Deep Dive:
Supporting Tutors
So They Can Support Students
Key Takeaways
Professional Development and Support Are Essential for Tutor Success
Effective tutoring programs provide structured pre-service training, ongoing job-embedded coaching, and a clear onboarding process. Programs like George Washington University’s Math Matters and Fulton County Georgia’s tutoring program emphasize synchronous and asynchronous training, tutorial management strategies, and professional development opportunities to ensure tutors are well-prepared and confident in their roles.
Integration into School Culture Enhances Tutor Retention and Effectiveness
Tutors thrive when they are included in the school community, attend professional learning meetings and school events (in-person or live-online), and collaborate closely with teachers. Schools that treat tutors as valued team members foster a positive and supportive environment, increasing tutor satisfaction and, ultimately, better student outcomes.
As tutoring gains traction as a key intervention in schools, district leaders face critical considerations such as where to find and how to support tutors. Education experts share best practices on recruiting, training, and retaining tutors while building systems that support effective, sustainable tutoring programs.
Building Safe Spaces for Learning: A Tutor’s Passion for Education
Lauryn Schumann, the daughter of two school administrators, has always been passionate about creating safe spaces for kids. Eager to work in public schools, she secured a tutoring position through Washington, DC’s George Washington University’s federal work-study program before starting her first year. “Tutoring spoke to me more than a desk job,” she said.
Now a junior, Schumann is a lead tutor with GW’s Math Matters, hanging flyers in residence halls and recruiting fellow tutors. Schumann said that getting course credit for tutor training was a major draw for her to participate. “We’d meet once a week and go over information and material we’d cover and learn how to manage behavior and the classroom environment,” she said.
Tutors also participate in monthly four-hour training sessions led by university curriculum instructors and program directors. Schumann said mock tutoring with peers during training helps tutors gain comfort and confidence.
Schumann tutors during the school day and after school. During the school day, an instructor or site manager is present while tutors work with students. She emphasizes that the relationships with her students have kept her returning to the role. “A few students asked if I would come to their spelling bee, and I was already near the campus. So, I was like, ‘Sure, why not?’ It’s fun and keeps me coming back because they want us there. I think many tutors enjoy that they can build this connection with kids and make an impact.”
Schumann’s experience highlights key elements of recruiting and retaining tutors. The program offered her more than simply a paying job. It also provided training to be successful, opportunities for building relationships, and experience in developing leadership skills.
Lessons from Fulton County, GA: What Works and Why
In Fulton County (Georgia) Public Schools, during the 2023-24 school year, 11 schools conducted high-impact tutoring under the Personalized Learning Initiative (PLI), a research effort led by the University of Chicago Education Lab and MDRC. The study examines different types of high-impact tutoring and includes 1,100 students in Fulton and more than 18,000 across the country. Saga Education is PLI’s math technical assistance partner.
Fulton County works with a tutoring vendor contracted through a district Request for Quote (RFQ) process. The vendor must ensure tutors have at least a high school diploma and are fully vetted through the school’s background check process.
Hannah Zey, a continuous improvement analyst at Fulton County Public Schools in Atlanta, GA, said that because some schools have high English Language Learner populations, they requested the vendor provide bilingual tutors who speak Spanish and English. Fulton focuses primarily on middle school math tutoring for the PLI study in grades 6-9. Most tutors either have undergraduate or master’s degrees or are in their final year pursuing a degree.
Saga’s Chief State and District Partnerships Officer, Maryellen Leneghan, said tutors receive roughly 20 hours of training before tutoring, split between synchronous and asynchronous training. That component of training orients tutors to what it means to be a tutor, introduces them to the curriculum, and teaches them the basics of tutoring best practices. Districts should also establish a separate onboarding process for tutors to share school- and district-specific information on processes and procedures.
Fulton also held a one-day training with tutors and teachers to outline expectations and understand the tutoring process. Tutors also conduct classroom observations before meeting with students and can attend weekly office hours with a Saga client relationship manager who supports professional development.
