Travis Elementary School (ECISD)
Odessa, Texas
Travis Elementary School Uses FEV Tutor to Raise Students’ MAP Scores
A big believer in identifying and addressing learning gaps when students are still in elementary school, Amy Russell knows how quickly those cracks can turn into fissures as young learners progress through school.
“Tutoring for elementary students has to be prioritized because the earlier we catch them, the better,” said Russell, former Principal of Travis Elementary and current Principal of Bowie Middle School – both in Odessa, Texas. “This is much more effective than waiting until they’re high-school age, and then trying to fill in gaps that have grown exponentially over the years.”
Knowing this, Russell implemented FEV Tutor’s virtual tutoring platform at her elementary school for the 2021-22 school year. Working with teachers and administrators, she identified about 50 students—roughly 12% of the total student population—for the one-to-one high-impact tutoring sessions.
The group selected students across grades 3-5 who would do well in the virtual setting. Most were struggling in math and/or reading and in general education, special education, or dyslexic.
“We even had a few newcomers who were just learning English,” said Russell, whose team established specific S.M.A.R.T. goal-based plans (setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based goals) for the tutoring sessions.
Those sessions would take place Monday through Thursday after school. Students worked in a designated, quiet space outfitted with 50 laptops and equipped with excellent Wi-Fi. After enjoying an after-school snack, they logged into the FEV platform for a one-hour tutoring session.
“Using this approach, we were able to devote some of our best teachers to help facilitate the process,” Russell explained. “Even though students would have one-to-one tutoring sessions in FEV, we also wanted certified teachers in the room who knew the subjects to help students overcome any barriers.”
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Overview
Challenge
The elementary school needed a way to address elementary learning gaps effectively and efficiently before they turned into more significant deficits down the road.
Solution
Amy Russell, principal at Travis Elem., brought in FEV Tutor’s high-impact, virtual tutoring to address learning gaps and accelerate educational outcomes for select 3rd-5th grade students.
Results
Comparing the NWEA MAP Growth data, the students using FEV Tutor outperformed non-users by +27% on math MAP scores.