Expanding Math Tutoring for SELA Families

K-12 STEAM education

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Southeast LA (SELA), which is made up of multiple small cities, is home to over 60,000 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students. If SELA were its own school district, it would be the 5th largest in the state of California. Latino students make up 97% of the student population in SELA (61,695 students in total). 91% of students in the region are low-income and Latino, and over a quarter (26%) are English Language Learners. The LA Times reported in October 2022 that 84% of Black students and 79% of Latino and low-income students in SELA did not meet state math standards, a close to 33% increase from before the pandemic. Despite the quantifiable need in the region, Black & Brown communities are frustrated that, though money has been allocated to LAUSD to expand tutoring services throughout the district to address these gaps, arduous internal processes at the district have meant that dollars move slowly while the need and demand for high-quality tutoring increases.

High-quality tutoring is the most effective tool to rapidly improve student performance; it has been shown to increase achievement on average by “an additional three to 15 months of learning across grade levels” as well as having ancillary effects including “greater school engagement and higher grades in other courses.” Innovate has built relationships with local tutoring providers who provide no-cost high-quality math tutoring with credentialed teachers. In the 2023-24 school year, Innovate partners served approximately 600 students at eight school sites. But often, these providers are not able to navigate the LAUSD system, and struggle to gain access to school sites to provide their much needed services.
Innovate currently works with local providers through partnership with the LA STEM collective to implement a two-pronged approach to address the inequitable impact of COVID learning loss: 1) providing effective high-impact math tutoring to SELA students to meet immediate need, while 2) training parents to advocate for faster, more equitable and efficient allocation of public dollars to sustain and expand tutoring across LAUSD. Innovate will use funds from the LA2050 grant to expand access to tutoring in SELA by advocating for system changes that 1) break down barriers between tutoring providers and LAUSD or other local municipalities, and 2) ensure high-quality tutoring is named as a priority for the allocation of Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) funds.

If our work is successful, low-income Black & Brown students in SELA will begin to overcome COVID learning loss and see improved academic outcomes in numeracy and math scores; their parents and caregivers will have built the community power and capacity to hold the education system accountable for a high-quality educational experience that cherishes and affirms every student, particularly Black and Brown students, and prepares them for a lifetime of opportunity and choice.
Innovate’s work will bridge the gap between addressing the immediate needs of families and students and investing in long-term solutions that can only be won through civic engagement and engaged local advocacy. Innovate will maintain an organized group of family and community leaders who are actively engaged in advocating for expanded access to high-quality math tutoring for SELA students. This includes advocacy to improve the contracting process for math tutoring service providers within the school district.

We will measure progress towards our goal of increasing access to math tutoring in SELA through the following data points:
Number of campaigns won that result in new policies, and/or practices to expand tutoring access (goal: 1 policy or practice change over the course of the year)
Number of research meetings per year where parent leaders are engaging with decision-makers to discuss high-quality math tutoring (goal: 15)
Number of core parent leaders engaged through regular community planning sessions (goal: 30)
Number of community members engaged through one-on-one listening sessions, broader community listening sessions, and public actions targeting awareness of our campaign for increased access to high-quality math tutoring in SELA (goal: 300)
Our long-term vision is for every LAUSD student to have equitable access to high-quality tutoring, regardless of income.