Later Than Expected, Wayne Schools Receive High-Impact Tutoring Grant

WAYNE, NJ — The state has begun awarding funds for high-impact tutoring to help bolster students' progress in key areas, and some money is coming to Wayne Township Schools — albeit later than expected.

High-impact tutoring is geared towards helping students to recover from learning loss, and to improve academic achievement among students from low socio-economic backgrounds. The program is open to all New Jersey public schools serving students in grades three and four, to provide twice-a-week tutoring for students whose academic progress was most impacted by the pandemic.

The $52 million "Learning Acceleration Program" was slated to begin Oct. 11, but the Department of Education did not announce the preliminary grant awards until Nov. 3. Districts were given a list of vendors that they can contract with or could pay staff for tutoring, but had been in a holding pattern while waiting to learn how much money they would receive. The tutoring program is scheduled to close on Aug. 31, 2024.

Wayne Township was on that initial list, but the state did not indicate how much money the district will get to bring in tutors for third- and fourth-graders. Patch has reached out to district officials for more information about when the tutoring program is slated to start.