Literacy Mid-South Receives TDOE Grant for In-School Literacy Tutoring
$1.5 million grant will double capacity of Tutor901 program; program will now provide 3,000 Memphis students with tutoring in SY 23-24
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (June 13, 2023) – The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) has announced Literacy Mid-South (LMS) is one of three Tennessee organizations selected to receive a Connected Literacy Partners 2.0 grant. TDOE has awarded LMS $1.5 million to serve an additional 1,500 second and third grade students attending Memphis-Shelby County Schools and area public charter schools with free, in-school literacy tutoring.
The announcement comes one year after TDOE awarded Literacy Mid-South a TN ALL Corps Community Partner grant to implement the organization’s Tutor901 program. Combined, the two grants will allow LMS to provide high-impact tutoring to 3,000 students next year.
This expansion comes at a critical time for Memphis’s young readers. Due to recent changes in Tennessee’s third grade retention policy, thousands of MSCS and charter school 3rd graders are at risk of being held back next year unless they participate in high-impact tutoring in fourth grade. Working across 24 schools, LMS’s Tutor901 program will allow rising fourth graders to avoid retention while also supporting rising second and third graders in developing foundational reading skills prior to the critical third grade test.
“TDOE’s increased investment in our work is coming at a critical time for our community,” said Sam O’Bryant, III, Executive Director of Literacy Mid-South. “The Connected Literacy grant allows LMS to further step up to support our young readers in building necessary literacy skills.”
“We are grateful to the Tennessee Department of Education for their continued support of Literacy Mid-South’s work,” said Dr. Chandra Alston, Board Chair of LMS. “On behalf of LMS’s staff and board, we are thrilled to be able to expand the Tutor901 program to support additional students and increase employment pathways for the critical educator pipeline in Memphis.”
The Tutor901 program provides high-impact tutoring, one of the most effective interventions for increasing the academic achievement of students who are behind grade level proficiency. Following proven practices recommended by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, tutoring is aligned to all ten dimensions the institute identifies as principles for effective tutoring design. As former Tennessee education commissioner Penny Schwinn shared in a recent article on high-impact tutoring, in-school tutoring programs like Tutor901 are frequently the most effective and accessible for families. “You have to blank slate it, start over, and redesign based on what is necessary for students,” Schwinn said on effective program design. “For us, it is: Do the tutoring during the school day. That’s the only thing that has worked.”
To support this program, LMS will be hiring a cohort of 75-90 tutors per semester with an average pay of $25 per hour. More information about the tutor positions will be available later this summer.
More information about the Tutor901 program can be found at Tutor901.org.
About Literacy Mid-South
The mission of Literacy Mid-South is to provide literacy resources to learners of all backgrounds and ages. The breadth of this work encompasses a number of programs and goals, all working towards one end: 100% literacy in the Mid-South. Through a combination of strategies including collaborative action, capacity building, resource distribution, and tutoring services, LMS works to ensure learners across the lifespan have access to the literacy resources they need to live their best life. Learn more about Literacy Mid-South and the organization’s programs here.
Media inquiries
Contact Sam O’Bryant, at sobryant@literacymidsouth.org
