Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

Education

LAUSD Officials Admit Tutoring Program Hasn't Met Expectations

A high school boy with light brown skin and a girl (face unseen) are studying in a library with many bookcases behind them.
High school students participate in after-school tutoring.
(
Allison Shelley
/
The Verbatim Agency for All4Ed/EDUImages
)

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

Topline:

Los Angeles Unified school administrators acknowledged on Tuesday that the district’s tutoring services need to do better — with some schools failing to sign up enough students, and some tutoring vendors sometimes failing to even show up for sessions.

Why this matters: By now, it’s alarmingly clear that the pandemic threw many students off-track in school. “High-dosage tutoring” is one of the best strategies to get students back on track — an intervention endorsed by researchers and federal policymakers alike.

What’s the problem?

  • “Many of the companies — best in class — have either sent us unprepared tutors,” said Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, "have committed tutors to schools and the tutors don’t show up, or tutors show up without clear understanding of what they are to do.”
  • Relatively few students have been using the services, though the numbers of users has increased in recent weeks.

How is LAUSD addressing this? Carvalho has met with principals to ask for their ideas and has also promised accountability for vendors who haven’t delivered what they promised. Efforts to enroll students in tutoring are ongoing, officials say; new tutoring groups will launch after Thanksgiving.

Support for LAist comes from

How much is LAUSD spending? Officials have budgeted $28 million in both state and federal funds for high-dosage tutoring, not including additional services that individual schools might be paying for through other means.

How can I sign up my LAUSD student in tutoring? Check out this LAUSD webpage — there are several options.

Listen 1:06
LAUSD Officials Admit Tutoring Program Hasn't Met Expectations

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist