The GO Foundation has built a high-dosage tutoring program that can flexibly complement math and ELA instructional needs in grades 3-12 and across different learning environments. Trained AmeriCorps tutors — called Fellows — provide frequent, individualized tutoring instruction during the school day that advances the model’s three central aims: instruct for mastery and acceleration, mentor students to promote a learning mindset and positive self-identity, and contribute to the needs of the school community. The GO Foundation ensures its tutoring sessions deliver personalized, rigorous content and are offered to entire cohorts in a school, not to only a select few. This model supports a dual mission of equitable access and outcomes for all students and of inspiring a diverse pipeline of effective classroom teachers and lifelong advocates for educational justice.
In its twelve years in operation, the GO Foundation’s high-dosage tutoring model has reached over 10,000 students at schools in Hartford, CT; Bridgeport, CT; New York, NY; Newark, NJ; Wilmington, DE; and Baltimore, MD. The Foundation offers implementation and management services through a direct partnership and standalone advisory services for schools or districts seeking to launch a high-dosage tutoring program.
What Makes this Model Innovative?
High Expectations with Unlimited Opportunities for All
Connection & Community
Customization
Related Models
High-Dosage Tutoring
Saga’s high-dosage tutoring model strives for increased persistence and achievement in math by leveraging adult-learner relationships and in-a-school-day, personalized tutoring sessions.
High-Dosage Tutoring
Saga’s mission is to help states and districts to strengthen student confidence and achievement in math—a leading cause of high school dropout. Saga Direct’s model for high-dosage tutoring prioritizes the academic and socioemotional needs of students in under-resourced schools by ensuring all students feel a sense of belonging and achievement. This model personalizes math intervention or acceleration through rigorous tutoring sessions scheduled during the school day. Highly trained tutors, called Fellows, act as mentors and work closely with teachers and families to support student growth within and beyond the classroom.
Saga Direct’s high-dosage tutoring model is provided to 6,000+ students, built within the school day. Saga’s Widespread Impact division also provides comprehensive services to schools and districts: a standards-aligned math curriculum, a specialized platform for remote tutoring, as well as support for implementation, fidelity, training of supervisors and tutors, onsite inspections, and program management. With Saga, students can receive up to 150 hours of personalized instruction as part of their school day—and that tutoring time yields up to up to two-and-a-half years of academic gain in just one academic year.
Goals
The GO Foundation’s high-dosage tutoring program aims to increase academic achievement by leveraging strong Fellow-student relationships for long-term improvements in graduation rates and college enrollment. They prioritize the following student outcomes:
Knowledge and Content Skills
Students practice content through individualized support to increase math fluency and computation skills as well as reading comprehension and fluency.
Learning Habits and Mindsets
Students experience comprehensive mentorship where they gain various social-emotional skills like positive self-identity, agency, and growth mindset.
Experience
The GO Foundation’s high-dosage tutoring model is offered to entire cohorts of students in math and ELA content areas. Their approach to implementation consists of: instruction for mastery, mentorship for leadership, and development of community. Together, these ensure tutoring is a rigorous and personalized learning experience for more students. The GO Foundation synthesized the ten essential elements of its high-dosage tutoring model to best describe the student experience and learning environments. GO’s 10 Essential Elements
Fellows utilize tailored tutoring materials for rigor and just-right support and deliver student-centered, personalized instruction during sessions. Tutorial materials are culturally responsive and relevant and engaging, and tap into students’ passions and backgrounds. Curriculum is explicitly conscious of race, class, gender, equity, and inclusion, and is connected to student experiences.
During sessions, students:
- Work in small, consistent groups of two to four students, which increases one-on-one instruction.
- Practice student-centered math and ELA learning strategies to best master content (some include: higher-level questioning, discussion, and problem-solving in pairs, among others).
- Receive tutoring as part of their weekly learning schedule.
- Attend math and ELA sessions for a minimum of 90 minutes per week, but optimally daily for 30 minutes each day.
