Impact Report SY 2023-24
National model. Made for Memphis.
Executive Summary
Literacy Mid-South’s Tutor901 program is a partnership between Literacy Mid-South (LMS), Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), local public charter schools, and the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) In 2022, LMS was one of five organizations to receive a TN ALL Corps Community Partner grant from TDOE Based on the success of this effort, LMS was one of three organizations to receive a Connected Literacy Partners grant from TDOE in 2023, doubling the program ’ s reach for School Year 2023-24
3,000 150+ 26 97%
Memphis students receiving highimpact reading tutoring
paid tutors
elementary schools
4,184,100 minutes of tutoring
$4,800,000
students cleared TDOE-required attendance threshold donated to MSCS through tutoring support since August 2022
My daughter actually loves to read to us. She’s proud of herself and so are we! Thank you all!
MSCS Parent
One Goal: Student Success
Tutoring support aligned with MSCS
Since 2022, Literacy Mid-South has donated more than $4.8 million to MemphisShelby County Schools through high-impact tutoring support designed to bolster MSCS’s academic initiatives.
Academics
In alignment with MSCS’s curriculum, Tutor901 utilizes grade-level appropriate i-Ready materials to guide tutoring sessions Session content follows MSCS’s curriculum cadence to reinforce skills students learn in the classroom
Tutoring is provided with a focus on 2nd and 3rd graders to support the district’s 3rd grade literacy commitment
Data
MSCS and LMS use data to equitably inform the selection of schools and students receiving support based on demonstrated need and ability to accommodate tutoring MSCS and LMS’s data leads regularly collaborate to ensure uniform evaluation and data monitoring practices.
School support
LMS officially adopted all 18 MSCS schools receiving tutoring through MSCS’s Adopt-A-School Program
Since Summer 2021, LMS has distributed more than 320,000 free, high-quality books to Memphis families
In collaboration with schools and MSCS’s FACE department, LMS supported over 100 family and community engagement events at schools in SY23-24
LMS’s staffing model takes significant burdens off of schools such as tutor management, training, and assistance with scheduling
Partnerships
The Early Literacy Consortium, which LMS co-convenes, facilitates cross-sector literacy support from community partners
Tutor901 is aligned to the goals of a number of strategic initiatives in Memphis, including MSCS’s Early Literacy Community Partnership Plan and Seeding Success’s More for Memphis plan.
What makes Tutor901 high-impact?
Tutor901's intervention model is aligned to the Tennessee Department of Education’s definition of high-dosage, low-ratio tutoring, as well as the more rigorous standards of high-impact tutoring defined by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University Key components of this design are included below
Program characteristic
Tutor : Student Ratio
Research-backed practices
The most effective programs have no more than three students per tutor Moving beyond this number becomes small group instruction, which is less personalized and requires a highly skilled teacher to ensure learning gains for all students being tutored together
Tutor901
Dosage
Effective program include three or more sessions per week for a minimum of ten weeks Older students can participate in 3060-minute sessions, whereas young students can benefit from shorter sessions
The ratio of tutors to students is consistently 1:3
Students receive:
45 minutes per session 3 sessions per week 12 weeks per semester
Setting
Tutor training
Tutoring interventions that are conducted during the school day consistently result in greater student attendance and academic outcomes than those that are held after school or during the summer
A wide variety of tutors can successfully improve student outcomes, as long as they receive training and ongoing support aligned to their incoming capabilities
Tutoring is provided exclusively during the school day
Tutors receive pre-service training on i-Ready materials, tutoring skills, and equity-informed strategies for connecting with students, as well as ongoing training and targeted feedback
*EdResearch for Action, “Design Principles for Accelerating Student Learning with High-Impact Tutoring” (June 2024)
High-impact tutoring Starts with high-impact tutors
In the 2023-24 School Year, Literacy Mid-South recruited, trained, and supported more than 150 part-time tutors, who were paid between $20-30 per hour Tutors came to the program with a variety of interests and backgrounds, but all were motivated by a passion for supporting students
Tutor demographics
identify as Black/African American have experience working for nonprofit organizations are former educators attended legacy MCS/SCS schools have children enrolled in MSCS or public charter schools are currently enrolled in a school, college, or university identify as Black men
89%
Tutors were more interested in pursuing a career in education
Tutors felt they made connections with their students
Tutors felt adequately trained to lead tutoring sessions
Students reported enjoying working with their tutors
School staff reported tutors were well-equipped to support student literacy development
As an educator, I understand the importance of literacy in the lives of children Having the opportunity to help inspire the love of reading and support children in becoming better readers is what keeps me motivated! So often children need to hear that they’re capable and intelligent. Seeing children become more confident readers makes the work worth it!
Tutor901 tutor
School spotlights
Literacy Mid-South partnered with 26 elementary schools in SY 2023-24 (18 MSCS, 8 charter) located throughout Shelby County All 26 schools hold Title I designations due to their high concentration of students living in poverty
MSCS-managed partner schools’ average Tennessee Department of Education-assessed letter grade was a low D (2.17 out of 5), nearly half a grade level below the average of all MSCS elementary schools. Partner schools also educate a higher population of Economically Disadvantaged (65%) students than the average MSCS elementary school (55%)
*TDOEassignsschoolsA-Flettergradesannuallybasedonstudentachievement,studentacademicgrowth,andgrowthofthehighestneedstudents
Anonymized profiles of six SY23-24 partner schools are provided below as case studies of Tutor901's impact on students’ growth towards grade level ELA proficiency.
These profiles demonstrate the range of Tutor901 partner schools’ student proficiency For example, 72% of 3rd graders at School A began the year reading two or more grade levels below proficiency This figure shrank to 28% at the end of the year At School C, where students began the year closer to grade level proficiency, the share of 3rd graders reading at or above grade level grew from 13% in the Fall to 59% in the Spring Regardless of where students started, tutored students at all partner schools demonstrated meaningful growth towards grade level proficiency
The impact that Literacy Mid-South has had on our community is simply amazing The growth our scholars have had is unmatched We must have them back.
MSCS Assistant Principal
School A
TVAAS score: 3
TDOE letter grade: D
2nd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
2nd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
This year, Literacy Mid-South conducted during the day reading tutoring with all 3rd graders and some identified 2nd graders. 3rd grade median progress to typical growth is 115% No other grade level has a median progress to typical growth over 100% at [School A] They also provided wrap-around services to promote a culture of reading within the school environment Literacy Mid-South attends every afterschool program, including parent-teacher conferences, literacy nights, and family data nights, providing free books to students and families They have also sponsored a Book Vending Machine that we currently have to reward and incentivize students Our students absolutely love the Book Vending Machine.
Prinicipal, School A
3rd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
to Spring i-Ready Growth
3rd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
School B
TVAAS score: 2
TDOE letter grade: D
2nd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
2nd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
to Spring i-Ready Growth
The presence of LMS tutors, their level of training and engagement with students, and the consistency of the service to our students has been more than a blessing...student confidence has also been impacted positively by the presence of the tutors and the relationships built through the consistency in service to our students.
Principal, School B
3rd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
3rd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
School C
TVAAS score: 1
TDOE letter grade: D
2nd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
2nd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
The tutors were very intentional about supporting the students. The 2nd-grade teachers were excited about the growth of students in reading who were in tutoring. Our 3rd-grade students performed better on district CFAs and i-Ready Diagnostics. It was a pleasure working with [Literacy Mid-South’s Tutor Support Manager] and the tutors They were always professional.
Assistant Principal, School C
3rd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
to Spring i-Ready Growth
3rd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
School D
TVAAS score: 5
TDOE letter grade: B
2nd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
2nd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
The tutors at [School D] were the best, most respectful, reliable group of tutors I have ever had the pleasure to working with. The students loved them and could count on their attendance
Instructional Resource Teacher, School D
3rd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
3rd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
School E
TVAAS score: 5
TDOE letter grade: C
2nd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
2nd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
i-Ready
I believe the extra tutoring for students was very beneficial.
PLC coach, School E
3rd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
3rd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
School F
TVAAS score: 4
TDOE letter grade: C
2nd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
2nd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
[We want Literacy Mid-South tutoring to continue because] we want to continue exposing our scholars to literacy and developing their reading skills. Principal, School F
3rd grade Fall i-Ready assessment
3rd grade Spring i-Ready assessment
Thank you to our partners
It all started with an initial investment…
In April of 2022, Literacy Mid-South was presented with a tremendous opportunity to expand its footprint and serve thousands of students at the same time It was at this time that the Tennessee Department of Education made a sizable investment in the future of Literacy Mid-South, which ultimately became an investment in Memphis and move needles and create impact
Shelby County. The $4.5 million opportunity from the TN Department of Education was and is the largest grant we have ever received. And we didn’t take it lightly We knew we had to think systemically to
Over the past two academic years, Literacy Mid-South has been privileged to join Memphis-Shelby County Schools as a thought partner in its literacy goals. Serving alongside the largest school district in the state of Tennessee permits us to think about system-level change What does it look like when we target more than 4,500 students with demonstrated need for literacy intervention? It looks like moving students from two grade levels below proficiency to being on grade level by
become full-time teachers.
As Literacy Mid-South celebrates our 50th year serving the Memphis community, we are especially grateful for the partners who have made this work possible. On behalf of the staff and the Board of Directors of Literacy Mid-South and
the end of the year It looks like a decrease in chronic on behalf of the more than 150 tutors across the 26 elementary schools we support, absenteeism It looks like students increasing their confidence and wanting to read more It looks like tutors being recruited to we would like to thank you for your support of Tutor901 All that we do as a city, a county, a school district is connected, at the foundation, to literacy Literacy
Mid-South is honored to utilize Tutor901 as an investment which strengthens our collective foundation
Sincerely,
Sam O’Bryant, III Chief Executive Officer Literacy Mid-South