To celebrate World Tutor Day, we want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible work our tutors do and why they make such an impact on the students and schools they serve. Since we launched our first education program back in 2003, Reading Corps, Math Corps, and Early Learning Corps tutors have helped hundreds of thousands of students learn foundational reading and math skills. During those two decades, we have trained over 26,000 AmeriCorps members to give students personal attention through consistent, effective tutoring sessions.
Why Our Tutors Are So Effective
The key to our programs’ power is the way they combine our members’ passion to do good with tutoring techniques backed by research and extensive institutional support.
“We know from research that training alone is not enough,” says Anne Sinclair, Chief Learning Officer at Ampact. “That’s why we use two layers of coaching support for our tutors – to ensure they are effectively using evidence-based methods that have been shown to work.”
According to Stanford University, what differentiates high-impact tutoring from other interventions is consistency, accessibility, and quality data. The university’s National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) lays out the following elements for high-impact programs:
- Tutors use High-Quality Instructional Materials in high-frequency sessions with three or fewer students in each session
- Tutors are engaging and reliable, receive ongoing coaching, and are well-trained, including on issues around equity and safety
- Tutoring is built into the school day and engages teachers and caregivers
- Data is used to individualize instruction and continuously improve program design
Citing our alignment with these central principles, the NSSA recently awarded Reading Corps and Math Corps badges for design excellence. We’re proud that our programs support tutors and put them in the best position to succeed on behalf of students.
Wide Reach and Personal Connections
“Over the past 20 years, our tutors have supported more than 500,000 students with evidence-based literacy and math interventions,” says Sinclair. “This impact was only possible with the hard work of Reading Corps, Math Corps, and Early Learning Corps tutors and their coaches.”
We also could not have reached these milestones without the dedication of partner schools around the country, who have sought out additional support for their students. Thanks to their hard work of bringing in tutors and integrating them into their schools, our tutors are making a difference at over 2,000 partner sites.
“Our Reading Tutor, Cathy, has been doing an incredible job,” says Jim Clark, Principal of Emerson Dual Language School in Minneapolis. “When I came to Emerson, I made sure that we continued with Reading Corps tutors. For me, it has always been important.”
Clark understands well how tutors help students make faster gains and greater progress, but also appreciates their role in the greater school community. Our tutors form meaningful and positive connections with students, parents, and teachers alike.
“Everybody, all the teachers value Kathy because they’ve seen how she affects kids and how students grow when they’re working with her,” says Clark.
We are so grateful for all of our amazing tutors. On behalf of Reading Corps, Math Corps, Early Learning Corps, and all of our partners around the country: thank you for your dedication, your service, and your passion for supporting students!
Want to make an impact at a school near you? Head over to readingandmath.org to learn how you can become a tutor too!