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Committee clears data-sharing abstract with Varsity Tutors for full-board review, asks for IRB and memo clarifications
Summary
The committee reviewed a no-cost tutoring partnership with Varsity Tutors and a Mathematica research study that would receive de‑identified district IDs and non‑PII. Members requested explicit memo language on what data fields are shared, whether IRB/IRB documentation will be completed before full-board approval, and recommended updating the cover memo to explain the study.
Committee members considered a proposed data-sharing agreement with Varsity Tutors to provide tutoring for grades 3–8 at Hill Central and East Rock and a Mathematica research study to evaluate program effectiveness.
Mr. Nguyen described the proposal as a free, district-participation study; staff said parents would not be charged and the vendor would not send personally identifiable student names to the research partner. The Varsity Tutors representative explained the platform offers chat-based live tutoring, an AI tutor that guides students without giving answers, live classes and a teacher/administrator portal that tracks usage and progress. He said tutoring sessions can be scheduled or student-driven and that sessions are recorded for later review.
Committee members asked whether any personally identifiable information (PII) would be transmitted to Mathematica. The Varsity Tutors representative said Mathematica would receive district IDs and non‑PII fields (grade level, gender, race, SPED, multilingual learner status, benchmark assessments) and would not receive student names. On live tutoring, staff acknowledged that sessions could be tied to student names on the district side but said Mathematica would not receive those names.
Members requested that the cover memo be updated to explain the study purpose, the specific data fields shared, and the IRB/IRB-like vetting process before the district formally transmits data. A staff member said Mathematica had not yet completed the IRB paperwork but that the district sought the committee’s preliminary authorization to proceed with conversations and to prepare the agreement for full‑board consideration. The committee voted to forward the abstract and related package to the full board, and staff committed to providing a memo clarifying data protections and vetting steps.
