Early Literacy High-Dosage Tutoring

The Department has approved vendors to provide high dosage tutoring that is:

• Student-Centered: Using diagnostic data, tutoring partners create individualized and academic learning goals to determine instructional focus areas as well as progress monitoring to ensure that students are working on the right skills at the right time.
• Evidence-Based: Students are paired with trained tutors who are invested in their learning and use instructional approaches with a track record of success.
• Flexible: Depending on the content and tutoring program, there are in-person, hybrid, and virtual options during and after the school day for schools to choose from.

The Department will select districts and charter schools to receive early literacy tutoring, if appropriated, based on criteria including:

• Commitment to evidence-based early literacy instruction
• Demonstrated need for ELA/Literacy support

Please note, DESE may incorporate additional legislatively-required eligibility requirements into the selection process.

Districts and charter schools meeting the following criteria are eligible for early literacy tutoring services from DESE:

• Uses a DESE-approved screening tool(s) in grades K–3.
• Agrees to the tutor’s administration of DIBELS 8th edition to participating students (pre and posttest for 10–12 week tutoring programs and pre, mid-point, and post for full year tutoring programs).
• Has completed Curriculum Data Collection for ELA/literacy, Mathematics, Science and Technology/Engineering, and History/Social Science.
• Agrees to participate in research efforts, including providing student-level assessment data from the approved early literacy screening assessment that is administered in all schools during the award period.

Interested in bringing tutoring to your school(s)? Complete the Interest Form for 2025-26 School Year by June 30, 2025.

Please include summer contact information, as outreach will begin in summer months.

The tutoring providers below are included in a Master Agreement with DESE, under which LEAs may make purchases for services without needing to do their own competitive procurement. To utilize the Master Agreement, please contact Elaine.Lian@mass.gov to obtain any documentation required by your district Business Office.

Providers offer K–3 tutoring at varying costs.

** Note on Ignite Reading: Tutoring costs are per "seat." Once a student finishes, a new student can fill the seat at no additional cost.

FY26 Tutoring Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduling Tutoring

• If the tutoring is done during school will we be able to schedule it around WIN? (We have a set schedule by grade in each building)
  • The tutoring provider and the school will collaborate to determine scheduling based on tutor availability and school needs.

Staffing for Tutoring

• Will there be funding for stipends for school tutoring liaisons/champions?
  • Thanks for this important question. DESE does not provide separate funding directly to schools for stipends for tutoring liaisons or champions. However, some of the approved tutoring providers include a stipend for this role as part of their overall service model, which is funded through DESE. For example, in afterschool models, certain vendors may include a stipend for a school-based staff member to help coordinate logistics - like ensuring students arrive at tutoring locations or serving as a point of contact. Stipend availability and expectations vary by provider.
• Would one of our staff need to monitor the tutoring?
  • Tutoring providers include their own systems for monitoring instruction and student progress, so it is not expected that a school staff member would oversee tutoring itself. That said, there are some logistical roles that a school staff member may play depending on the tutoring model and schedule. We'll work closely with schools and vendors during the matching process to ensure the logistics are workable for your setting. Here is what it might look like:
    • Afterschool tutoring: In most cases, a school-based staff member is responsible for ensuring that students arrive at the designated tutoring location. Some providers also offer a stipend for a school staff member to serve as a liaison or coordinator.
    • During the school day (in-person or virtual): If tutoring takes place outside the classroom (e.g., in a separate room), a school staff member would need to be present for student supervision and safety, but again, they wouldn't be responsible for overseeing the tutoring itself.
    • Virtual 1:1 tutoring in the classroom: Some vendors can provide tutoring in the regular classroom setting, with no additional supervision required.

