Virginia school districts slowly roll out expanded tutoring
When Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced plans to fund expanded tutoring for students across Virginia, he challenged school districts to get new programs up and running by Oct. 16.
But so far, the Virginia Department of Education has approved funding plans for only 26 of the state’s 131 school districts, department spokesman Todd Reid said Friday. Another 12 plans await approval.
Youngkin (R) announced the new tutoring program last month as part of the larger “All in VA” education plan designed to recover from pandemic-fueled learning loss and boost scores on the Standards of Learning, the state’s annual assessment. The tutoring plan requires low-scoring students in grades three through eight — about half of students in those grades statewide — to receive three to five hours of high-intensity tutoring per week for 18 to 36 weeks.
Advertisement
Under the All in VA plan, school districts will receive funding from a $418 million pot allocated in the state budget specifically for academic recovery. The Education Department suggested that 70 percent of the funds be used for tutoring, 20 percent to expand the Virginia Literacy Act, and 10 percent to help reduce chronic absenteeism. School districts are required to submit a funding plan outlining how they would allocate the money as the first step in rolling out the plan.
As of Oct. 16, about six weeks after Youngkin’s announcement, the state Education Department had approved only four funding plans. The department approved another 14 plans Tuesday and eight more Wednesday. Many of the plans approved last week were signed by district superintendents ahead of the Monday target.
“While the governor wishes the process was moving quicker, he is encouraged that Virginia school divisions are all in on high-intensity tutoring for math and reading, acceleration of Literacy Act funding, and tactics to combat chronic absenteeism,” Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said in a statement. “School divisions remain engaged and are regularly submitting thoughtful, intentional applications.”
Advertisement
School leaders around the state had expressed excitement about the new funds available to help with recovery efforts. But some school leaders and experts had also questioned whether the governor’s quick timeline and the logistics of finding tutors would be realistic for districts, many of which are already facing staffing shortages.
Schools around the country are turning to “high-dosage” tutoring, a highly effective form that takes place for at least 30 minutes three or more times a week in one-on-one or small group settings. But high-dosage tutoring is often an expensive route that requires proper time and resources to effectively implement.
According to the Institute of Education Sciences, the research arm of the federal Education Department, 37 percent of public schools reported providing high-dosage tutoring in December. But almost half of those schools reported that their efforts were limited because of a lack of funding or ability to find staff members.
Advertisement
Fairfax County Public Schools, the state’s largest school system, is one of three Northern Virginia districts that has had a tutoring funding plan approved by the state Education Department. (The others are the Fairfax City and Falls Church City districts.) The district will receive $28 million for the All in VA plan and plans to spend about $6.9 million on personnel for hourly tutoring during fiscal 2024. The district estimates it will hire about 136 full-time tutors to serve just over 8,000 students for 36 weeks. For fiscal 2025, the district will spend about $10.2 million on 202 full-time tutors to serve just over 12,000 students.
The school system started a high-impact tutoring program last school year, so it already had the logistics in place to meet the All in VA guidelines. Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said in an interview that the extra funding from the state will help the district reach more students.
Reid said that under the All in VA guidelines, about a third of Fairfax’s more than 180,000 students qualify for tutoring. Reid said she hopes to see continued support and funding for these kinds of initiatives to reach even more students.
Advertisement
“I do appreciate the nod and extra support for work that we know is so important,” Reid said.
Other Northern Virginia school districts also plan to use the funding to expand existing recovery efforts. Pierrette Finney, chief academic officer at Alexandria City Public Schools, said the school system offers tutoring and remediation support to students through intervention classes, extended learning opportunities after school, online tutoring services and partnerships.
Alexandria City has not yet submitted a funding plan. Finney said the district is in the planning stages to continue expanding tutoring to more students and align services with the All in VA initiative.
“We have always recognized the importance of ensuring that all students have access to the resources they need to thrive in their educational journeys,” Finney said in a statement. “We firmly believe that tutoring is a fundamental component of a well-rounded education, and it has been an integral part of our educational approach for many years.”
Advertisement
In a note sent to parents Wednesday, Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Francisco Durán said the school district expected its tutoring program to begin for eligible students by mid-November.
Durán said that in coming weeks, schools will work to identify which students are receiving intervention in school and meet the All in VA requirements. Leaders then would begin developing tutoring schedules.
The All in VA plan was announced in early September after statewide test scores showed little to no improvement from last year. The tutoring program applies to any students who failed or were identified as being at risk of failing — defined as scoring under 400 — on math or reading tests.
The state Education Department offered best practices for school districts to implement the tutoring program. It said that school districts have some room for flexibility in how schools implement the programs, and that districts should develop a plan that will best serve their students.
Advertisement
Reid, the state Education Department spokesman, said that once a district’s spending plan is approved, divisions will receive All in VA state funding in semimonthly payments by June 30.
Reid said the funds are intended to be spent as quickly as possible during the 2023-2024 school year, but any funds left over as of June 30 may be carried over to continue the efforts in future years.
Reid said that department leadership has had meetings and plans to continue to help each school division launch anti-learning-loss programs that meet the constructs of their unique school divisions.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLKlwcKaq6KnnmR%2FcX6SaGhpZ2JnfLe10aCgp6GRYsCktM6oo2aspam8s7XNoGSpqp%2Bcv6K5jJ6vqZmeqLawuo4%3D