Planning

Why have a teacher-tutor kickoff meeting?

Teachers and tutors both work better when they work together. Tutors can drastically increase both the actual and perceived effectiveness of their tutoring sessions by building a dynamic relationship with their students’ teachers. To launch this partnership, an initial kickoff meeting helps set the stage for the rest of the year. This meeting should happen before the school year starts, so that teachers can make planning adjustments with the tutoring program in mind and tutors can start strong with students on the first day.

Why have a tutoring program-school kickoff meeting?

Particularly if your Setting is In-School, proactive coordination with school administrators is necessary to make tutoring sessions feel like a part of the school day rather than a separate entity. To facilitate this collaboration, your tutoring program must work with the entire school so that staff members inside the building — from school principals to maintenance staff — have aligned their goals, expectations, and logistics.

Implementation Checklist

• Identify stakeholder groups based on tutoring program design.

Why match tutors with students intentionally?

If your program’s Tutor Consistency is Consistent, then each student’s experience of tutoring sessions will be shaped by the individual personality and instructional style of their tutor. Thoughtful and intentional pairings significantly increase the odds that a student will feel engaged with their sessions and supported by their tutor. A good student-tutor match helps students build strong relationships with their tutors and find motivation to reach their learning goals.

What is a Growth Mindset?

A Growth Mindset is the understanding that your skills and intelligence can be developed and improved through practice. This is in contrast to a Fixed Mindset, which is the belief that your qualities are fixed, innate, and cannot be improved. These concepts were originally codified by Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in her book Mindset.  

Why make learning culturally relevant?

When students can make connections between what they learn in tutoring and their culture, language, or life experiences, they can better access key ideas, develop higher-level understanding, and see the value of their learning in their daily lives.

Why incorporate routine relationship-building activities into tutoring?

Strong relationships are fundamental to students' success with tutoring. The more students feel safe, supported, and that they have a personal connection with their tutor, the more impactful the sessions will be. At the outset, relationship-building activities help tutors get to know their students and create a safe, positive learning environment. Building them into routine tutoring sessions helps tutors keep their knowledge of students alive and current.

Why does building relationships with students matter?

We learn best from people who care about us. Students who feel a connection with their tutor are more likely to engage in learning, ask questions, build motivation, and achieve better academic outcomes. Strong tutor-student relationships built on a foundation of shared understanding and trust create the conditions for all students to take the risks necessary to make dramatic academic gains.