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Integrating High-Impact Tutoring with Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

Districts across the nation use Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) to target appropriate supports for each student. High-impact tutoring is the most effective research backed academic support – consistently demonstrating from six months to over two years of learning gains for students across grade levels and content areas in a single year of tutoring.

How to Fund High-Impact Tutoring After the ESSER Fiscal Cliff

The most common question from administrators about high-impact tutoring is: "How will I fund this after the fiscal cliff?" See 6 options to continue providing this valuable support to students, even after ESSER dollars run dry.

Student working during her tutoring session

Summer Success Strategy #3: Avoid Inequities by Meeting All Students Where They Are

While traditional summer programs aim to meet the needs of each student, not every learner fits neatly into one type of summer offering, and many go the length of summer with no academic support at all. Dr. Janet Wilson outlines a final key summer school improvement strategy focused on increasing equitable access through flexible scheduling and delivery. This is the third in a 3-part series.

Student at her laptop impressed

Summer Success Strategy #2: Expand the Capacity to Serve More Students (without Overtaxing Your Staff)

Dr. Janet Wilson outlines solutions to common summer school challenges related to staffing and scheduling. This is the second in a 3-part series.

Student working at her computer

Summer Success Strategy #1: Use Summer to Target Key Transition Grades

Dr. Janet Wilson outlines a key summer school improvement strategy proven to create better outcomes for students, particularly those at key transition points in their academic careers. This is the first in a 3-part series.

Glasses on a stack of newspapers

High-Impact Tutoring Research & News Coverage

Read this compilation of the latest resources and research on high-impact and high-dosage tutoring in K-12 schools.

Image of a woman smiling at a whiteboard

Tutoring is a People-Powered Intervention

Every educator knows a great curriculum only comes alive with a talented teacher. The same is true for any adaptive digital intervention programs. A person to not only deliver that content, but to make the student care about learning the content, can make all the difference.

Image showing a team with distributed expertise

5 Takeaways from the “Rethinking the One-Teacher Classroom” Webinar

The brightest minds across higher education and K-12 are re-examining the one-teacher classroom, while taking on our most difficult challenges: achievement gaps, the teacher pipeline, and job dissatisfaction. An expert team discussed these topics and more at a recent EdWeek webinar.

7 Signs a Student is Well-Suited for Tutoring

Which students are ideal for tutoring? We’re sharing exactly what we hear from students, parents and educators.

10 Bright Spots for Back-to-School 2022

It’s easy to focus on what’s not working in education–that’s the norm. But as we head into this new school year, it’s important not to lose sight of everything that is on track, and to reflect on the incredible progress that’s been made in the last two years.

Article preview image for a blog post by Littera Education about why high-dosage tutoring is so popular.

Why is “High-Dosage Tutoring” So Popular in K-12 All of a Sudden?

With everyone from the schoolhouse to the White House pointing to tutoring as the solution to learning loss, it’s worth asking not only when and why “high-dosage tutoring” became so popular, but also what exactly people mean when they say it.

Why Students Fell Further Behind in Math than Other Subjects During School Closures

The Brookings Institution found that average math test scores in grades 3-8 fell at roughly double the rate of reading scores between 2019 and 2021.

Ten Questions Districts Ask When Considering a Tutoring Program

Dr. Janet Wilson speaks with districts about what they're considering as they implement tutoring as an intervention.

How Does Tutoring Fit into Existing Intervention Paradigms?

Tutoring often fits best as a district-managed intervention that is available to all students throughout the school day, and embedded alongside primary instruction.

Student at the board doing math problems

Yes, Math Anxiety Is Real. How Do We Overcome It?

Math anxiety is real, but where does it come from, and how can you help students overcome it?

High-Dosage vs. Chat-Based Tutoring Infographic

Popular Tutoring Models: High-Dosage VS. Chat-Based [Infographic]

Chat-based tutoring is not an appropriate intervention for students who don’t yet know how to read fluently.  With an ever-growing number of schools turning to tutoring to accelerate learning, understanding the differences between popular models is essential. 

Student high-fiving teacher during small group work

Leveraging Data on Social Promotion and Grade Retention to Overcome Unfinished Learning: Strategies for Success 

Research on students in danger of retention provides us key insights on how best to accelerate learning for kids who’ve fallen behind.

A Guide to Funding and Grants for Littera High-Dosage Tutoring [Download]

Use federal funding and grants to support high-dosage tutoring in K-12 schools.

The Active View of Reading: Moving Beyond the Simple View

New research suggests a shift toward the “Active View of Reading” to understand students' reading abilities, to account for complexity, and to provide targeted support.

Best Practices for High-Dosage Math Tutoring in Middle & High School [Infographic]

High-dosage math tutoring research and implementation guides can be lengthy and detailed.  Use this best practices infographic as a first step in ensuring your program accelerates achievement for all.

K-12 Staff Shortages are Nothing New–It’s Time to Act

Staffing shortages in education were here before the pandemic, but are now more urgent than ever. 

Summer School Planning: A Strategic Approach to Accelerating Learning

This year, districts are leveraging the flexibility of high-dosage tutoring during the summer break to ensure their students are on track.

Educating The Whole Child: What Is The Approach and Why Does It Matter?

Districts can drive equity and overcome learning disruption by advancing the whole child approach to education.

High-Dosage Tutoring vs. Homework Help: Comparative Efficacy of Two Leading Tutoring Models

The research is clear, tutoring works. The difficult part for many districts is deciding what works best for their needs.

