Quill.org’s mission is to help students become strong writers, readers, and critical thinkers by providing free, AI-powered literacy tools that deliver immediate, personalized feedback. Since our founding in 2014, more than 11 million students, the majority in under-resourced classrooms, have used Quill to build their literacy skills, receiving feedback on over 3 billion sentences. Quill’s tools are intentionally designed to support equity by providing students with the kind of real-time, revision-based writing instruction that only one-on-one coaching could previously offer.

READ USA is a non-profit organization that recruits, hires, trains, and continually develops teens from mostly under-resourced high schools in Duval County, Florida. The teens are trained to mentor and tutor elementary students using best practices of reading instruction. The READ USA tutoring model targets three populations at one time: elementary students, teen tutors, and certified teachers. Through this grant, READ USA will serve 1,500 students in grades 2-5 and will evaluate the quality of this model by assessing the literacy growth for both students and teen tutors.

Reading Futures provides small-group virtual instruction for struggling readers, including those with indications or characteristics of dyslexia. Reading Futures tutors are certified teachers, combining explicit and systematic foundational skills instruction along with the RAVE-O program. They will serve students across three elementary schools, primarily in grades 2-3. Tutoring participation will target students scoring at or below the 20th percentile using the i-Ready screener. Reading Futures hopes to evaluate the efficacy of its instructional model by demonstrating effectiveness, in a manner that is faithful to the initial research studies. Through this grant, they also hope to incorporate new insights on student behavior and attention into its instructional model.

Reading Partners empowers students in reading and beyond by providing access to individualized literacy tutoring powered by community volunteers. During the 2023-24 school year, Reading Partners will serve 7,000 students in grades K-4 in 187 schools in 12 regions across the country. Reading Partners is investing in the scale and evaluation of Reading Partners Connects, or RPCx, the online version of their widely researched in-person tutoring program.

Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) will develop state-level policies and systems to support the scaling and sustainability of high-impact tutoring. To help source qualified tutors, RIDE will expand its menu of vetted tutoring providers and pilot a new “trainee-as-tutor” model that connects trainee teachers in teacher prep programs with schools in need of tutors. The state will also test the use of a regional tutoring coordinator–a new full-time position–to help districts with the staffing capacity they need to launch new tutoring programs. The Annenberg Institute at Brown University will study the lessons learned from RIDE’s work and other states to create a policy report on how to develop a replicable, state-level model for scaling and sustaining high-impact tutoring.

Rich Marshall is currently serving as the Project Director for Student Supports for the Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators (MAISA), primarily supporting MI Kids Back on Track, MiStrategyBank, and MiEWIMS (Michigan Early Warning Indicators Monitoring System).

Dr. Roni McKee is a seasoned educational leader with over 17 years of experience spanning classroom instruction, school administration, and statewide academic leadership. She currently serves as Senior Director of Teaching and Learning at the Oklahoma State Department of Education, where she oversees strategic academic initiatives and supports educators across the state. Dr. McKee previously served as Executive Director of English Language Proficiency and Program Manager of Strategic Improvement. Prior to state leadership, she was an elementary principal at Yukon Public Schools and an English Language Arts teacher in Edmond. She holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Oklahoma State University, an M.Ed. from the University of Central Oklahoma, a B.S. in Elementary Education from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and an A.A. from Northern Oklahoma College. Dr. McKee is passionate about student achievement and empowering educators to lead transformative learning in every classroom.

Saga Education is a non-profit organization that recruits and trains AmeriCorps members, referred to as Fellows, to directly tutor students in collaboration with school partners in cities throughout the country. Through this grant, Saga will provide tutoring services to students in grades 7-10 in New York City schools. Previous studies conducted using Saga’s model have revealed a significant connection between high-impact tutoring and academic achievement. Saga hopes to learn if a lower-cost model of their high-dosage tutoring will achieve similar benefits for students, which has the potential to drastically impact the number of students who may benefit from Saga’s research-backed program.

San Francisco Education Fund (SFEF) will provide virtual literacy tutoring to thousands of students citywide through the BookNook platform. The program will focus primarily on serving students in grades 2-5 who are not yet on grade level in reading. SFEF will conduct an ANCOVA study to examine the impact of the BookNook tutoring.

San Francisco Education Fund (SFEF) will provide virtual literacy tutoring to thousands of students citywide through the BookNook platform. The program will focus primarily on serving students in grades 2-5 who are not yet on grade level in reading. SFEF will conduct an ANCOVA study to examine the impact of the BookNook tutoring.

Shanna Beber is the Executive Director of Literacy at the Louisiana Department of Education where she leads the literacy team in the development of the state’s comprehensive literacy strategy. Over the past 20 years as an educator, she has served as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, district curriculum coordinator, literacy coordinator and Executive Master Teacher. Shanna has not only a deep passion for literacy but also for coaching teachers and leaders. This passion has led to the development of the Department’s literacy vision to have improved student literacy outcomes through high-quality instruction and interactions by an effective teacher supported by leaders and families. She prides herself on the progress Louisiana has made in such a short amount of time and is honored to lead the state’s literacy improvement work as they strive to provide every child with what they need to become skilled readers.

Southeast Community Foundation is a non-profit organization providing academic tutoring in Los Angeles County. They utilize a “needs-driven” tutoring model targeting students who have fallen behind and need individualized support. Tutoring will occur during the typical school day utilizing college students as the primary tutor base. They will provide tutoring services to 300 students in grades 1-8 in English language arts and mathematics. Participating students will receive four tutoring sessions per week, lasting 30 minutes to one hour, for at least 12 weeks.

Southern Education Foundation (SEF) will support up to eight school districts in developing and fielding outcomes based bid documents and contracts, making a substantial portion of payment to tutoring vendors conditional on evidence of student growth. SEF’s model for outcomes-based contracts (OBC) will provide critical guidance for the field that may be especially useful when school systems reach the end of their COVID-19 stimulus funding. SEF will build on its first year of OBC work, having supported four school districts in launching OBC for math tutoring  programs in the 2021-22 school year. In the coming year, SEF will partner with districts to create model OBC bid documents and contracts and will assist the districts in tracking student progress toward the project’s goals. The goals of this project include improved student achievement, a strong vendor response, ensuring that contracts are viable between partners, and establishing a competitive landscape for improving student outcomes.

Step Up Tutoring is a California-based non-profit organization that drives student success in under-resourced communities by providing free virtual relationship-based tutoring to elementary school students. Step Up recruits, trains, and supports mission-driven tutors from across the state, including through partnerships with over 25 colleges and universities to engage college students as tutors through Federal Work-Study and Californians for All College Corps. Founded in 2020 in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District, Step Up has served over 2,500 students to date. Our vision is that impactful and cost-effective relationship-based tutoring is accessible to every child in need.

Teach For America (TFA) will conduct an evaluation of its Ignite Fellowship to understand how the tutoring program impacts student outcomes and whether participation in the program influences tutors to become teachers. TFA’s Ignite Fellowship is a national tutoring corps, composed primarily of current college students, and is designed with a dual focus on academic acceleration and student well-being. It aims to recruit and hire exceptional fellows, strategically align with school partners, and support ongoing training of fellows working with students. Fellows provide virtual tutoring, during the school day, with a focus on early elementary reading and middle school math.

Teaching Lab’s mission is to transform teacher professional learning to ensure educational equity. Its focus is on scaling high-impact, curriculum-based professional learning and coaching, with the specific goal of improving outcomes for marginalized student populations. Teaching Lab serves over 10,000 teachers per year across the country.