New Jersey Tutoring Corps (NJTC) President and CEO Katherine Bassett will testify before the NJ Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee’s first public budget hearing today at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.  

NJTC is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to providing K-8 students with high-impact tutoring in Math and Literacy.  During the FY2024 budget it received a $1.5 million in funding. During her testimony, Ms. Bassett will showcase the mission and results of the NJTC over the last year.  

The following is Ms. Bassett’s planned testimony for the hearing.  

“Thank you for allowing us to speak today and share the journey of providing high-impact tutoring to scholars throughout New Jersey since summer 2021. We are here to humbly request to keep the $1.5 million appropriation in the FY25 Budget to New Jersey Tutoring Corps to support K-8 scholars in high-impact, personalized instruction for the summer and into the school year. The New Jersey Tutoring Corps, Inc. (NJTC) is a group of committed, visionary educators devoted to growing young minds and strengthening teaching and learning through high-dosage tutoring experiences for our state’s under-resourced scholars. We have served 10,000 scholars to date with incredible success. In December NJDOE reported that overall scholar grade level proficiency has dropped across every grade and subject. Only 51.3% of NJ scholars are meeting grade level expectations in Literacy and only 37.6% in Math. 

“We are deeply appreciative of the leadership that Senator Ruiz, Senator Gopal, Senator Greenstein and others  demonstrated last year when they championed the budget resolution to provide state support for the NJ Tutoring Corps. There is still significant work to be done to address scholars’ needs, and the NJ Tutoring Corps is a strong example of an agile, responsive, and data-driven program that is mitigating scholars’ learning loss. A continuation of this state funding would permit us to provide scholars in over 20 locations statewide, including places like Newark and Camden, with the opportunity to reduce summer slide and build knowledge and skills to prepare them for the coming school year. 

“We have grown –during the 23-24 school year we serve over 3000 scholars, in 70 locations, with over 250 educators.  We have worked in 18 of 21 counties statewide thus far. We are working with 26 partner districts or CMOs in 70 different school locations. 

The scholars our partners send to us are predominantly 2 – 3 years behind in grade level proficiency. Our scholars are third column- 61% are 2+ grade levels behind. We work in rural, suburban, and urban districts. While we offer three tutoring models, embedded school day, after-school, and summer, currently 88% of our tutoring is embedded during the school day.  This means that we push into classrooms, working with small groups of scholars at a time while classroom teachers work with the rest of their class. 

“Last school year, we served about 500 scholars in only 12 weeks, in 19 locations, with 100 educators and our scholars increased from 16% grade level proficient in math in the beginning of the cycle to 40% grade level proficient at the end; and from 23% grade level proficient in literacy at the start to 40% at the end. These are significant results.

“After only 10-12 weeks of tutoring, many scholars have achieved their stretch growth goals already and by the end of our cycle, will be grade level proficient. Our program works.  We implement the Annenberg Institute’s recommendations for high-impact tutoring: 
●      Small tutor to scholar ratio of 1:1 up to 1:3; 
●      Consistency – same tutor working with same scholars throughout a cycle; 
●      Frequency – tutoring occurring 2 to 3 times weekly; 
●      Duration – 30-60 minute tutoring sessions.

“In addition, our tutoring occurs in-person, not virtually.  Research tells us that this makes a difference.  With the help of our tutors in partnership with classroom instruction, more scholars are able to become grade level proficient. Below you’ll see the SEL impact and improved confidence in learning that our scholars also gain through working with our staff. 

“Thus far, we have collected almost 30,000 mini-surveys from scholars with a 1 being low and a 5 being high.  You can see that our scholars believe that they are learning and that they enjoy learning through tutoring.                            

“NJTC is currently partnered with 26 partner districts in 70 locations statewide. This is what some of our district partners have shared with us: 

In Vernon Township: “Our teachers love having your tutors in the classroom.  Will this program continue?”

In Maple Shade: “I am thrilled to offer my highest recommendation for the exemplary partnership we’ve established with NJ Tutoring Corps. Our collaboration has been nothing short of exceptional, providing invaluable support for our scholars in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA).  From the outset, it was evident that the team at NJTC was dedicated to fostering academic growth and success among our scholars. Their professionalism and commitment to excellence have been unwavering throughout our partnership. They have consistently demonstrated a deep understanding of the educational needs of elementary scholars, tailoring their approach to meet the unique learning styles of each individual. The tutors have proven to be exceptional mentors, providing not only academic support but also invaluable guidance and encouragement to our scholars. In a very short time they have  built meaningful connections with each child, fostering a sense of trust and confidence that is essential for effective learning. As a result of our partnership we have witnessed improvements in scholar performance and confidence levels in both math and ELA. The personalized approach to tutoring, coupled with the support from NJTC  and our site manager and instructional coach  has undoubtedly contributed to these positive outcomes. From designing an implementation plan, providing trained in person tutors, being flexible in scheduling and tutoring space, working with our classroom teachers, and being responsive to our school’s needs, NJTC has surpassed our expectations. I confidently recommend NJTC to any educational institution seeking to enhance academic achievement and scholar engagement.”

From Lindenwold: “We extend our sincere gratitude to the New Jersey Tutoring Corp (NJTC) for their invaluable partnership in developing a tutoring model tailored to meet the diverse needs of our scholars throughout the school day. Their collaboration has been instrumental in aligning with the requirements of the NJ High Impact grant, enabling us to effectively address the educational challenges faced by our scholars. NJTC has consistently demonstrated professionalism and a strong commitment to our shared objectives. Their seamless integration into the classroom environment, working closely with our teachers, has facilitated a cohesive approach to scholar support. We greatly appreciate their dedication and the positive impact they have had on our educational initiative.   Districts are able to Join a successful, evidence-based tutoring model and program instead of starting from scratch as the NJTC program manages the operations, logistics and staffing for all districts participating in our program. Additionally, our staff become a pipeline to support the current teacher and staffing shortage. 93% of tutors stated that they have grown professionally through the NJTC program, increasing likelihood that they will stay in the profession; 100% of instructional coaches stated that they have grown professionally through the NJTC program; 100% of site coordinators stated that they have grown professionally through the NJTC program.”  

“Investing in the NJTC provides the state a strong, effective and proven statewide tutoring program that can position more scholars to be grade level proficient. Our organization continues to provide program outcomes transparently. Our organization continues to attract, train and retain prospective educators to join New Jersey’s educator workforce. Investing in the NJTC will continue to maximize state, local and federal funds through economies of scale. Lastly, the New Jersey Tutoring Corps is a member of the National Accelerate Community ensuring that our program continues to use and employ national best practice and the most current research to date. With the support of the $1.5 million in State funding in the FY25 budget, we will be able to continue to support schools, districts and community based programming in high impact tutoring.

“We continue to be grateful for your support and leadership in serving the scholars of New Jersey. With your help, we will continue to ensure New Jersey scholars receive the necessary tutoring support to reach grade level proficiency and be successful in both college, career and as citizens of our great state.”