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Saga Education – A Non-Profit Model for National Expansion of High Impact Tutoring

Sat, April 26, 11:40am to 1:10pm MDT (11:40am to 1:10pm MDT), The Colorado Convention Center, Floor: Ballroom Level, Four Seasons Ballroom 4

Abstract

Saga Education was formed in 2014 with ten prior years of experience addressing barriers to scaling up high impact tutoring in public schools. Saga has since become the national nonprofit leader in high-impact, in-school-day tutoring that leverages human resources and technology to accelerate student outcomes and educational equity. The success of our evidence-based model (i.e., 8 randomized controlled trials) has helped to drive the nation’s current investments in high-impact tutoring. By incorporating social learning theory and evidence-based practices, our approach reimagines the traditional student learning model, placing personalized instruction and student support at the center of the educational experience.

Systems change is the umbrella under which Saga’s two main bodies of work exist - (1) Direct Services, which is Saga’s vehicle for fidelity and (2) Widespread Impact, Saga’s vehicle for scale. Saga’s Direct Services program addresses educational inequity by focusing on schools and districts with high populations of Black and Latinx students and students in poverty. This is also a source of data for analyzing our model and continuously working toward maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Saga’s Widespread Impact program exists to create long-term, sustainable impact. In this work, Saga helps states and school districts build their capacity to implement their own high-impact tutoring models, using Saga-trained tutors, managers, and curriculum supported by technology. Saga is directly assisting tutoring efforts across the country by facilitating communities of practice among districts across the United States so they can also learn from each other’s work when bringing high impact tutoring to scale.

To expand our model, Saga’s HIT model is human-led and technology augmented. Through our ongoing analyses of implementation and process data, we have found that the combination of relationships and technology is essential to reaching high needs students. Saga is developing a support platform that leverages consulting and technology and incorporates artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide personalized tutoring tailored to individual student needs. Our analyses have demonstrated that the technology provides coaching and feedback to instructors as effectively as an expert observer but at a lower cost. Teachers and administrators can track student progress in real-time and make data-driven decisions while students can access educational content and resources through their tutor’s tutelage. The University of Chicago Education Lab, through their Personalized Learning Initiative for which Saga is the implementation partner, is evaluating the work through randomization at the student level in host school districts. Saga’s expansion strategies are addressing logistical and cost barriers to high impact tutoring and helping Saga reach more students each year.

Over the next ten years, Saga is planning to create long-term systems change. This goal will be achieved by altering educational delivery, developing cost-effective personalized learning interventions, and embedding these interventions within the school day. Saga intends to assist schools in reworking schedules, reimagining school budgets, and rethinking approaches to human capital. Our long-term expansion plan ultimately has the potential to lift students out of poverty.

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