Tutoring Providers Matching Process

• What will the matching process be for tutoring providers and schools/districts?
  • DESE will begin the matching process in early July, after reviewing the interest forms submitted by districts and charter schools. Districts will have the opportunity to indicate preferences on the interest form. DESE will work to honor those preferences while ensuring the selected model is a strong fit for the district's needs and the vendor's capacity. Once a match is proposed, we'll support coordination conversations between the district and vendor to finalize logistics and confirm the partnership.
• In order to provide equitable high dosage tutoring for students well below/below across SEI and DL programs, I am wondering if any of these vendors provide high dosage tutoring to support Spanish language acquisition, specifically Spanish foundational skills? If not, is DESE currently exploring high dosage tutoring for SLA, to support Dual Language programs?
  • At this time, the DESE-approved early literacy tutoring vendors primarily support foundational skills instruction in English, with a focus on decoding, phonological awareness, and fluency aligned to English language development. We understand that dual language programs like yours need tailored support for Spanish language acquisition and foundational literacy in Spanish. Currently, DESE is not offering a parallel DESE-sponsored program for Spanish literacy tutoring.
• For the "DESE-Sponsored Early Literacy Tutoring (No Cost — Pending Funding)," is this matching the district with a program from the approved DESE list? Will the district have choice into which program is selected (and will there be scheduling restrictions on when in the day the tutoring can take place, and the location?
  • Yes — districts participating in the DESE-sponsored early literacy tutoring opportunity will be matched with a vendor from the approved list, based on preferences named in the interest form. While final matching will be facilitated by DESE, districts will be able to indicate preferences on the interest form — including preferred vendors, tutoring format, staffing model, and when and where tutoring takes place (e.g., during the day, after school, etc.). After initial matches are made based on the interest form, DESE will support coordination conversations between providers and districts. The tutoring provider and the school will collaborate to determine scheduling based on tutor availability and school needs.
• What's the timeline on when tutoring will start given the pending funding?
  • The exact launch timeline will depend on the final state budget and funding confirmation. That said, DESE is moving forward with preparations now — including the interest form and vendor matching — so that districts and vendors are ready to move quickly once funding is approved. Our goal is for tutoring to begin as close to the start of the 2025-26 school year as possible. Districts selected for DESE-sponsored tutoring will receive updates this summer and DESE will work with each LEA and vendor to launch in October.
• The form asks us to choose between tutoring options from other providers or our own. The flyer just mentions outside providers. Can you please clarify if both options are on the table?
  • Yes, both options are on the table. DESE offers two main pathways for districts and charter schools to provide high-dosage early literacy tutoring: (1) DESE-sponsored tutoring at no cost, pending appropriation, using one of DESE's approved vendors and (2) locally funded tutoring using the Master Agreement with approved providers. If your district currently operates its own in-house tutoring program and would like to be considered for DESE-sponsored funding, you need to apply to become an approved provider through COMMBUYS , the state's procurement system. To be eligible for fall 2025 funding consideration, that application must be submitted by June 5, 2025. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis after that date.

Selecting Students for Tutoring

• We are completing the interest form for high dosage tutoring. For number 5, we are asked for the number of students scoring below/well below benchmark. For the number of first grade students scoring below or well below, should we provide the most recent beginning of year results for first grade? We also have end of year kindergarten results, for students going into first grade. I'm asking since we generally see an increase in our overall numbers of students from kindergarten to first grade who enroll over the summer and an increase in the number of students scoring below/well below benchmark at the beginning of the year.
  • For rising first graders, you may use end-of-year (EOY) kindergarten data if that's what you currently have available. The interest form is designed to provide a reasonable estimate of need, not final numbers. We understand that student enrollment and assessment results often change over the summer, especially in the early grades. Please use the best available data now and know that there will be opportunities to refine student counts before tutoring begins in the fall.
• We only have 5 students in the red for DIBELS. Would they be considered for tutoring?
  • Yes — students who score well below (red) and below benchmark (yellow) on DIBELS are both considered eligible for tutoring.
• We are using EOY Kindergarten DIBELS data to determine the number of seats we need...will we have some flexibility in the fall to update the numbers? We usually get more first graders in the fall and the benchmark gets more challenging, so we often have more first graders falling into red.
  • We understand that beginning-of-year benchmarks can be more challenging and that many districts see an increase in students scoring below/well below between kindergarten and first grade. The interest form helps DESE plan and match districts and vendors, but final numbers will be confirmed in collaboration with you later this summer.
• How should we estimate Kindergarten students without data?
  • If you do not yet have assessment data for your incoming kindergarteners, you can provide an estimated number based on historical trends, past K screening data, and patterns in your district's student performance over the past few years.

Tutoring and Data

• What data will be collected during the tutoring opportunity?
  • Tutoring providers will collect progress monitoring data aligned to their instructional model, which may include subskill tracking, fluency checks, or other short assessments tied to foundational reading skills. In addition, DESE will collect pre- and post-assessment data using DIBELS 8th to measure program impact. Districts will be required to support roster-level data submission and student grouping to track participation and attendance. If your district uses DIBELS, DESE will support you in coordinating data collection and ensuring it aligns with your local systems as much as possible.
  • All students participating in tutoring will be administered DIBELS 8^th Edition at the start and conclusion of the tutoring cycle. Students engaged in a full year tutoring program will also be administered the assessment at the midpoint of the school year. Districts using DIBELS 8^th or mClass may be able to use their own data as a pre or post test depending on the school's screening schedule. Schools not using DIBELS 8^th Edition will have the assessment administered to the student via the tutoring provider. The administration and collection of DIBELS 8th Edition is a requirement to participate in this free opportunity. The Department uses the data collected to determine program efficacy.
• Would these tutors use our progress monitoring system or would it be something different?
  • Tutoring providers approved for the DESE-sponsored opportunity come with their own built-in progress monitoring tools and routines, which are aligned to their tutoring model and instructional approach. These tools help ensure that tutoring is responsive to student needs and that learning is tracked consistently across sites. We encourage coordination between vendors and schools and they may consider aligning their progress updates with your existing systems when feasible.

Other questions

• I would love to learn more about the programs being offered and how to apply to become a tutor. I am excited to participate in the program!
  • Tutoring for the DESE-sponsored initiative is delivered through a group of approved vendors who each have their own hiring and training processes. If you're interested in becoming a tutor, we encourage you to explore opportunities directly through these organizations.

If you have questions, please join us for weekly office hours. Sign up here: Early Literacy Tutoring Zoom Meeting Registration .

You can also email questions to LiteracyandHumanities@mass.gov .