A central goal of the Saint Paul Public School Foundation is assisting and supporting our tutoring partners to increase the academic achievement of student participants. We seek to do this by increasing the capacity of our partners to document and measure the progress their students are making through best practices.   In collaboration with our tutoring partners, we define tutoring as "an intentional academic intervention."

The following list of eight (8) best practices were adopted by the tutoring partners in 2008. These best practices are proven strategies and techniques that add value to the design, implementation and administration of tutoring interventions that are likely to result in positive impact to student academic outcomes.

1. Structure & Organization: A Best Practice partner has a clear organizational structure and purpose to increase student achievement and to engage in best practices (focus on tutoring).

2. Cultural Proficiency/ Competence: A Best Practice partner demonstrates cultural competencies and strives for cultural proficiency.

3. Participant Selection, Retention, & Matriculation : A Best Practice partner has a plan and criteria to identify, recruit, and select student participants.

4. Tutor Recruitment & Selection: A Best Practice partner employs consistent and documented practices for recruiting, selecting and/or hiring, and retaining tutors

5. Tutor Training & Supervision: A Best Practice partner provides ongoing support and management of tutors, including training and development opportunities to equip tutors to meet demonstrated student needs.

6. Tutoring Intervention: A Best Practice partner complements and/or supports classroom activities by providing sufficient quality, duration, and frequency of tutoring intervention to ensure program mission/goals are met.

7. Engagement with Families & Schools: A Best Practice partner recognizes and engages parents/guardians and schools as necessary partners for improving achievement.

8. Evaluation & Measurement: A Best Practice partner utilizes measurement and evaluation to track student progress, determine, program impact, and to inform program continuous improvement.

Additional curriculum and resources for tutoring partners includes:

• SPPSF Tutoring Provider Best Practices Manual
• SPPSF Tutor Recruiting Best Practices
• SPPSF Tutor Training - Every Day Mathematics
• SPPSF Tutor Training - Holt Mathematics (for grades 7 – 8)
• SPPSF Tutor Training - Read by 3rd Grade
• SPPSF Tutor Training - SPPS Literacy Model (Reader's & Writer's Workshop)