PATHS to Tutor Act | Deans for Impact (DFI)

There are 600,000 individuals enrolled in teacher-preparation programs who can help provide critical academic and social-emotional support to students now, while gaining experience to help prepare them to lead classrooms in the future. These aspiring teachers can augment in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning by providing essential academic support through high-impact tutoring – helping both to support learning acceleration and strengthen pipelines into teaching.

The Partnering Aspiring Teachers with High-Need Schools (PATHS) to Tutor Act would provide meaningful educational opportunities to students and support workforce development by:

Ensuring students in high-need communities receive targeted academic support through intensive, structured tutoring opportunities
Strengthening the pipeline of future teachers by placing teacher-candidates into tutoring roles
Reducing the economic burden on aspiring teachers by allowing successful completion of a tutoring placement to qualify for national service educational awards granted by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

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Latest Updates

1/17/24: Introduced in House by Representatives Susie Lee (D-NV) and Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY) (HR7016)
7/19/23: Introduced in Senate by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and John Cornyn (R-TX) (S2428)

Supporters

The PATHS to Tutor Act is supported by Deans for Impact, its national network of leaders in educator preparation, and the following organizations:

AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education)
AASA (The School Superintendents Association)
AESA (Association of Educational Service Agencies)
Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE)
CASEL
Clark County School District
Committee for Children
Communities in Schools
CORE Learning
EduTutorVA
InnovateEDU
NASBE (National Association of State Boards of Education)
National Center for Grow Your Own
NBCDI (National Black Child Development Institute)
NCTR (National Center for Teacher Residencies)
New Jersey Tutoring Corps, Inc.
New Leaders
NIET (National Institute For Excellence in Teaching)
North Carolina Education Corps
NREA (The National Rural Education Association)
NREAC (National Rural Education Advocacy Consortium)
Saga Education
Teach Plus
Teach For America
Teaching Matters
The Education Trust
The Learning Accelerator
TNTP
Virginia Learns

Hear from Aspiring Teachers Serving as Tutors

"High-impact tutoring allowed me the opportunity to learn and amply practice a particular teaching skill in depth (in my case, science-backed literacy intervention skills) while connecting me to my community. The program let me test tiny changes to my teaching methodology while receiving feedback, and I will now be able to confidently implement those improvements in the classroom. I gained invaluable mentors, made irreplaceable connections with my students, and fell completely in love with teaching - after having had this experience, I could not imagine doing anything else."
Isabel Chae, Teacher-Candidate and Tutor, Future Teacher Tutors at American University’s College of Education

“My time as a weekly tutor has been so useful in providing me with hands-on experience in teaching emergent reading skills. I have had the chance to learn about concepts such as phonemic awareness and different approaches to teaching reading and early literacy skills before I actually take a class that covers these topics. The supportive framework of the tutoring program and its evidence-based instruction have allowed me to tailor my approach to individual students. My tutoring experience has been invaluable in giving me practical teaching skills that I will be able to draw on during my upcoming student teaching experience and in the future as a fully qualified teacher.”
Lucy Weber, Teacher-Candidate and Tutor, Reading Power through National Louis University’s National College of Education

“Tutoring has given me the knowledge and tools to implement high-quality instructional practices in 1:1 and 2:1 settings. These skills will help me enter the classroom next year as a more prepared and confident teacher. My tutoring experience has taught me the value of building relationships with my students, and the importance of establishing routines and adapting instruction to meet the needs of every learner. As I transition into the classroom next year, I’m confident that the skills and insights I’ve gained from tutoring will empower me to create a positive and effective learning environment.”
Sophia Alvarez, Tutor, TutorND at the University of Notre Dame and Intern, ACE Teaching Fellows

Learn more about some of the programs that are standing up high-impact tutoring initiatives across the country: