On April 25th, Amira Learning, San Joaquin A+, and Linden Unified School District unveiled a pioneering high-dosage tutoring pilot program in San Joaquin County.
This program, aimed at improving students' reading skills, leverages the Amira Learning platform and offers high school students the opportunity to tutor and mentor their elementary school peers.
Don Shalvey, CEO of San Joaquin A+, expressed excitement for the collaboration and its potential to address learning gaps resulting from the pandemic. The program not only assists elementary students in catching up but also provides valuable experience for high school students.
Amira Learning and San Joaquin A+ have partnered with local schools in the Central Valley to recruit high school tutors. Research indicates that high-dosage tutoring benefits students and that peer tutoring results in higher student engagement and improved academic achievement. The AI-driven Amira Learning platform has shown significant progress in students' reading skills.
Jessica Riley, Principal of Waverly Elementary School, shared that students enjoy the Amira program and working with their high school tutors. The interactive platform promotes reading skills development and fosters relationships between older and younger students.
Currently, the pilot program is active at Waverly Elementary School, Linden USD, ABLE Charter Schools, and Aspire Public Schools campuses, with over 120 students receiving tutoring from 40 high school tutors. The spring pilot program will inform a larger tutoring initiative to be rolled out in the 2023-24 school year, which aims to serve 800 students and employ 200 paid high school tutors.
Laura Glaab, VP of Customer Engagement & Strategic Initiatives at Amira Learning, praised the pilot program as an innovative solution to address constraints such as time and staff capacity. Amira Learning, a reading science-based intelligent tutor, works with over one million students across 2,500+ schools in the US and 15 countries outside the US.
City Manager for the City of Stockton, Harry Black, expressed gratitude for the efforts of non-profit and district partners and highlighted the innovative use of allocated funds for youth workforce initiatives.
The innovative tutoring pilot program in San Joaquin County addresses pandemic learning gaps and fosters community among students. This collaboration showcases the potential of partnerships to create lasting impacts, promising a brighter future for students across the county. Check this out on TikTok!