“A huge piece that we took from our learnings last year is that tutors are paid to participate once a week in the school’s math professional learning community,” Zey said. She added that it’s crucial to invite tutors into the school community and ensure they feel like part of a team. Their supervisor (an instructional coach or tutoring coordinator) should provide support and guidance, creating a clear point of contact for challenges and successes. Tutors need to understand their role within the school and have a designated space where they feel welcomed.
One of the biggest pitfalls occurs when tutors are not embraced by the school or district, leading them to operate in isolation — coming in for tutoring as a one-off and then leaving. Tutors develop a stronger connection to the school when they are invited to participate in school events, assemblies, teacher professional development days, and other activities. Inclusion in events like report card pickup reinforces their role as part of the educational team. This sense of belonging shifts tutoring from a standalone task to an embedded part of the school’s culture.
Frank Johnson, executive director of New Generation Academy Tutors, noted that a strength of the relationship is Fulton district’s commitment to communicating early and often with his team. “We know the goals upfront, and they’re flexible enough to make changes and receive feedback,” he said.
Johnson said another way districts can motivate tutors to return is by showing the impact of their work. School administrators presented data showing a significant increase in state math scores for students tutored in an Algebra 1 support class. This data motivated five of the six tutors from that team to return. “They felt the impact of their work, and they saw the success,” he said. “That’s one excellent retention strategy.”
Under federal ESSER funding, the district paid paraprofessionals to tutor. The district found they would sometimes be pulled for other school tasks and lacked the time to collaborate with teachers. Now that those funds are gone, the school can no longer fund those positions with paraprofessionals in the tutoring role.
“It’s not the tutor’s background in education that makes tutoring successful,” Zey said. “It’s how you support the tutors with training and structure.”
Teachers who work with tutors during class time play a key role in ensuring successful tutoring. “They set the tone for the environment you see in the classroom,” she said. “Do they value the students spending time with tutors?” Zey noted that when entering a classroom to observe tutoring, you can see, hear, and feel if tutoring is effective.
“I want to see that transition to tutoring, how they’ve set up the classroom, how they refer to tutors, and how they transition to it,” Zey said. In a successful implementation of tutoring, she often sees teachers moving around the classroom to ensure tutors and students are supported with technology or intervene when students have misconceptions about the subject.
Key Factors for Effective Tutoring Programs
Strong pre-service training programs
Clear tutoring structure
Collaboration between tutors and teachers
Consistent feedback and coaching on the job
Research and Best Practices in Tutor Recruitment and Training
Kathy Bendheim of Stanford University’s National Student Support Accelerator said that research shows effective tutors can come from a range of backgrounds, including certified teachers, college students, community members, and retired teachers. Before launching a tutoring program, districts should assess their local talent pool and existing resources.
“The great news is that districts can use whatever assets they have in the community,” Bendheim said. “Many different groups of folks can be effective tutors, so districts are not limited to hiring a certified teacher because they are often already overworked. The magic is identifying and leveraging your community assets and filling in the gaps through training and coaching.”
Bendheim said that the training and coaching tutors need will depend on the type of tutor hired. For instance, college students who have not worked with students before will require much more training and coaching than a retired teacher. (NSSA maintains a robust tutor training toolkit.)
Bendheim said tutor recruits need two primary skills or mindsets: a desire to build relationships with students and basic knowledge of the content area and instructional process. “It’s much easier to train for the second than the first,” she added.
Beyond recruiting tutors, districts need key personnel to ensure tutoring programs run smoothly. Experts emphasize the importance of both school-based logistics coordinators and a district-level program champion who facilitates communication among stakeholders. These roles ensure teachers and tutors stay aligned on goals and receive the necessary support through verbal updates or shared student progress notes.
Leneghan said that when recruiting tutors, it is essential to determine who their manager and supervisor will be. This could be someone at the district level or a school-based staff member. That person should also provide regular coaching and support to the tutors. Identifying this role is the first step.
