Katherine Bassett is the president and CEO of the New Jersey Tutoring Corps, Inc. a nonprofit organization committed to bringing New Jersey’s K-8 scholars to grade level proficiency in math and literacy through high-impact, in-person tutoring. This first appeared at NJ Spotlight.

Last fall, the New Jersey Department of Education began releasing tens of millions of dollars to support high-impact tutoring in school districts across the state through a Notice of Grant Opportunity program. These needed dollars have brought welcome relief to New Jersey families and classrooms, as many have seen their children face dramatic drops in meeting basic grade-level proficiency in math and literacy over the past few years.

While some of this is related to the pandemic, many scholars needed to catch up before the pandemic and continue to do

The most effective tactic

By every measure and research model, tutoring is the most effective tactic to support a child’s educational growth. This instrumental investment provides New Jersey scholars with customized and individual support, provides our communities with an effective tool to empower themselves against learning loss and creates a needed course correction to address an education crisis that began before the dawn of the pandemic.

But the public education challenges in the Garden State do not end there. In almost every district, our schools face a tremendous number of teacher vacancies. As reported by NJ.com last fall, the exact number is difficult to quantify because the state’s Department of Education has yet to formally provide this information, but you can see from the posted job listings the void is significant across the Garden State.

One cannot underestimate the profound impact that dedicated teachers have on the lives of their students and how a quality education often hinges on educators’ competence, passion and commitment.

Battling teacher shortages

The consequences of this teacher shortage are stark, leading to larger class sizes, overworked teachers, a greater need for more individualized attention. While the shortage of teachers continues to be a concern, a potential solution lies in plain sight — tutoring programs.

The New Jersey Tutoring Corps, Inc. was launched one year ago and provides a vision for how the public and private sectors could work together to bring positive change to the state. Currently serving about 3,000 students in 70 centers, the state-funded program works in partnership with Overdeck Foundation, the Community Foundation of New Jersey, the Tepper Foundation, New Jersey Children’s Foundation, the Prudential Foundation and the Debra and Kenneth Caplan Foundation.

The initiative has not only provided academic support to students who need it the most, but also as we have seen firsthand, has served as a crucial workforce development program, nurturing the next generation of teachers and teacher leaders.

Tutoring programs like the New Jersey Tutoring Corps go beyond academic support. The programs also have the potential to mold future educators. By working closely with small groups of students in person, tutors are provided unique perspectives and training to identify specific needs and provide targeted assistance — an essential element of teaching.

Many tutors begin their journey as aspiring teachers, and the experience provides them with valuable insights into the teaching profession. The transition from tutor to teacher is a natural and seamless one. Tutors who have worked directly with students develop a profound understanding of the challenges and rewards of the teaching profession. They become well equipped to address the unique needs of diverse learners. Moreover, the mentorship and professional development opportunities within tutoring programs play a pivotal role in shaping aspiring educators.

Experienced teachers, instructional coaches and site coordinators guide tutors, offering valuable insights, sharing best practices and helping them navigate the intricacies of the educational landscape. By providing these leadership roles as part of our program, NJTC is helping to build teacher leaders and retain educators.

From feedback from our own tutors, we are now seeing firsthand how the experience can be the critical building block in reaffirming and inspiring one to become a full-time teacher. For someone who has never taught before, tutoring has become an opportunity to discover a passion for teaching. For both a student studying to be a teacher and a paraprofessional, the experience of tutoring provides a needed push to fully commit to becoming a teacher. For career educators, the experience equips them with the ability to practice skills to become a better teacher.

National  recognition

New Jersey school districts, New Jersey tutors and the NJTC are not the only ones who see tutoring as a valuable way to develop new teachers and address our teacher shortage. Most recently, the United States Department of Labor formally approved the NJTC as an “apprenticeship pathway,” the first tutoring company in the nation to be awarded this designation.

Like so many of New Jersey’s educational challenges, the solution for finding more qualified teachers can be found right here at home. The Garden State’s new investment in tutoring across the state has provided immediate support to school districts. But if we look even further, we see this investment also has auxiliary and expanding results to address other needs — specifically in paving the way in developing and supporting the teacher within. With proper planning and investment, tutoring programs can be the catalyst to develop a robust pipeline of passionate, dedicated teachers and citizens who will shape the future of our society.

Photo courtesy of Katherine Bassett.