In Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), the need and urgency for interventional reading and math tutoring is significant. When schools closed their doors due to COVID, the need increased substantially, especially for children of color (primarily Black and Latino) growing up in poverty, and attending neighborhood schools most impacted by educational inequity.

2021 testing indicates that 75% of second-graders living in Oakland’s lowest-income neighborhoods have recently tested two or more grade levels behind in reading and math. When we reach these children prior to third grade, we can substantially advance their reading and math skills, providing them grade-level abilities, increased confidence, and a much fairer chance of learning and growing in elementary school, middle school, high school, and beyond. We are working to close the academic achievement gap in our under-resourced public schools, one child at a time.