(Washington, DC) Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a $20 million investment in high-impact tutoring (HIT) programming that will help support more than 9,000 DC K-12 students. This investment will address disrupted instruction from the COVID-19 pandemic and help close long-standing gaps in opportunity and achievement. These grant funds will be distributed to 12 community-based organizations to deliver HIT services to schools across the city.
“We know that our children are still recovering from the past two years – academically and emotionally,” said Mayor Bowser. “Our schools have done a fantastic job bringing students back so that they can be challenged, and loved, and have access to all the resources our schools provide. These investments are about building on that work and targeting the specific needs of our students and school communities.”
This investment is part of a total $40 million investment in HIT over three years and will help the District accelerate learning for these students and prevent existing achievement gaps from growing. HIT is a form of intensive tutoring that occurs one-to-one or in very small groups on a sustained weekly basis, designed to help students accelerate their learning in an individualized manner.
HIT programing has a particular focus on vulnerable students, many of whom experienced significant disrupted instruction during the pandemic and already faced opportunity and achievement gaps in relation to their peers prior to March 2020.
“Our most vulnerable students have fallen even further behind their peers over the course of the pandemic. This investment will help the District accelerate learning for these students and prevent existing achievement gaps from growing,” said State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant. “We are excited to partner with these organizations to strategically address student needs now and in the future.”
Ten organizations will receive Scaling High-Impact Tutoring Grants to provide tutoring programming before, during or after school for a minimum of 90 minutes per week in English language arts (ELA) and/or math. The organizations will collectively serve more than 9,000 students in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years. An additional award will go to CityTutor DC to provide intensive hands-on supports for local education agencies (LEAs) to launch tutoring at their schools and expand the tutor pipeline by supporting home-grown tutoring organizations to expand and attracting new tutoring organizations to the District. Finally, the Annenberg Institute at Brown University will receive an award to conduct a thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of high-impact tutoring in the District.
Scaling High-Impact Tutoring Grants
- AARP Foundation
- Blueprint Schools Network
- City Year
- George Washington University (GWU) Math Matters
- Kid Power
- The Literacy Lab
- Maryland Teacher Tutors
- Reading Partners
- Saga Education
- Springboard Collaborative
- Strategic Program Supports Grant
- Program Evaluation Services Grant
Strategic Program Supports Grant
- CityTutor DC
Program Evaluation Services Grant
- Annenberg Institute at Brown University
This investment builds on Mayor Bowser’s historic investments in accelerated learning. In addition to high-impact tutoring, OSSE is making a number of investments to support accelerating student learning in schools, including the following:
Summer Accelerator Grant
$2 million for LEAs to provide 1,800 minutes of summer learning in ELA and/or math, with a laser focus on specific skills and content needed to learn grade-level materials. Instruction must be provided by teachers who have a track record of advancing students’ academic growth.
High-Quality Instructional Materials Grant
$1.5 million in grant funds for LEAs to purchase and scale high-quality instructional materials, including curricula, and accompanying professional development, for ELA and/or math.
Virtual Coaching for School and Instructional Leaders
A ‘coach-the-coach’ approach will empower school leaders to support and improve their staff’s practice as they focus on accelerating learning and improving student outcomes. This program is centered on a framework that enables leaders to better use available data and technology, work with educators and staff members to accelerate student learning, and support shifts that may be needed throughout a dynamic school year.
Science of Reading Modules
On-demand modules anchored in the cognitive science of reading (SOR) development and the research evidence behind effective reading foundational skills instruction, as well as support for school leaders in building-wide implementation. Supports include instructional walk-throughs, virtual strategy meetings, and resources and tools to support systems as well as policy change.
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