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Wake County board hears data on high‑impact tutoring partnership serving roughly 700 students
Summary
District staff and partners described a high‑impact tutoring partnership (NCEC/K12 Academic Enhancement) operating in 14 schools with 44 part‑time tutors, about 697 students served this year, and early gains mapped to district mCLASS measures; principals described strong site‑level results but expansion depends on funding.
Presenters outlined a partnership between Wake County Public Schools and the North Carolina Education Corps (NCEC) focused on early literacy in grades K–3. The program pairs trained tutors with small groups during the school day in a one‑tutor-to-as-many-as‑four model, with most students scheduled for three 30‑minute sessions per week.
"Our mission is to ensure that 100% of students are reading to learn by the end of grade three," a presenter said, describing the program's goal and the partnership's emphasis on the science of reading. Presenters said tutors follow a scripted phonics program and receive professional learning, monthly PLCs and one‑on‑one coaching.
Mara Omahani, the partnership's learning impact manager, summarized program scale and outcomes: "We have 697 students that participate," she said, and reported an average of about 29 tutoring sessions (roughly 14.5 hours) per student so far this school year. Presenters reported an approximate 28% composite gain toward proficiency on mapped mCLASS measures, with particular gains in letter naming and word reading skills.
Principals representing participating schools described site‑level impacts. At Bug Magnet Elementary, school leaders said two tutors served 28 students and 89% of those students showed increases of more than 50 composite mCLASS points; 12 students moved from below or well‑below proficiency to above benchmark, and 11 students exited the program as proficient. Kendall Grigg, principal at Bailey (Bailey Lick) Elementary, said tutors are embedded in the school community and reported notable kindergarten results: "Twelve of the 12 students who worked with tutors ... met grade‑level proficiency," she said.
Board members asked about program selection, funding and equity. Presenters said the district prioritized schools flagged as Level 3 or Level 4 in the regional model and that sustaining or expanding the partnership would require additional funding because the district pays tutor salaries. Presenters said the NCEC model explicitly includes students with individualized education plans and multilingual learners, coordinating with special education and ESL staff to adapt supports rather than excluding students.
Several members compared the model to earlier tutoring initiatives (LevelUp/HELPS). Presenters said NCEC is an "enhancement" with a broader scope across the science of reading rather than a single‑skill focus. Staff said NCEC began as a nonprofit response to pandemic learning loss and has trained hundreds of tutors statewide; the district pays for the program positions while NCEC provides training and coaching.
Board members requested additional budget details to consider expansion, more precise comparative data with past programs, and continued site‑level outcome reporting.
