Want to Increase Tutoring Attendance? Do These 10 Things
These proven strategies will maximize engagement.
Research shows that high-dosage tutoring is one of the most effective ways we have to get students to grade level and keep them there, but it only works if students show up.
Even though districts around the country are offering tutoring services at unprecedented levels, some studies suggest that programs remain underutilized, especially in schools where students stand the most to gain.
So, how can we fix this? Like any complex challenge, there are multiple approaches, and change won’t happen overnight. But here are ten ways your school or district can raise attendance at tutoring sessions — and keep kids coming back.
- Inform Your School Community About Tutoring Services
With the relative newness of high-dosage tutoring, many schools and districts aren’t quite sure how to market the service to families who need it. When Carnegie Learning first launched the tutoring service at Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland, things were a little slow because students, teachers, and caregivers weren’t really sure what it was. In those early months, students only attended about 45% of the appointments they had scheduled. So, to get the word out and increase attendance, Carnegie Learning made flyers that the district could distribute, held Zoom Q&A sessions with families, and encouraged schools to talk about tutoring on their social media channels and at PTA meetings.
Once Carnegie Learning made it easy for districts to communicate with caregivers about why students should attend tutoring and set up methods for teachers to refer students to the program, attendance began to pick up, and saw students attending 75% of the appointments they had booked.
2. Make Sure Tutoring Is High-Caliber
Students are more likely to attend and return to tutoring sessions if they receive high-quality instruction. Tutors should give them deep learning in skills and content that builds on what they’re learning in class.
Another way to ensure high-caliber tutoring is to inquire about the ongoing training and support that tutors receive. For virtual tutoring, tutors also need technical training so they’ll know how to use the video conferencing platform and feedback tools.
Lastly, because every state and district is different, tutors must be trained to address any nuances or unique elements in the curriculum they teach.
3. Be Thoughtful About Tutoring Schedules
Students have busy lives, so tutoring needs to happen at times when they can actually show up. Schools that can work tutoring into the school day often see the best attendance rates.
Holding tutoring sessions during school hours will also go a long way in making your program more equitable since many students have after-school jobs, sibling or elder care responsibilities, or other commitments after school or on the weekends.
4. Get Classroom Teachers on Board
Once teachers understand that tutors are there to enhance what they do by giving individualized attention to the students who need it most, they can motivate students to attend tutoring sessions.
Open communication between teachers and tutors — who are natural allies — is a hallmark of Carnegie Learning’s tutoring program.
Our data shows that the more people we can involve in a student’s tutoring journey, the more likely they are to attend regularly.
5. Encourage Tutors To Build Connections With Students
Just like learning in a classroom largely depends on the relationship between teachers and students, when students feel connected with their tutors, they will be more likely to show up and work hard.
Every session should start with a conversation where the tutor takes the student’s emotional pulse and inquires about both significant and casual events in the student’s life since they met last.
6. Don’t Forget To Involve Caregivers
If students receive at-home tutoring, building relationships with caregivers is an excellent way to get more students to show up to tutoring sessions. Early on, I advise tutors to ask students to invite adults in the home to sit in on the session.
When caregivers feel involved in the tutoring process, they become another voice encouraging the student to attend sessions. Just because it gets said all the time doesn’t mean it’s not true: it really does take a village.
7. Find Creative Ways to Combat Screen Time Burnout
After years of virtual learning, keeping kids engaged on their screens can be challenging.
Good virtual tutoring programs use a variety of strategies and techniques to keep kids learning on their screens. One way to engage students is to conduct tutoring sessions 1-on-1 or in very small groups.
Secondly, tutors need to make sure that every lesson builds in ample student response time.
Lastly, tutors should reward students with short games or other brain breaks when they demonstrate that they are staying engaged.
8. Focus on Students’ Assets
Students will be more likely to return to tutoring sessions if they know that tutors will focus on their assets — not their deficits. An asset-based approach embraces everyone because it assumes, correctly, that everyone has something to contribute.
Every tutoring session should start with the tutor asking questions so students can communicate what they know.
The tutor begins with questions like, “What do you notice?” and “What are some things you can tell me about this problem?” Students start the lesson with reinforcement of what they can do before being challenged by the material they still need to learn.
And this validation will encourage them to come back for more tutoring.
9. Collect Data
To build the type of tutoring program that students will keep returning to, getting feedback from the students you are serving is a good idea.
Regularly ask students simple questions like, “Was the session helpful?” and “Was the information presented clearly?” If students answer negatively, dig a little deeper to discover how to tweak the sessions so they are meeting needs better.
Also, collect data on academic growth with pre-tests to measure baseline knowledge, exit tickets to show whether students have mastered content or need a review, and post-tests to determine what the student has learned after tutoring.
10. Offer Incentives
It won’t take students long to see that academic advancement is the greatest incentive to keep up with tutoring sessions, but it never hurts to offer a few bonus rewards.
We enter students with good tutoring attendance records into gift card drawings. Rewarding students who are doing well is fun, and incentives also create buzz about a tutoring program.
With everything going on in students’ lives, it can be challenging to get them to come to tutoring but don’t give up trying. Those extra tutoring sessions may be just the thing that helps them succeed.
For the full blog post, please see the below link:
