Why High-Dosage Tutoring is best chance for Tennessee students to recover from learning loss | Opinion

• Victor Evans, a former classroom teacher, is the Executive Director of TennesseeCAN.

Tennessee is not just talking about tackling student learning loss during the pandemic, we are doing something about it. 

In contrast to the mixed signals coming from the Biden administration on the reopening of schools, the use of COVID relief funds and the critical need for testing to quickly assess and address learning loss, Governor Bill Lee, Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, and the Tennessee General Assembly have moved quickly to make sure school districts have both the funding and the flexibility to rapidly put local plans in place to support our K-12 students. 

After so many months of online and hybrid instruction, there are likely three main options that districts will use in some form or combination to urgently address the learning loss that so many students have faced: 

• Extending the school day or school year to provide more traditional instructional time for students; 
• Creating a multi-week summer school program to zero in on those students who most need the most support;  
• Connecting the student directly with a teacher or trained adult for high-dosage tutoring, one-on-one or in small groups. 

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We believe that high-dosage tutoring directly tied to regular classroom content may be the most cost effective solution and offer the most immediate results to help students catch up. 

All of this, of course, must begin with immediate and innovative assessments to determine what students need the most support and in what areas.

Once we know how far a student has fallen behind in reading or math, imagine what the regular hands-on attention from a one-on-one tutor this summer can mean for that child’s rapid remediation and recovery before the start of the new school year 

To ensure these interventions reach students with no time wasted, funds must follow the student and be directed by the families, in consultation with their student’s teacher, and not be dictated or controlled by the school district. 

Families should be allowed to shop around and seek the tutoring option that best fits the unique needs of their student - and the need for extra tutoring during the summer months should be presented as an opportunity and not as a problem or punishment for those students who have simply fallen behind. 

All tutoring sessions should be pre-scheduled, required and presented as an intentional activity in which a substantial amount of time is set aside each week for the sole purpose of tutoring.

And when needed by the families to physically connect their students with the tutors, funding should also cover transportation, meals, and all other materials and instructional expenses. 

High-dosage tutoring should be delivered in person and not through more remote instruction which has simply failed too many of our students.  

Classroom teachers, substitutes, school district staff, college students, and adults or community organizations who have formed small learning pods for students, offer some great options to quickly secure, train and deploy these high-dosage tutors. 

Untrained or unpaid volunteers, who are not trained and/or have not been in communication with the student’s regular classroom teacher should not serve as a tutor.  

A great use of federal COVID relief funding is to quickly recruit, train and support tutors this summer who are committed to building a short-term, but strong relationship with the students, and with open lines of communication with the students’ most recent teachers. 

Thanks to the leadership of our state leaders, Tennessee’s school districts are already at work putting these and other plans in place.  There is no time or need to wait for further or confused federal guidance.   

True high-dosage tutoring must be organized quickly, and with fidelity, if we are going to help all students recover from the significant learning loss suffered during COVID-19. 

TennesseeCAN will continue to provide support, guidance and encouragement. Because nothing is more important to the future of our state than ensuring every child has the opportunity for a high-quality education, rapid recovery from learning loss, and a lifetime of success. 

Victor Evans, a former classroom teacher, is the Executive Director of TennesseeCAN.