National Tutoring Nonprofit Introduces Free, Online Training to Help Scale Tutoring Programs

Saga Education, the national nonprofit behind one of the country's most studied personalized tutoring services, has announced the introduction of Saga Coach, a free, self-paced educational training portal that covers the basic components of successful tutoring. Saga's expertise as an established implementer of high-dosage, high-impact tutoring programs targeting thousands of students in large U.S. school districts such as Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Broward County, Fla., is at the heart of the training.

According to research, children in the wake of the pandemic learned just 87% of the reading and 67% of the math that their grade-level counterparts learned during more typical years. While more schools prepare for Summer and Fall 2021, state and district leaders are planning to launch elevated tutoring services to ensure students have extra resources to make up for the learning time lost this year. Saga Coach provides school leaders with a one-of-a-kind, self-paced preparation curriculum that will assist them in easily preparing new tutors for this job at scale.

"Leaders at the state and district levels recognize the importance of addressing the major learning disruptions that have occurred during the last year. When tutoring is handled properly, it can do more than just help students catch up; it can also help them thrive "AJ Gutierrez, co-founder of Saga Education, said. "As per University of Chicago research, students will gain two and a half years of math progress in one year by tutoring. Saga Coach takes the lessons we've learned and applies them to every organization, school district, or program that wants to incorporate tutoring."

The virtual platform for Saga Coach is based on Saga's expertise providing over 2 million hours of tutoring. The online curriculum provides 19 self-paced modules on key areas that help tutors excel, such as building relationships with students and structuring an effective tutorial. Saga Coach is accessible on mobile devices and can be reached at any time and from any location.

Learning modules that comprise Saga's basic training are unlocked as tutors progress. Saga's modules concentrate on three critical subjects for successful tutoring: relationship, ratio, and rigor.

The platform has an engaging dashboard where tutors can work through the various units at their own pace, capture reflections, track progress, and engage with the tutoring community.

"The difficulties that school districts face when introducing high-dose tutoring programs stem from the hiring and training of potential tutors, many of whom may not be qualified educators," said Krista Marks, Chief Product Officer at Saga Education. "We expect that by offering Saga Coach as a free, self-paced training platform, organizations can use it to deliver quality pre-service training for their tutors. The interactive course is intended to be engaging and to offer tutors agency over the journey of learning the fundamental skills of becoming a successful tutor."

The University of Chicago Education Lab has studied Saga Education's comprehensive math tutoring model in Chicago Public Schools and New York City since 2013, discovering that it significantly increases learning outcomes for high school students. In two randomized controlled trials, students who got Saga tutoring studied up to two and a half years of math in one academic year – the equivalent to closing up to half of the black-white test score difference in one school year. Saga's tutoring paradigm has cut math course failure rates by 60%, according to the randomized trials.

About Saga Education

Saga Education is an evidence-based, personalized tutoring intervention that aims to provide students who are struggling with math the trust and intellectual strength they need to graduate high school and fulfill their goals. Fast Company added the organization to the distinguished list of the World's Most Innovative Educational Companies in 2020, recognizing it for its evidence-based, scalable tutoring program that targets students in high-need schools.