District Playbook, OBC, Federal Work-Study, and other opportunities and resources
National Student Support Accelerator
Equalizing access to high-quality tutoring in our schools via research, tools, and news. Within Stanford University GSE.
Here’s what happened in May…
This month, we’re excited to share an updated version of one of our most widely used resources: the District Playbook for High-Impact Tutoring. Built for school districts at every stage—whether you’re launching a new tutoring effort or improving an existing one—the Playbook offers step-by-step guidance, practical tools, and real-world examples rooted in the latest research.
What’s New: A live walkthrough of how to use the updated District Playbook, a new podcast from the Stanford Graduate School of Education, highlights from the NSSA Conference and other events.
Why it matters: Our goal is to make it easier for education leaders and providers to know not only what works, but exactly how to implement it with steps, timelines, and resources.
Want to see the Playbook in action? Join us for a live virtual walkthrough on Wednesday, May 28 at 12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT, led by our team and a district practitioner.
We’re grateful to partner with you in advancing effective tutoring.
Warm regards,
Susanna Loeb
📊 Latest Research & Updates
New and Improved District Playbook for High-Impact Tutoring
As one of our most popular resources, the District Playbook is designed to be a school district’s go-to guide for building and strengthening high-impact tutoring.
Each section is thoughtfully structured to meet your needs—whether you’re just getting started or refining an established program. You'll find clear pathways, practical tools, and inspiring examples that bring research to life and turn strategy into action.
Inside, you’ll find support for every major decision point, including:
Join our live virtual walkthrough on Wednesday, May 28th at 12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT if you would like us to walk you through the District Playbook and how to use it.
“School’s In” Podcast from Stanford GSE
Last week on the Stanford University Graduate School of Education podcast "School's In," our executive director Dr. Susanna Loeb unpacked the research on the effectiveness of educational tools and discussed how to scale education research to have a greater influence in the world.
Additionally, Dr. Loeb touched on the importance of connecting research and practice, as well as ways parents can support their students in learning.
🎙️ "Current AI tutors may be able to give the student an idea of what the underlying math is or help them get to the next level of math, but they don't have that motivating and engaging part that the human tutor brings."
🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts:
Did you miss the NSSA Conference 2025?
If you missed the NSSA Conference 2025, we’re excited to share the conference materials with you, including session recordings and summaries.
We encourage you to explore, ask follow up questions, and pass these resources along to colleagues and partners who may benefit.
What you’ll find in the materials:
📅 Events & Opportunities
Upcoming Webinar
Designing Tutoring That Works: A Step-by-Step Tour for School Districts
When: May 28, 2025 12:00 PM ET
School district leaders are invited to join this practical and inspiring guided tour of the new District Playbook for High-Impact Tutoring. This session will guide district leaders through key Playbook sections, highlight tools for decision-making and implementation, and showcase examples from real districts.
Participants will:
Engagement Opportunities
Strengthen Outcomes Based Contracts with the Contract Wizard Pilot
Who can apply: Districts, providers, and education leaders working on outcomes based contracts for high-dosage tutoring
Districts, providers, and education leaders working on outcomes based contracts for high-dosage tutoring now have a unique opportunity to build stronger, faster, and more outcomes-focused agreements—before they’re signed.
The The Center for Outcomes Based Contracting at SEF is launching the Contract Wizard Pilot, powered by the Standards of Excellence for Outcomes Based Contracting: High-Dosage Tutoring and driven by AI to streamline clarity, structure, and implementation.
Participants may submit up to two in-progress contracts, each eligible feedback on a rolling basis. This is more than technical assistance—it’s a chance to help shape the research and development of the Center’s AI-enabled Contract Wizard tool.
Submit contracts by July 31, 2025 to: contracts@obc-southerneducation.org
Feedback will be returned via email within three weeks.
California Educators: Unlock the Power of High-Impact Tutoring
Who can apply: Any California LEA
California educators: How can your Local Education Agency (LEA) implement High-Impact Tutoring to address learning gaps and accelerate student achievement?
A recent webinar, featuring opening remarks from State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond , included information about two upcoming virtual learning opportunities:
Share Your Federal Work-Study Story!
Who can apply: Any education leaders!
The Partnership for Student Success is gathering stories, testimonials, and articles that highlight local examples of Federal Work-Study being used to effectively support P-12 students while also providing career-connected learning and job experience for college students.
We plan to use these stories in upcoming social media and email communications focused on how Federal Work-Study is and can be used to support P-12 students, while providing career connected learning opportunities for college students.
Please submit an example from your community, program, district, or institution here.
Reach out to PS_Success@jh.edu with any questions.
Events You May Have Missed
What Effective Tutoring Should Look Like—and Achieve
Host: Education Week
Scaling up the kind of sustained, one-on-one or small-group programs that are most effective in improving student achievement is challenging for many schools. That approach requires lots of tutors, dedicated time and money, and a strategy for reaching students most in need.
This webinar from Education Week examined what effective tutoring programs and practices should look like to boost student learning and how schools can build and sustain those programs at a time when school district budgets are tightening.
Speakers:
📰 News
Articles on High-Impact Tutoring
High-Dosage Tutoring Should Be Here to Stay ( Education Week , Alan Safran & Susanna Loeb )
How a Tutor’s Gender Affects Girls’ Interest in STEM ( Education Week , Lauraine Langreo )
Deliver Results with High-Impact Tutoring (Principal Magazine [ National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) ], Susanna Loeb & Erin McMahon, Ed.D. )
Can Virtual Tutoring Address Pandemic Learning Loss in a Cost-Effective Way? ( Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI) , Nathan Storey , Amanda Neitzel , Jennifer Krajewski , & Matthew P. Steinberg )
Tutoring Corps: A proposal to counter declining academic performance ( The Brookings Institution , Kai Smith & Isabel Sawhill )
State and Local Updates
Louisiana
Districts [in California] still have learning recovery money: Why not spend it on tutoring? ( EdSource , John Fensterwald )
K12 Tutoring Approved as Vendor for Oregon Department of Education’s High-Dosage Tutoring Program (Press Release, Stride, Inc. )
Opinion: CT’s budget prioritizes costs over kids ( Connecticut Mirror , Catherine Pamelard & Dolores Garcia-Blocker)
Four Education Groups Collaborate To Develop National Tutoring Standards ( NJ Education Report , Newsroom)
How to Engage with NSSA
Complete the High-Impact Tutoring Success Story Form to share a student or tutoring program success story from your school, district, or program for us to highlight through our website or other NSSA communications.
Please reach out to info@studentsupportaccelerator.org with any questions or ideas.
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Follow and engage with NSSA on Social Media:
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4moAs always a lot of great content here!