Building caring and supportive relationships with students is essential to a GO Fellow’s success. Fellows spend time with students to promote and develop positive self-identity, agency, and growth mindset. Mentoring sessions most often occur during the school day in advisory-like periods, though Fellows are encouraged to build relationships with students during the whole school day, as well as after-school activities, enrichment periods, lunch, arrival, and dismissal times.
As mentors, Fellows check in with their students, listen to their problems or concerns, and encourage them to pursue interests and talents. Most often during mentoring, students experience:
- Close partnerships with near-peer Fellows through weekly check-ins focused on emotional growth.
- Building relationships with a trusted, consistent adult they feel they can talk to.
- Encouragement for investment in their own success and positive, efficacious mindsets.
- Accountability as well as productive and honest conversations around attendance, work completion, wellness, and mental health.
- Practice with goal setting and reflecting on progress and achievements around their personal and academic goals.
Fellows actively participate in school activities, both in and out of classrooms, to ensure they are an authentic part of students’ learning experiences. Fellows work closely with school-based teachers on curriculum alignment, attend community events, communicate with families on students’ progress, and fill in as support staff as needed. Fellows work with students to learn about and incorporate anti-racist social justice practices into their approach towards being a part of a diverse and equitable community. Students are supported to see themselves as agents of change who have the responsibility to use their leadership in their community.
The emphasis on community and individual empowerment ensures that students experience:
- Regular updates to their parents or families from Fellows via phone, email, and in-person about their academic progress, at a minimum of twice a month.
- Engaging morning routines that welcome students to school and after-school programming that offers enrichment opportunities, both run by Fellows.
- Active support from trusted adults outside of the classroom, such as sports games or talent events.
- A model for love of learning and having strong connections to school.
Supporting Structures
GO high-dosage tutorials can be integrated into a school’s overall model but will require some shifts to the daily schedule, adult roles, approach to school community and culture, and family partnerships.
Schools must provide Fellows with a standards-aligned curriculum and assessments that can be adapted for tutoring sessions as well as systems that support collaboration around small-group instructional practices.
Fellows and teachers work collaboratively to ensure curriculum, instruction, and formative assessments are aligned to class content. This model relies heavily on school-based materials, which Fellows then tailor and modify to benefit specific cohorts or small groups of students. As such, Fellows focus on the implementation of high-quality curriculum guided by the GO Foundation and partner schools. Sample Tutoring Lesson Plan
The school culture must support a seamless integration of Fellows into its community in order for them to best contribute to each school.
Fellows work with teachers, staff, and administration to understand the school culture and become contributing members of the school community— in fact, more than three-quarters of Fellows lead after-school activities.
Fellows often take on community leadership roles, contribute to enrichment and after-school events, create trusting friendships with teachers and students, and seek to be valuable contributors to the learning community.
It is important that school-based staff partner with GO to support Fellows’ training and coaching. Recruitment, hiring, and placement is done by the GO Foundation.
The GO Foundation recruits and hires AmeriCorps volunteers, career-changing professionals, and recent graduates interested in entering the educational field. Schools and the GO Foundation work together to provide professional development that supports these young professionals and their career aspirations. Sample Onboarding & Training Guide
A site-based coordinator collaborates closely with one of our Deputy Directors of Program Implementation to ensure the program is running smoothly at implementing sites.
The GO Foundation team also collaborates with the site-based coordinator and school leadership to design and implement tailored professional development to build key skills, mindsets, and beliefs necessary for success. In turn, Fellows provide individualized attention to more students as well as passion and energy as near-peer mentors. Fellow’s Arc of Development Training on Supporting Diverse Learners
Fellows who show the greatest promise have the opportunity to pursue teacher certification through GO’s Teacher Residency. Establishing this pathway into teaching is an increasingly important part of the GO Foundation’s mission to increase the teacher pipeline. Teacher Residency Program Description
The GO Foundation’s HDT model must offer at least 90 minutes of tutoring for ELA and/or math over the course of a week, but can be adapted to various schedules.
School schedules must allow for a minimum of 90 minutes of ELA or math tutorial throughout the week — GO recommends meeting at least three times a week. Here are some sample schedules:
- A station rotation model, where at least 20-30 minutes is set aside for small group work with Fellows running tutorials. This works predominantly in elementary schools.
