Accelerate’s new State Tutoring Field Guide highlights Delaware’s innovation as a national tutoring leader

Delaware is being recognized as an innovative national leader for its high-dosage tutoring partnership with Reading Assist. Accelerate, a national nonprofit focused on tutoring and learning acceleration, released a State Field Guide highlighting Delaware’s leadership in high-dosage tutoring and outlining steps, including model regulations, that other states can take to create similar programs. 

“In Delaware we are prioritizing early literacy and foundational reading skills through the implementation of science of reading legislation and our state literacy plan,” Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said. “We are excited to partner with our districts and charters in this work to improve K-3 literacy. These foundational skills are the door opener for future educational opportunities and long-term success.”

The Covid-19 pandemic set back student learning and widened pre-existing gaps between students in low-income communities and affluent communities. Delaware has taken direct measures to address learning loss by ensuring every student has the support they need to explore and unlock their potential. High-dosage tutoring is one of the strongest interventions backed in research to accelerate student learning. Reading Assist will continue to play a key role in the state’s overall academic strategy to address learning loss and promote positive student outcomes.

To have a greater impact and build capacity long-term, early literacy systems must be coherent. In addition to supporting tutoring, Delaware has provided comprehensive supports through professional learning for administrators, literacy specialists and classroom teachers.

“By making sure there is alignment and common understanding among adults, our students will have a more coherent learning experience and better outcomes,” Deputy Secretary of Education Cora Scott said.

Accelerate is a national nonprofit that launched in the context of the national achievement gaps that have worsened significantly since the pandemic. Through state partnerships, Accelerate seeks to embed high-impact tutoring programs into public schools now and for the long term. The State Tutoring Field Guide highlights Delaware’s partnership with Reading Assist as a leading example of how statewide tutoring models can work for students. 

Accelerate awarded Delaware the States Leading Recovery Grant in 2023. Since then, the state has continued to develop and grow its statewide tutoring program. Currently, in partnership with Reading Assist, nine schools are offering high-dosage tutoring services during the school day in the state to over 250 students. 

The release of Accelerate’s State Tutoring Field Guide comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Education’s recent call for educators everywhere to pursue high-dosage tutoring strategies to address the nation’s continued learning loss.

Governor John Carney has prioritized improving literacy outcomes for Delaware students. His recommended budget includes $3 million for literacy coaches to continue capacity-building and system coherence in our districts and charter schools.

“We know that proficiency by third grade is critical for a student’s future educational success. Accelerate is one of the tools we can use to promote literacy among our early readers. It’s providing much needed tutoring in schools across our state,” said Governor Carney. “As we approach summer break, we need to ensure that families are taking advantage of every opportunity they have to keep their child reading and engaged in summer learning.”

Accelerate CEO Kevin Huffman said, “In every state in the country, kids are half a year or even a full year behind their pre-pandemic trajectory. When we look at the research on interventions to reverse learning loss, high-dosage tutoring continues to deliver the best results for kids — and it’s really up to states to help districts not just implement tutoring programs, but to choose ones that are backed by data and proven to be effective. Delaware is demonstrating that this can be done, which is why we wanted to share their case study with other states and provide model regulations that other states can use as a blueprint.”  

As the nation grapples with the task of addressing students’ learning setbacks nationwide, Delaware will continue to lead in ensuring students are on the path to academic recovery. 

For more information on Accelerate’s State Field Guide, please visit https://accelerate.us/state-field-guide. For more information on Delaware’s literacy plan, visit https://www.doe.k12.de.us/literacyplan.

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