Automaticity: A Key To Early Literacy Success

High-dosage tutoring can be both a short-term solution for overcoming historically inadequate reading scores and a long-term transformative tool for ensuring strong foundational skills.

How Does Tutoring Bring Parents And Teachers Together?

Parents and teachers are rallying around tutoring as a unifying force for creating a better school environment.

Keep Your Community Engaged By Being Transparent With ESSER Funding

Some communities are requiring districts to track spending decisions and prioritize accelerated learning for their students through high-dosage tutoring.

High-Dosage Tutoring: The Future Of Academic Support

Now is the time for an academic support model that ensures equitable access to a new idea, one that is driven by data evaluation and is integrated with a district’s instructional strategy, with the benefits compounding the acceleration of learning over time.

We Work For Teachers Because We Are Teachers

Our own Brian Miller and Kanecia Hodo share their stories as instructors during the pandemic, and what they see as the deciding factors that caused their career shift, from being in front of the kids to behind the scenes at Littera.

It Is Never Too Late For a Champion

Giving up on students is unacceptable. It is never too late in the year or in their lives to give them the support they’ve always deserved. Dr. Janet Wilson shares her personal experience with trauma and an educator who never gave up on her.

A Way Out: High-Dosage Tutoring for Every Student

Like Plato's vision for true knowledge, districts can create a new reality - one beyond the trappings of the cave of disruption that has plagued K-12 education for the last two years. 

The Second-Grader Problem: Creating a Safer and More Supportive Culture

For second-graders, 2021 marks their first face-to-face experience in a classroom. Bonding with their teachers and classmates as well as time and attention is required for this group of young learners during such a critical, transitional time.

Blog by Littera: Teachers are closing performance gaps and getting students to grade level with focused socio-emotional and academic support.

Teachers Report: The Third Year of COVID-19 Disruption

First Marking Period Outcomes Report - Teachers are most crucial to the future of learning and are faced with an unprecedented instructional environment and many see this as a battleground for innovative solutions.

Photo of desks for students in a classroom.

The Brown M&M Clause: Mitigating Risk With A Hidden Checklist Item

Designing efficient district support systems requires evaluating options with a risk-management lens, and a hidden checklist that you can rely on with each new opportunity ensures that your operational needs are being met.

New Virginia Funding Supports Tutoring

The Virginia DOE through Onward and Upward VA is inviting schools around the state to apply for over $100 million in student-focused grants to support programs to help students catch up and achieve their academic goals.

Preview image for a blog post by Littera Education about principal leadership in education amid the pandemic.

Principal Leadership: Traversing New Contexts, New Roles, and Innovative Strategies

Principals are in the pinch position of being the key intermediary in strategizing what normal feels like amid chaos - with the opportunity to transform their district's future by using available funding to accelerate learning.

Preview image for a blog post by Littera Education about Texas districts building tour vision despite HB 4545.

Building Your Vision Despite HB 4545

TEXAS: HB 4545 and its requirements, though perhaps initially overwhelming, provide districts with a unique opportunity to create a new model of education that includes individualized instruction for all.

Preview image for a blog post by Dr. Janet Wilson of Littera Education about the remedying the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on special education students via high-dosage tutoring.

Compensatory Education: An Opportunity For Innovation

Compensatory education, specifically high-dosage tutoring, provides a remedy for the disproportionate effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on special education and services.

Utilizing Benchmark Assessment Data To Design Personalized Interventions

Interventions provide a pathway to telling every student's story. Their journey is transformative; the support they need is prescriptive.

Preview image for a blog post by Littera Education about the Department of Education's recommendations for high-impact tutoring.

United States Department of Education Recommends High-Impact Tutoring

In the recently published report "Strategies for Using American Rescue Plan Funding to Address the Impact of Lost Instructional Time," staff from the US DOE outlines how implementing evidence-based tutoring practices is a key approach to accelerating learning.

Data-Informed Practices Lead to Real Equity Accountability

The pandemic has disrupted student progress data collection for many districts. To get to grade level and bridge this gap, no time should be wasted in implementing the monitoring and reporting required for equitable learning.

Hero image for a blog post by Littera Education about an administrator’s perspective on K-12 tutoring.

Providing Scale, Fit, and Power in Tutoring Design

A thoughtfully and effectively designed, delivered, and monitored tutoring initiative can focus better on the individualized needs of students if it is an extension of the core academic program.

HB 4545 Requirements Can Feel Overwhelming

Addressing the new mandated requirements of HB 4545 in Texas is proving to be a challenge for many. We’re working with districts to meet those needs and align a high-dosage tutoring program with TEKS.

Comprehensive District Tutoring Programs - The Time Is Now!

This self-described thought experiment lays out a forward-thinking plan to bring effective high-dosage tutoring to K-12 districts across the United States.  

Research Proves Tutoring Is Effective

The list of life skills that can be learned with tutoring extend beyond a child’s academic success and add important life skills and confidence that all parents and teachers want to see for students.

Why Early Literacy and Numeracy are Prime for District Managed Tutoring

Tutoring has become a huge focus of early childhood education because we know that early literacy skills set the stage for the rest of a learner’s school career, and indeed for significant life outcomes.

How Tutoring Can Address Unfinished Learning In K-12 Schools

District tutor programs are one of the best tools available to K-12 schools and districts who want to address unfinished learning opportunities.