WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced new funding on Wednesday to help kids succeed in school.
Her upcoming budget includes nearly $4.8 million for high-impact tutoring.
District leaders say this will continue the program’s success.
The high-impact tutoring initiative was established to help those impacted by COVID-19 learning disruptions and to help close academic disparities.
Initially, federal funds covered the cost, but that funding will now come from the District’s budget.
“We have been early adopters of high-impact tutoring, and we want to continue on the success,” Bowser said.
Bowser made the funding announcement at Wednesday’s High-Impact Tutoring Summit.
“The Chancellor talked a little bit about his mid-year data coming out from D.C. public schools, which puts our kids on track to exceed where they were pre-pandemic for reading and math,” Bowser said.
Interim assessment data shows that at-risk students who receive the appropriate amount of high-impact tutoring are nearly seven percent more likely to achieve their growth goals than at-risk students receiving less tutoring.
“We know that tutoring improves attendance and improves the social-emotional wellness,” said Dr. Christina Grant, D.C.’s state superintendent of education. “We have evidence and our own assessments on the academic progress that students make when they have access to tutoring.”
Grant said they’re on pace to exceed their target of serving 10,000 students through the program.
“Having tutors inside our schools makes sure that there’s one more caring, trusted adult that is not just providing the one-on-one intervention, but also saying like how was your day? What’s going on?” Grant said.
Bowser’s budget also includes an overall 12% increase in school funding.
Other investments include:
- $5 million to support the reimagination of high school, including programming at the existing Advanced Technical Center in Ward 5, dual enrollment expansion, and the Advanced Internship Program and Career Ready Internships
- $17 million to open a new health clinic, in partnership with Children’s National Hospital, to provide health care services and training for students at the existing Advanced Technical Center in Ward 5
- $600,000 to open a new Advanced Technical Center at the Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Center in Ward 8
The budget still needs a green light from the chief financial officer before being presented to the council.
Bowser said she expects to reveal more details next week.