The second challenge is managing part-time tutor schedules. Deciding how you want tutors to apply for a position is necessary. It is crucial to align tutor schedules with the schedule in the school where they will work.
The final consideration in the hiring process is the school district’s location and the accessibility of schools, especially for part-time tutors. If tutors only work three or four hours daily, tutoring program coordinators must consider whether the schools are close to public transit or easily accessible. For in-person tutors, long commutes of an hour or more to and from school locations can be a significant challenge.
“With live-online high-impact tutoring, you remove all of those barriers, and tutors can go anywhere in your school district,” Leneghan said.
“Getting the right people in the door and the right place is crucial to everything else,” Johnson said. “One of the big differences is treating tutoring and presenting the tutoring role as a professional job. People have done tutoring with their little brothers and sisters; some see it as a side gig, not a professional role. We weed out people just looking for a few casual hours to supplement their income.”
Johnson’s tutoring firm has primarily focused on hiring math tutors as students were most adversely affected by the pandemic in math learning. As districts seek tutors for more advanced secondary school math subjects, he said finding qualified tutors is more challenging.
Johnson said that offering tutors a competitive wage is an important starting point for schools to attract the right talent. Tutors seeking these roles have likely applied to multiple openings and are savvy about the going rate for their skills. Districts should consult with their HR department to ensure they offer competitive pay and factor in geographic location and cost of living. Finding a fit between the number of hours schools need and what a tutor wants to work is also a key factor. “One of the biggest reasons tutors leave is because the number of hours they need to work does not match the number of hours in the assignment,” he explained.
Another best practice Leneghan suggests for hiring tutors is posting the specific school or region of the school district where the tutoring could be happening, then posting those schedules and having tutors apply to specific schedules they will be in.
“It’s easier for tutors to select that than for tutoring coordinators to create schedules based on five different tutors’ availability being deployed to a school,” she said.
School leaders also play a crucial role in tutoring success. Bendheim noted that strong leadership helps maintain program fidelity and allows schools to adjust practices to improve outcomes.
Kate Cochran, managing director of the Partnership for Student Success at Johns Hopkins University’s Everyone Graduates Center, added that districts should consider existing assets in their communities, such as after-school programs or universities, and explore ways to expand the roles of part-time tutors.
She also stressed the need for a program coordinator to act as a liaison between tutors, teachers, and district staff. “This role is critical so everyone knows where to go if a challenge arises,” she said.
Cochran believes districts should consider how tutors can support student needs beyond academics. “As districts struggle with chronic absenteeism, tutors can support getting kids to school, ensuring that they feel supported, and connecting students and families with resources. It’s another opportunity for districts to consider.”
Leneghan stated that districts should consider leveraging technology to improve tutor effectiveness.
“By recording tutoring sessions and using AI analysis, districts would be able to give tutors immediate feedback, which reduces the human capital that they need at the district or school level to provide regular coaching,” she said. “Providing that coaching or that support would be an excellent way for people to go back, maybe watch a recording or read a summary, and then give the tutor feedback rather than having to be there bouncing around to each tutor. Coaching is one of the hardest things to do as it requires a lot of time from district or school staff. If technology helps in that space, I see it as a massive win for the tutors and staff when you’re considering the available time.”
Key Roles in District-Led Tutoring Programs
School-based logistics coordinators
Program coordinators
Tutors as student success coaches
You're Just Getting Started!
This is the first part of our three-part High-Impact Tutoring Deep Dive: Staffing, Time, and Funding—a practical series exploring what it really takes to implement effective tutoring programs at scale.
Up next: How Schools Can Integrate High-Impact Tutoring. Learn how schools nationwide successfully embed tutoring into the school day—without overloading staff or disrupting instruction. Then, don’t miss Funding High-Impact Tutoring for Student Achievement, where we unpack real-world funding strategies that make these programs sustainable and scalable.