- A standalone block, where tutorials are scheduled like a “specials” class. This works predominantly in middle schools. Sample MS Fellow Schedule
- Integrated into content blocks, where fellows join math and ELA classes and have defined tasks with a consistent group of students for a specific amount of time. This often works in high schools, where seat time requirements often drive scheduling needs and standalone or station blocks are not as common.
Locating and leveraging short- and long-term funding streams is essential in order to equitably serve larger cohorts of students.
GO has prioritized offering its tutorial program to larger cohorts of students in order to increase and normalize equitable access to high-quality academic interventions. Research suggests that relative to its per pupil cost, a targeted, in-class tutoring program done in high doses is cost effective — however, doing so for larger cohorts of students can be financially challenging. The GO Foundation partners with schools to support them in locating and leveraging sustainable funding streams as well as planning around staffing, scaling, and direct program implementation.
We encourage you to reach out to this model for more information on their implementation journey and partnership opportunities.
The GO Foundation supports schools in setting up data and information systems that allow Fellows to track students’ academic progress in real time.
GO has built a data system that uses Ed-Fi data standard to integrate all of its staff and student learning management systems into a single “Data Portal” that contains results on student and Fellow engagement surveys, student academic progress, attendance data, demographic information, and more. Ed-Fi This portal is used by Fellows and GO Site Directors to monitor program implementation and learning across multiple schools.
The GO Foundation conducts research projects focused on program implementation as well as student and Fellow outcomes in order to pinpoint areas of success and needs for improvement. These projects are conducted in close partnership with a Fellows team that monitors the implementation and impact of the model and analyzes results to ensure goals are met.
Schools must provide Fellows with a standards-aligned curriculum and assessments that can be adapted for tutoring sessions as well as systems that support collaboration around small-group instructional practices.
Fellows and teachers work collaboratively to ensure curriculum, instruction, and formative assessments are aligned to class content. This model relies heavily on school-based materials, which Fellows then tailor and modify to benefit specific cohorts or small groups of students. As such, Fellows focus on the implementation of high-quality curriculum guided by the GO Foundation and partner schools. Sample Tutoring Lesson Plan
The school culture must support a seamless integration of Fellows into its community in order for them to best contribute to each school.
Fellows work with teachers, staff, and administration to understand the school culture and become contributing members of the school community— in fact, more than three-quarters of Fellows lead after-school activities.
Fellows often take on community leadership roles, contribute to enrichment and after-school events, create trusting friendships with teachers and students, and seek to be valuable contributors to the learning community.
It is important that school-based staff partner with GO to support Fellows’ training and coaching. Recruitment, hiring, and placement is done by the GO Foundation.
The GO Foundation recruits and hires AmeriCorps volunteers, career-changing professionals, and recent graduates interested in entering the educational field. Schools and the GO Foundation work together to provide professional development that supports these young professionals and their career aspirations. Sample Onboarding & Training Guide
A site-based coordinator collaborates closely with one of our Deputy Directors of Program Implementation to ensure the program is running smoothly at implementing sites.
The GO Foundation team also collaborates with the site-based coordinator and school leadership to design and implement tailored professional development to build key skills, mindsets, and beliefs necessary for success. In turn, Fellows provide individualized attention to more students as well as passion and energy as near-peer mentors. Fellow’s Arc of Development Training on Supporting Diverse Learners
Fellows who show the greatest promise have the opportunity to pursue teacher certification through GO’s Teacher Residency. Establishing this pathway into teaching is an increasingly important part of the GO Foundation’s mission to increase the teacher pipeline. Teacher Residency Program Description
The GO Foundation’s HDT model must offer at least 90 minutes of tutoring for ELA and/or math over the course of a week, but can be adapted to various schedules.
School schedules must allow for a minimum of 90 minutes of ELA or math tutorial throughout the week — GO recommends meeting at least three times a week. Here are some sample schedules:
- A station rotation model, where at least 20-30 minutes is set aside for small group work with Fellows running tutorials. This works predominantly in elementary schools.
