2023 Annual Report

Dear Partners and Friends,

Since Saga’s beginning, our goal has been to use high-quality, personalized learning as a powerful catalyst for educational equity and to leverage the best evidence-based practices for student learning and growth. By incorporating high-impact tutoring (HIT) with its personalized instruction into the core educational experience, we know we can lift students academically, break the cycle of generational inequity, and increase economic mobility.

Achieving educational equity must be at the heart of our nation’s future. With the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealing alarming declines in math and reading proficiency levels, the urgency to act is clear. Our vision is not only to rectify this decline but also to permanently support and transform the public education system by embedding high-quality tutoring into the regular school day for all students who need it. Tutoring should be provided in the grade levels and subjects where it has the most impact on a student’s graduation from high school, free of cost to the student and family, and be supportive of hard-working teachers and of students who need to be taught at the academic levels at which they arrive. We see this as part of the sacred obligation of America’s schools: to provide a free, appropriate, and effective public education.

Our work over the years has influenced decision-making across the educational spectrum, from the policy realm to the classroom. Today, we not only deliver HIT directly, but we also support a number of school district partners in implementing district-led HIT programs, providing a suite of software solutions, and leading cohorts of districts in communities of practice. This 360-degree approach has helped Saga to shape itself into the nation’s trusted partner for high-impact tutoring. We have carried this momentum throughout the academic year.

Our audacious plan is to create long-term systems change. By 2033, we aim to have the key elements of our framework for personalized learning intervention ingrained into every American school district’s budget, schedule, and approach to human capital. That means high-impact tutoring is a part of the regular school
day, with the student-to-tutor relationship at its center and with tutors supported by coaching, and with students provided sufficient dosage to make a measurable difference. We seek to challenge the status quo and show that there is indeed a better way to educate our children and, as a closely associated benefit, to bring a new pipeline of educators into our schools. Our ultimate goal is to reach 3 million students in third and ninth grades in U.S. public schools who are at risk of failing. We intend to uplift these students and others at the critical leverage points in K–12 education – third-grade literacy and eighth and ninth-grade Algebra 1. Rigorous research shows that an effective intervention at each of these critical leverage points will quadruple the likelihood of high school graduation.

There is much to do to effectively scale HIT and ensure its sustainability. It is essential for us to take bold, strategic steps. We began this fiscal year with a renewed focus. Within the pages of this FY23 Annual Report, we will document the work of our team – redirecting our efforts, amplifying our learnings, and increasing our impact on students – all with the aim of supporting and transforming public education. As we clearly declare our vision and lay out a solid roadmap toward a more equitable future in education, we are grateful for the support of our partners and collaborators, and we look forward to working together to make a difference in students’ lives across the country. We introduce to you Impact – with a focus on scale and sustainability.