Fourth- and fifth-grade students in Indiana may now receive $1,000 to be used to support their learning.
(WFIU/WTIU News)
The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has launched the pilot of a new statewide tutoring grant program, Indiana Learns. The goal is to use some federal funds to help students recover from learning loss that was caused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program was created by House Enrolled Act 1251 in January of this year. The act states that a student may receive $1,000 to be used to support their learning.
The program officially launched on Oct. 15 and families can schedule services starting Nov. 4. Seana Murphy, senior director for Indiana Learns, said she is excited to get the program moving.
“People have always been thinking about how they can best support students,” said Murphy. “And then to have the resources made available because of the federal COVID relief dollars, it was an opportunity to help those that were most impacted first, and then to think long term, how this can morph potentially into other ways of supporting students.”
Fourth- and fifth-grade students who last year scored below proficient in both math and reading on the ILEARN test are eligible to enroll in the program. They also must qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, attend school in Indiana, and attend a traditional public school, a charter school, or an accredited nonpublic school. Murphy said the aim is to support 15,000 students.
The program started as the National Center for Education Statistics published its latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on Monday. Thirty-three percent of Indiana fourth graders were proficient or better in reading, while 40% were proficient or better in math. Math proficiency was higher pre-pandemic, whereas reading stayed the same.
Indiana Learns partners with community learning partners and large-scale learning partners to provide services. These services can be in-person, online, or hybrid. Murphy said that one of the goals is to provide students with many options for tutoring services and support before the next ILEARN test.
“We really are pushing for students to start leveraging the supports now so that we can demonstrate impact from having had the opportunity,” Murphy said.
The hope is that the program also creates deeper connections among families, schools, and support services.
“The other thing is bringing on the families and connecting families to their schools in deeper ways,” said Murphy. “And also to the community [organizations] that are available to support them so that we're building a community that's focused on moving the student forward.”
Murphy said the public response to the program has been positive.
“The beautiful thing is that I've not had a conversation with anyone who said that this is a bad idea,” said Murphy. “Everyone is rallying around the fact that we are building community and strengthening the learning outcomes for students, and everybody wants to be a part of a good thing. And this is a good thing.”
The pilot of the program will wrap up in October 2024. Families who want to find out if their student is eligible for the program can go to the Indiana Learns website and input their student test number along with their birthdate, which will give an instant response. If eligible, they can start the process immediately.