- A standalone block, where tutorials are scheduled like a “specials” class. This works predominantly in middle schools. Sample MS Fellow Schedule
- Integrated into content blocks, where fellows join math and ELA classes and have defined tasks with a consistent group of students for a specific amount of time. This often works in high schools, where seat time requirements often drive scheduling needs and standalone or station blocks are not as common.
Locating and leveraging short- and long-term funding streams is essential in order to equitably serve larger cohorts of students.
GO has prioritized offering its tutorial program to larger cohorts of students in order to increase and normalize equitable access to high-quality academic interventions. Research suggests that relative to its per pupil cost, a targeted, in-class tutoring program done in high doses is cost effective — however, doing so for larger cohorts of students can be financially challenging. The GO Foundation partners with schools to support them in locating and leveraging sustainable funding streams as well as planning around staffing, scaling, and direct program implementation.
We encourage you to reach out to this model for more information on their implementation journey and partnership opportunities.
The GO Foundation supports schools in setting up data and information systems that allow Fellows to track students’ academic progress in real time.
GO has built a data system that uses Ed-Fi data standard to integrate all of its staff and student learning management systems into a single “Data Portal” that contains results on student and Fellow engagement surveys, student academic progress, attendance data, demographic information, and more. Ed-Fi This portal is used by Fellows and GO Site Directors to monitor program implementation and learning across multiple schools.
The GO Foundation conducts research projects focused on program implementation as well as student and Fellow outcomes in order to pinpoint areas of success and needs for improvement. These projects are conducted in close partnership with a Fellows team that monitors the implementation and impact of the model and analyzes results to ensure goals are met.
Supports Offered
The GO Foundation’s high-dosage tutoring program offers the following supports to help you implement their model.
High-Dosage Tutoring Partnership
A GO high-dosage tutoring program partnership includes the following:
- Implementation management expertise and support from GO’s team.
- Professional development tailored to the needs of GO Fellows at your site.
- Site Visits to schools implementing the high-dosage tutoring model.
- Recruiting a diverse group of Fellows; a new talent pipeline for your site after they complete their service year.
Advisory Services
The GO Foundation can share insights and learnings with schools at any point of their high-dosage tutoring journey. GO coaching and consulting services can provide:
- Site Visits: Great Oaks Charter School’s open-door policy encourages site visits so that all can see a high-dosage tutoring program on the ground. Please reach out to the GO Foundation contact to schedule your visit.
- Coaching: GO leaders can offer on-the-ground coaching, resources, and ongoing mentorship to support your context’s high-dosage tutoring model.
- Consulting: The GO Foundation’s 12-year HDT implementation journey is rich with experiences and research-backed insights on classroom and organizational level strategies. Reach out to the contact below to learn more.
Reach
Impact
A recent program brief provides evidence of initial growth and overall positive impacts of integrating GO’s high-dosage tutoring model. CPRL, 2021
Students who receive high-dosage tutoring from GO tend to show higher achievement and greater persistence.
- The average academic performance of students participating in GO’s HDT program is greater than that of students not enrolled.
- Students participating in GO’s HDT program meet ELA expectations at a higher rate than those not enrolled.
- Students enrolled in the GO HDT program graduate at a higher rate than the district average.
Most fellows who tutor with GO express feeling prepared to support their students and many go on to full-time education careers.
- Beginning- and end-of-year surveys results show an 11% growth in Fellows’ perception of their ability to deliver all necessary content during sessions, explain complex thinking to students, and increase collaboration between students.
- About 80% of Fellows say they feel capable of coaching and mentoring their students after working with GO.
- Almost 30% of Great Oaks Legacy Charter School’s instructional, operation, and leadership staff were once Fellows.
Families of students who receive GO’s high-dosage tutoring express more positive feelings about their schools.
- The families of students enrolled in GO’s high-dosage tutoring programs tend to view their schools more favorably than families without students in the program: the GO-NYC high school ranked amongst the 99th percentile on family satisfaction out of a nationally representative sample.