Latest News: CityTutor DC is now CitySchools Collaborative
Latest News: CityTutor DC is now CitySchools Collaborative
CitySchools Collaborative catalyzes high-impact tutoring and strategic talent models to serve thousands of students, improving student well-being, accelerating academic performance, and enhancing flexible staffing systems in schools.
CitySchools Collaborative supports 100+ schools, community-based partners, and government stakeholders to improve outcomes for students furthest from opportunity. We recruit, train, and coach schools and community partners to launch, implement, and scale school-based, research-backed interventions through three programs:
CityTutor
CitySchools Collaborative works to expand quality and access to high-impact tutoring (HIT) as an intervention to build stronger, brighter futures for students. Born of the pandemic and with D.C.’s significant investment in HIT, CityTutor is our flagship program.
HIT, also referred to as “high-dosage tutoring,” is a research-backed intervention proven to substantially accelerate academic progress and improve student well-being. In small-group or one-on-one settings, trained tutors and students meet frequently and consistently to develop their skills and deepen their understanding in either math or ELA. Our work is driven by national standards and aligned to the growing body of research supporting HIT as a proven, effective academic intervention. Robust research, including research conducted on our supports, demonstrates that tutored students are more likely to achieve academic goals and attend school at higher rates.
Strategic Staffing
CitySchools Collaborative works with schools and stakeholders to redesign how schools are organized—ensuring every student has access to high-quality instruction and every educator has the structure and support to thrive. Through our strategic-staffing work, we partner with schools to implement innovative staffing models that:
Strategic staffing is a research-backed approach to organizing people, time, and resources in schools. Strategic staffing moves away from the traditional “one teacher, one classroom” model toward a team-based approach where educators share instructional responsibility, collaborate with trusted adults—such as tutors, paraprofessionals, and community educators—and focus on their individual strengths to meet student needs.
Strategic staffing is a promising solution to longstanding challenges in the teaching profession. National research shows that redesigned staffing models can lead to stronger student outcomes, improved teacher retention, and more equitable access to high-quality instruction.
Tutor-to-Teacher
CitySchools Collaborative invests in the next generation of educators to ensure that all students learn from skilled, diverse, and committed teachers. Through our Tutor-to-Teacher program, we partner with schools and tutoring providers to build career pathways that support local tutors in becoming future classroom teachers—strengthening teacher pipelines and expanding workforce diversity across D.C.
Launched in the 2024–25 school year, the Tutor-to-Teacher program supports aspiring educators with targeted professional learning, personalized mentoring, and clear connections to teacher preparation programs. In partnership with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and the Center for Black Educator Development, the program advances citywide efforts to recruit, develop, and retain a more representative teaching force for D.C. students.
By investing in tutors already working in D.C. schools, CitySchools Collaborative’s Tutor-to-Teacher program creates a powerful, place-based approach to teacher development—one that builds long-term educator pipelines and increases economic mobility for future teachers from the communities we serve.
To date, our coalition of stakeholders has served more than 25,000 students in DC public and public charter schools through these programs.
We build and lead coalitions to innovate, implement, and scale school-based, research-backed interventions to further student success. Our work is rooted in design thinking, research and evaluation, and community building and falls into four main delivery strategies:
We design and provide professional development, coaching, and technical assistance for schools in support of the implementation of HIT, strategic staffing, teacher pipeline, and instructional teaming initiatives.
Example: Rooted in the “equityXdesign” framework of design thinking to serve marginalized groups, Design Sprints are multi-week intensive support for school teams to shift mindsets and build technical skills to launch and support higher-quality, higher-impact tutoring and talent interventions. To date, CitySchools Collaborative has supported 100+ DC public and charter schools, supporting teams with reimagining school schedules, budgets, and staffing structures along with bringing a human-centered, equity-first approach to implementing tutoring and strategic staffing initiatives.
We create, collect, curate, and disseminate resources and training for instructional staff involved in tutoring, strategic staffing, and teaming initiatives.
Example: High-Impact Tutoring Math Curriculum is a collection of math lessons co-designed with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, D.C. Public Schools, and experienced local educators to support the implementation of high-impact tutoring (HIT) across the District. These lessons are aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and are created for the growing pool of tutors who are not trained teachers or have limited math content knowledge.
We maximize student reach across a diverse set of schools and sites, infusing the ecosystem with timely resources to strengthen cross-sector, coalition-based support for citywide initiatives.
Example: Communities of Practice
Rooted in data and continuous improvement, our Communities of Practice gather role-alike practitioners in the tutoring and strategic-staffing spaces to facilitate cross-sector conversations on the impact and ongoing challenges of our tutoring and talent-redesign implementations. Participants reflect on best practices, conquer common challenges, and leverage data to improve outcomes for students through tutoring and strategic staffing.
We build intentional, cross-sector connections by brokering relationships, organizing convenings, contributing to national research, and publishing white papers.
Example: HIT Summit
CitySchools Collaborative and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) co-create and co-host the annual D.C. High-Impact Tutoring Summit to celebrate successes and discuss efforts to continue high-impact tutoring (HIT) in the District. This summit features remarks from District leaders, networking opportunities over lunch, and interactive breakout sessions led by D.C.’s dedicated coalition of tutoring providers, local universities, community organizations, and educators.
I used to think high-impact tutoring was just a buzzword, but now I know it is a strategy that can be used to close pervasive opportunity gaps in our schools.”
-School Leader Participant, Design Sprint Programming
It was very useful to hear about the ways that different organizations organize and facilitate their partnerships [with schools]. It provides an interesting blueprint for ways to evolve and improve our programs.”
-Participant, HIT Provider Community of Practice
Rooted in the “equityXdesign” framework of design thinking to serve marginalized groups, Design Sprints are multi-week intensive supports for school teams to shift mindsets and build technical skills to launch and support higher-quality, higher-impact tutoring and talent interventions. To date, CitySchools Collaborative has supported 80+ DC public and charter schools, supporting teams with reimagining school schedules, budgets, and staffing structures along with bringing an human-centered, equity-first approach to implementing tutoring and strategic staffing initiatives.
Interested in participating in CityTutor’s Design Sprint Programming?
I used to think high-impact tutoring was just a buzzword, but now I know it is a strategy that can be used to close pervasive opportunity gaps in our schools.”
-School Leader Participant, Design Sprint Programming
Rooted in data and continuous improvement, our Communities of Practice gather role-alike practitioners in the tutoring and strategic staffing spaces to facilitate cross-sector conversations on the impact and ongoing challenges of our tutoring and talent redesign implementations. Participants reflect on best practices, conquer common challenges, and leverage data to improve outcomes for students through tutoring and strategic staffing.
Interested in learning more about CityTutor’s Communities of Practice?
It was very useful to hear about the ways that different organizations organize and facilitate their partnerships [with schools]. It provides an interesting blueprint for ways to evolve and improve our programs.”
-Participant, HIT Provider Community of Practice
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Join CityTutor DC on Wednesday, November 20, for A Brighter Future: Learnings from Transforming Teaching, as we celebrate key findings and lessons learned during the pilot year of our Transforming Teaching Pilot (TTP) initiative.
