(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) announced a new round of grant and contract awards totaling more than $7 million to fund high-impact tutoring (HIT) programs for over 6,000 students across 90 DC Public Schools and public charter schools during the 2024-25 school year. This strategic investment includes $4.3 million in grants to 16 DC local education agencies (LEAs) and over $3 million in contracts with 11 qualified HIT providers and one strategic supports partner.
“We are proud to invest in research-backed, high-quality initiatives like high-impact tutoring, which we know delivers real results for DC students,” said Mayor Bowser. “We exceeded our goal to reach 10,000 students in the last three years, and now we’re continuing our investment in this proven strategy to support and engage our students.”
HIT is a form of small-group, intensive tutoring that a robust body of research shows to be one of the most effective learning acceleration interventions available. OSSE-funded HIT programs are designed to foster student academic growth through targeted, intensive support that addresses individual learning needs, with a focus on students furthest from opportunity.
“We know that effective tutoring plays a critical role in helping students make meaningful academic progress,” said Interim State Superintendent Dr. Antoinette S. Mitchell. “This funding allows us to continue these impactful partnerships with LEAs and tutoring providers, ensuring students have access to the support they need.”
In the fall of 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser made a three-year, $33 million investment to scale HIT programs to address the impacts of disrupted learning and long-standing opportunity gaps. Running through September 2024, OSSE leveraged these funds to transform HIT offerings in schools, focusing on economically disadvantaged students. Over three years, OSSE collaborated with community-based organizations, universities, small and local businesses, and LEAs to implement HIT programs aligned with OSSE’s seven research-backed standards, reaching nearly 12,500 unique students across 140 schools and community-based sites.
To extend her commitment to evidence-based programming, Mayor Bowser allocated $4.8 million in local funding for HIT in the 2024-25 school year. OSSE combined these funds with remaining federal recovery funds to implement a comprehensive strategy for launching, expanding, and strengthening HIT programs.
Early evidence suggests these HIT programs have made a positive impact on DC students. A study by the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) at Stanford University found that students in HIT programs decreased academic performance gaps compared to non-tutored peers during the 2022-23 school year. Additionally, NSSA data analysis showed that HIT programs improved student attendance. Students were less likely to miss school on days when HIT sessions were scheduled, potentially due to the close relationships built with consistent tutors.
OSSE incorporated learnings from the past three years of implementation into the strategy for HIT programs this year. For example, students who attended more HIT sessions demonstrated greater academic gains than students who participated in fewer sessions. In response, OSSE designed a competitive grant program for LEAs that prioritized programs requiring a minimum of 16 weeks of tutoring, compared to 10 weeks in prior years, and awarded preference points for longer programs. This year, OSSE is only funding HIT programs in schools, rather than community-based sites, as attendance rates for in-school programs during or adjacent to the school day have been consistently higher.
In addition to securing contracts with tutoring providers, the Office of Contracting and Procurement partnered with OSSE to award a contract to CityTutor DC to support and improve the quality of HIT programs by providing professional development and customized consultations for grantees and contractors. CityTutor DC will coordinate and co-host a city-wide convening with OSSE in the spring, which will gather HIT stakeholders to discuss best practices, common challenges, and the sustainability of HIT programs in the District.
OSSE is also participating in the inaugural Accelerate State Tutoring Fellowship in collaboration with the Education Commission of the States to further enhance the quality and effectiveness of HIT programming. This partnership reflects OSSE's commitment to leveraging evidence-based strategies to maximize student success.
To learn more about HIT, visit osse.dc.gov/page/high-impact-tutoring-hit-initiative.
To sign up to be a tutor, visit citytutordc.org/join or dctutormentor.org/become-a-tutor/.
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