Educator Union Leaders' Guide: High-Impact Tutoring Advocacy

• High-impact tutoring leads to substantial learning gains for students by supplementing (but not replacing) students’ classroom experiences.
• High-impact tutoring responds to individual needs and complements students’ existing curriculum.
• Tutoring in these programs is completed by another trained adult who will work hand-in-hand with us, the student’s primary educator, to support student learning.
• COVID-19 caused extended disruptions for all students and low-income, Black and Latinx students bore

The National Student Support Accelerator is committed to providing districts with tools and resources to support the implementation of high-impact tutoring. These resources are listed below for your reference:

High-Impact Tutoring: District Playbook
Step-by-step research-backed guidance to make it easier for districts to partner with a provider or grow their own high-impact tutoring program.

High-impact tutoring is effective, but tricky to implement. However, there are many innovative solutions underway across the country. Several of these solutions (for instance, scheduling) must be bargained with the union. See Consider Bargaining and Advocacy Challenges for additional details. Below are some common barriers along with ways in which some districts and states are approaching solutions. 

If you are working to develop a high-impact tutoring program statewide, your State Education Agency (SEA) and its leader - likely the State Superintendent or State Commissioner of Education are important decision-makers. SEA’s are responsible for administering state and federal education laws, dispersing state and federal resources, and providing guidance to public districts and schools across the state. Connecting with relevant departments and points of contact within your SEA can help influence them to prioritize high-impact tutoring.

Effective tutoring programs have the support and often require the approval of their local school board. You will want to share the research on effectiveness, successful examples of tutoring programs and why high-impact tutoring meets your district’s specific needs as well as demonstrate the support of district and school leadership for tutoring in your district. 

Below is a set of tools specifically for engaging school boards including key messages, FAQ’s, a presentation, and one-pager that can be adapted for your local context.

Effective tutoring programs require a high level of support and coordination from school and district leadership. By sharing the research behind the effectiveness of high-impact tutoring, and examples of how it is successful in other districts, your school and district leadership can more easily envision success in your local context.

Below is a set of tools specifically for school and district leadership including key messages, FAQ’s, a presentation, one-pager that can be adapted for your local context, and examples of district tutoring programs.

High-impact tutoring programs support educators by accelerating student learning - allowing students to better participate in grade-level work. Below is a set of tools specifically for sharing the advantages and operations of high-impact tutoring with educators including key messages, FAQ’s, a presentation, and one-pager that can be adapted for your local context.

With aligned stakeholders, a map of local decision-makers and the rationale for high-impact tutoring in your district, you are prepared to build strong support among decision-makers to implement a high-impact tutoring program in your district. Consider your unique local context as you determine the specific action steps needed to reach the decision-makers in your district.

Tutoring is an allowable expense for specific covid-relief funding such as the American Rescue Plan as well as ongoing funding through Title funds as outlined below:

Covid-Relief Funding