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High Impact Tutoring Preserving Instructional and Relational Continuity

GROW keeps tutoring aligned to the classroom and anchored in trusted, acedemic-focused relationships.

“I know I can learn now, and I actually try. It was worth giving up my spring break, and I would do it again.”
9th Grade GROW Student, VUSD | California

Real instructional exchange based on actual classroom learning. 

At its best, high impact tutoring (HIT) reinforces classroom instruction through consistent tutors and content aligned to what students are learning in class

GROW High Impact Tutoring (HIT) is:
  • Live, virtual small-group cohort sessions
  • typically delivered 3x per week, 90 minutes per week,
    in 8–12 week cycles
  • with the same tutor each session
  • using curated content aligned to district pacing
  • measured by benchmark data and granular progress monitoring
  • usually happening in class during the school day, but can run after school or intersession 
GROW In Class

GROW High Impact Tutoring is NOT:

GROW is live instruction with a consistent tutor in a small-group setting, not passive time on a device or another digital learning tool.
 
Virtual tutoring allows HIT to reach more students. Paper's GROW doesn't just scale tutoring, but the consistency and partnership needed to make virtual programs thrive.  
 
> See the Johns Hopkins' research on virtual HIT efficacy

GROW high impact tutoring is a Tier 2 support. Ad hoc, drop in, or optional tutoring won't yield the same results as a high-dosage, high-intention program supporting targeted student groups with academic gaps.

General tutoring is a helpful Tier 1 support but for tutoring to have meaningful impact, aligned learning, predictable delivery, and measured progress must be present. 

GROW is unique in that, the programming is curated and pacing is aligned to district standards. 

Research shows, HIT is most effective when reinforcing classroom learning. Sessions are intentional, and programs are meant to have impact in a relatively short amount of time. 

GROW is not a generic system of curriculum that runs parallel to your instruction. It's a reinforcement of your instruction. 

GROW reinforces a live, academic dialogue between tutors and students and student peers. 

Tutors are trained on the Gradual Release method. Every sessions follows an "I do, we do, you do" structure so that students have a dedicate time to regularly participate in instruction. 

> Learn more about our tutor workforce and methodology 

Where Tier 2 targeted support typically breaks down:

 

Instructional Continuity

Supports are not anchored to what students are actually learning in class, so instruction runs parallel to—rather than reinforcing—classroom learning. 

 

 

Relational Continuity 

Students rotate between adults, or the same staff are stretched too thin to stay consistent, making it hard to sustain trust, momentum, or accountability.

 

Even strong in-person, in-house tutoring programs get harder to maintain with consistency when expanding: 

Aarow

In-House Tutoring

Many districts start here, but few are able to scale it for all Tier 2
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GROW High-Impact Tutoring Preserves Continuity at Scale

Most targeted support breaks down because systems are forced to trade instructional and relational continuity for scale—GROW is intentionally designed to avoid that compromise.

What makes GROW fundamentally different from other Tier 2 programs:

TUTOR & CURRICULUM CONTINUITY

TUTOR & CURRICULUM CONTINUITY

When tutors change or instruction isn’t aligned to the classroom, students don’t build momentum, they start over.

GROW uses a dedicated tutor workforce, not independent contractors. That means we can schedule and train our tutors because to Paper, HIT is not gig work. 

LOGISTIC & OPERATIONAL OWNERSHIP
LOGISTIC & OPERATIONAL OWNERSHIP
 

When no one truly owns tutor scheduling, tutor session content, or student progress monitoring, consistency is the first thing to slip. And over time, consistency gives way to what’s urgent.

Paper handles the program design, before and after outcome data, tutor logistics, and curates session content based on district pacing and standards to reinforce classroom learning. We can even launch with you in person on day 1. 

UNCOMPROMISED SCALE & EXPANSION
UNCOMPROMISED SCALE & EXPANSION
 
Sustaining a program is hard enough—expanding it across grades, schools, and students is where it breaks. What doesn’t hold at scale doesn’t deliver impact.
 
GROW works access grades and subjects. We use our tutor workforce and on-staff program designers to expand programs to seamlessly meet district needs as goals change, including bilingual tutors for EL support. 
TIER 2 / TARGETED SUPPORT FIDELITY
TIER 2 / TARGETED SUPPORT FIDELITY
 
Most tutoring labeled as Tier 2 operates more like Tier 1—general support without sustained intensity. Meaningful Tier 2 impact requires a higher level of consistency, structure, and intent.
 
Granular progress monitoring in the form of formative assessments happen each session so we can adjust dynamically and measure outcomes with fidelity. 
MEASURABLE ACADEMIC OUTCOMES
MEASURABLE ACADEMIC OUTCOMES
 
If you’re not using assessments and tracking progress at a granular level, you’re relying on perception, not evidence.
What matters is whether students are measurably moving forward—and how you respond when they’re not.
 
Paper captures before and after data including external assessment or benchmark data as a signal of accountability of impact. 

Evidence-Backed. Classroom-Proven. District-Defensible.

What happens when continuity stays intact and partners stay accountable.

Closing Skills Gaps
+16 average points | Proficiency 23% → 67% in 9th and 10th graders (Illinois) 
Read the Partner Story
Summer Acceleration
Double-digit gains over summer school programs in multiple districts (California) 
Read the Partner story
Dual Subject Acceleration
380% math growth | 91% increase in Advanced ELA mastery (New Mexico)
Read the Partner Story
NC Grade 8 Math
70th statewide percentile in state tests | 50% proficiency rate (North Carolina)    
Read the Partner story

What district leaders are saying about GROW High Impact Tutoring:

VISALIA USD, CALIFORNIA

Visalia Unified School District Expands GROW With After School Funding

In this video, you'll see Superintendent Shrum talks about the success of GROW during intersession and afterschool programs at a board meeting. The board unanimously approved a large expansion of GROW into all elementary schools in Visalia Unified using ELOP funding.

>Learn more about using ELOP funds for high impact tutoring  

 

Kirk Shrum Quote
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Dr. Brown Quote
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PRAIRIE HILLS ELEMENTARY DISTRICT, ILLINOIS 

From Fighting Chance" to Proficiency to Accelerated Learning  

In this video, you'll hear from Dr. Brown explaining how GROW helped moved students who were up to 3 grade levels behind to proficiency. When more students became proficient, you'll hear how Dr. Brown changed district goals from proficiency to acceleration. 

> Learn more about high impact tutoring for rapid acceleration 

 

LAS CRUCES PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NM

Quality Tutors for English Learners and Tier 2/3 Students When Local Tutors Couldn't be Sourced

In this video, you'll learn from Carla Ragan about the difficulties of finding local tutors for in-person tutoring, especially considering the bilingual needs of Las Cruces Public Schools. GROW was able to leverage our dedicated tutor workforce, including bilingual tutors, to provide the reach and access needed to make significant gains in the Tier 2 populations and English Learning sub-groups specifically. 

> Learn more about our success using a bilingual-inclusive model in Las Cruces Public Schools. 

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GROW High Impact Tutoring: 3× academic growth at uncompromised scale — embedded, enduring, and accountable. ESSA level III evidence. NSSA program design certified.

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