessing what content tutoring should cover to estimating budgets to embedding tutoring in a school schedule. With checklists, suggested timelines and structured ways to tackle complex decisions such as whether districts should partner with existing tutoring organizations or build their own in-house programs, the Playbook aims to make the project of implementing high-impact tutoring less daunting and easier. The Playbook, including downloadable tools and supports, launches at 1pm EDT, July 30, 2021.
"Our students are in need of high-impact tutoring - a specific type of tutoring proven to significantly accelerate student learning," said Susanna Loeb, director of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University where the Accelerator is housed. “Districts have been asking for straightforward guidance on how to bring this type of personalized instruction to their students. The Playbook shares the research and best practices to make it easier for districts across the nation to adopt high-impact tutoring with quality.’” The Playbook is designed to work in tandem with other tools available on the Accelerator website. These tools draw on research about best practices regarding a broad range of considerations, including how to keep student data safe, how to structure a productive tutoring session, how to build strong student-tutor and tutor-teacher relationships, and why such relationships matter to student learning. The Accelerator offers tools that are flexible and adaptable, and allow communities, districts and schools to tailor their tutoring interventions to their needs.
The National Student Support Accelerator already partners with a number of high-impact tutoring pilots and new initiatives. In Dallas, the Dallas Independent School District is planning to provide tutoring for up to 15,000 students over the next three years. In Guilford County, North Carolina a high-impact tutoring pilot will engage local high school, college, and graduate school students in tutoring middle and high schoolers to increase their academic achievement as well as boost their confidence in math. And in Providence, Rhode Island, Saga Education, an established and well-vetted provider of high-impact tutoring will provide tutoring to support 9th graders in their math class.
“The pilot sites are essential for our work because they show us how implementation can work,” stated Loeb, “We combine this knowledge from schools and classrooms with the research on high-impact tutoring to create tools that are grounded, accessible and effective.” Loeb continued, “Our hope is to help educators reach as many students as possible with this personalized, supportive and proven educational approach,” concluded Dr. Loeb.
The National Student Support Accelerator seeks to ensure every student in need has access to an effective tutor who champions their learning and success. Launched to address student learning needs caused by COVID-19, the Accelerator conducts, coordinates and synthesizes research and translates findings into actionable best practices. Working with states, districts, schools, and tutoring organizations, the Accelerator provides research-based best practices through tools and technical assistance to accelerate the growth of high-impact tutoring opportunities for K-12 students in need. To learn more, visit www.studentsupportaccelerator.org.
The National Student Support Accelerator is housed at The Annenberg Institute at Brown University. The core mission of the Institute is to understand the causes and consequences of educational inequality and to reduce this inequality through innovative, multidimensional, and research-informed approaches. We premise our work on the conviction that reduced inequality and improved educational opportunities lead to enriched lives for children and youth, ultimately contributing to more just and flourishing societies.