Purpose: Clarify leadership and collaboration roles and responsibilities in tutoring programs based on the selected model. This guidance supports identifying essential roles, tailoring staffing strategies, and aligning priorities to ensure program effectiveness and student success. It also highlights how roles differ depending on whether a district builds its program internally or partners with a provider.
Executive Champion (e.g., a cabinet-level district leader) plays a pivotal role in the success of district-wide tutoring programs. By providing strategic leadership and removing barriers, executive champions ensure that programs are well-funded, aligned with district priorities, and implemented with fidelity.
Key Tasks Include:
- Securing and Sustaining Funding: Identify diverse, sustainable funding sources to support the program's long-term viability, mainly when financial barriers arise.
- Facilitating Stakeholder Engagement: Build and maintain relationships with district leadership, schools, tutors, families, and community partners to align with district priorities and secure buy-in.
- Championing Fidelity in Implementation: Ensure evidence-based practices, high attendance rates, and consistent tutor quality to meet student needs effectively.
- Enabling Connections and Collaboration: Partner with external organizations, such as universities and community groups, to enhance recruitment, training, and program support.
- Promoting Continuous Improvement: Advocate for regular data analysis to proactively refine program design and address challenges.
| Department | Role | Level of Involvement | Build Your Own | Provider Partnership |
| Executive Champion Support | Identify a district-level champion to oversee the tutoring program, secure board approvals, remove barriers to implementation fidelity, and provide strategic direction. | High involvement at launch and when addressing significant barriers. | Ensure internal alignment and capacity building. | Align vendor goals with district strategy. |
| Budget and Funding | Work with finance teams to manage program funding, grants, and procurement processes. | Moderate involvement during planning and periodic oversight. | Prioritize funding for internal operations and tutor training. | Manage vendor contracts effectively. |
| School Leader Support Team | Engage district staff overseeing principals to ensure school buy-in, site selection, commitment to implementation fidelity, and alignment with instructional goals. | High involvement during site selection and initial program rollout. | Focus on training and ongoing support for tutors. | Ensure vendor integration with school operations. |
| Site Champions | Serve as the primary point of contact between the school site and district-wide program leaders to address challenges, share and review data, and provide feedback for continuous improvement. | High involvement throughout the programming and during data collection. | Focus on supporting implementation with clear expectations to tutors, school-based staff, students, and family members. | Focus on supporting implementation with clear expectations to provider tutors, school-based staff, students, and family members. |
| Academic and Curriculum Teams | Collaborate with instructional teams to ensure tutoring sessions align with curriculum maps and classroom work. | Ongoing involvement to maintain curriculum alignment. | Develop training materials for tutors to align with district needs. | Verify that vendor content meets curriculum standards. |
| Research and Data Teams | Define success metrics, analyze outcomes, and ensure data compliance. Ensure data integration with existing systems. | High involvement during metric definition and periodic data reviews. | Align metrics with district goals and track program success through regular data collection and analysis. Ensure that data and research teams analyze subpopulations to provide targeted support. Use insights to refine program design and improve outcomes. | Monitor vendor performance, ensure data privacy, and analyze program success based on vendor-provided reports and district benchmarks. |
| Technology Support | Coordinate with IT for software, hardware, and virtual learning tools, ensuring tutors and students are equipped. | Moderate involvement during setup and as needed for troubleshooting. | Set up internal tools and systems for program efficiency. | Ensure that vendor systems integrate smoothly with district platforms. |
| Caregiver Engagement | Partner with family engagement teams to communicate program benefits and maintain participation. | Moderate involvement in outreach and ongoing caregiver communication. | Emphasize positive, direct engagement with families and caregivers. | Facilitate joint outreach with vendor partners. |
| Facilities Management | Plan and allocate space for tutoring sessions, ensuring optimal use of resources.
| Limited involvement, primarily during space planning stages. | Coordinate internally to align with district facilities policies. | Collaborate with providers to ensure alignment with district facilities and operational requirements. |
| Legal Counsel | Secure contracts, data-sharing agreements, and compliance guidelines for program operations.
| Moderate involvement in contract, data sharing, and compliance reviews. | Focus on internal compliance and local policies. | Review vendor contracts and data-sharing agreements and ensure alignment with district regulations. |
| HR and Payroll | Streamline tutor recruitment, hiring processes, background checks, and payroll for tutors. | Moderate involvement during hiring phases and payroll setup. | Define and implement a competency-based recruitment process. Conducted onboarding and provided training to meet district expectations. | Ensure that vendor tutors meet district-defined competencies and comply with background checks and onboarding standards. |