2021 year in preview - The Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com)
The great academic catch-up
Children are likely to return en masse to school buildings in 2021, wrapping up our involuntary national experiment with home schooling. But the effects of the pandemic on American education will extend long beyond the end of Zoom school. And even before the fights over reopening campuses have ended, attention is turning to the next challenge: How to help children make up the ground they’ve lost. One answer, experts say, could be an unprecedented large-scale tutoring program.
Significant academic damage to children has already been recorded, particularly in math, as students have struggled to connect and teachers have struggled to teach remotely. Students of color and those in low-income families are seeing the steepest losses — exacerbating existing inequities. In a December report, the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. predicted that White students could lose the equivalent of eight months of math if schools stayed closed through June, while students of color could lose as much as 12 months. McKinsey estimates that high-intensity tutoring to cover half of U.S. students would cost $66 billion (at $2,500 per student), and advocates hope the federal government and private foundations will pay the bill.
It’s a big tab, and it’s far from a sure thing that there will be any money. Still, research — including a recent meta-analysis of 96 tutoring programs by J-PAL North America, an MIT lab focused on poverty issues — suggests that well-executed tutoring programs are effective at helping students catch up quickly, even more than other large-scale interventions (including reducing class sizes, providing additional training for teachers or purchasing new curriculums).
To be effective, experts say, tutoring needs to be consistent — at least two or three hours a week, for at least several months. The best programs are embedded within schools so that learning aligns with the local curriculum (and so students show up). Tutors don’t necessarily have to be teachers, however: Lower-paid paraprofessionals have nearly as much success, the research shows.
Schools are already strapped for cash, tax collections are down, and it’s been hard to pry funding out of Washington. If districts are left on their own, there’s little doubt that wealthy ones will be far better positioned to help kids catch up than their higher-need, higher-poverty counterparts. Schools appear eager to ramp up tutoring in 2021, but who will pay for the project — if anyone — is far less clear.
Laura Meckler is a national education writer
@laurameckler
Significant academic damage to children has already been recorded, particularly in math, as students have struggled to connect and teachers have struggled to teach remotely. Students of color and those in low-income families are seeing the steepest losses — exacerbating existing inequities. In a December report, the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. predicted that White students could lose the equivalent of eight months of math if schools stayed closed through June, while students of color could lose as much as 12 months. McKinsey estimates that high-intensity tutoring to cover half of U.S. students would cost $66 billion (at $2,500 per student), and advocates hope the federal government and private foundations will pay the bill.
It’s a big tab, and it’s far from a sure thing that there will be any money. Still, research — including a recent meta-analysis of 96 tutoring programs by J-PAL North America, an MIT lab focused on poverty issues — suggests that well-executed tutoring programs are effective at helping students catch up quickly, even more than other large-scale interventions (including reducing class sizes, providing additional training for teachers or purchasing new curriculums).
To be effective, experts say, tutoring needs to be consistent — at least two or three hours a week, for at least several months. The best programs are embedded within schools so that learning aligns with the local curriculum (and so students show up). Tutors don’t necessarily have to be teachers, however: Lower-paid paraprofessionals have nearly as much success, the research shows.
Schools are already strapped for cash, tax collections are down, and it’s been hard to pry funding out of Washington. If districts are left on their own, there’s little doubt that wealthy ones will be far better positioned to help kids catch up than their higher-need, higher-poverty counterparts. Schools appear eager to ramp up tutoring in 2021, but who will pay for the project — if anyone — is far less clear.
Laura Meckler is a national education writer
@laurameckler
Reading Quest was honored to chat with Brian S. Colón
on his Cafecito con Colón live show!
Cafecito con Colón with Reading Quest! Part I - Brian S. Colón
Cafecito con Colón with Reading Quest! Part II - Brian S. Colón
A loving, resilient Reading Quest family dealing with home insecurity
Hechinger Report: Reading Quest op-ed: Tips on Teaching Reading in the Time of Coronavirus
Spring, 2020 Highlights
One of our graduating senior tutors, Zuleyma Zambrano, was just featured in the SF New Mexican and in
the Hechinger Report. |
Our ambassador in training, Braulio Chavez is recognized in the SF New Mexican for his dedication to service.
Braulio was later featured in Parade and Scholastic Magazines! |
Reading Quest tutors in the News!
July, 2019: Our dedicated tutor Edgar Sarceño and our Reading is Magic Camp was featured on Channel 7 news!
Journey Santa Fe at Collected Works Bookstore
Reading Quest Director's Rayna Dineen made a presentation focused on "Reading is a Human Right"
Reading Quest in the Santa Fe New Mexican!
Lois Rudnik wrote a beautiful piece in the Santa Fe New Mexican titled "Creating Reading Magic for Santa Fe Students."
Reading Quest featured in Tumbleweeds!
Reading Quest on the Richards Eads show!
Reading Quest Presented at SFAI140 (March 2018)
On March 18, 2018, Zulyema, an amazing Reading Quest Tutor, and our courageous young student, Braulio, both represented Reading Quest at SFAI140 along with director, Rayna Dineen. You can see them the video of our 140 second presentation. Thank you Santa Fe Art Institute for inviting us!
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CONTACT INFO
Executive Director: Rayna Dineen
Phone: 505-920-9709
Email: readingquestcenter@gmail.com
Mailing Address (for mailing only):
Reading Quest PMB # 652
369 Montezuma Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501-2626
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