Empowering Louisiana Schools - OnYourMark is Already Transforming Education with State Funding for Tutoring Services

CHICAGO, June 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- OnYourMark Education, a leading literacy tutoring provider, announced plans for significant expansion in Louisiana as it builds upon the early success of its lighthouse district, Lincoln Parish. Long considered a leading innovator in service of teachers and students, Lincoln Parish leaders turned to OnYourMark so that teachers would have educator partners working alongside them to offer high-impact literacy tutoring that focused on meeting the precise needs of students.

With the Louisiana Department of Education's planned allocation of an additional $30 million in tutoring funds to help students meet early learning goals, OnYourMark is raising the standard for what it looks like to achieve an immediate impact that leads to lasting results. A shining example of the power that a partner-driven approach can yield is found with Hillcrest Elementary School of Lincoln Parish, which worked with OnYourMark to support 80 K-2 students significantly below grade level. The following data includes data from 16 weeks of the program: 10 weeks in Fall 2023, and another six in Spring 2024. (Note: Students at Hillcrest received a full 10 weeks of tutoring in Spring 2024. Data reflects six weeks due to testing schedules). This school year, Hillcrest students who received tutoring showcased significant advancement in literacy skills, as indicated by the End-of-Year (EOY) DIBELS^® assessment results, an assessment now required by the state. Numbers indicate that the percentage of students who grew at or above grade-level benchmarks in literacy skills improved dramatically, sometimes doubling or more.

Some highlights from the results include:

• Composite growth scores doubled from 6.7% to 13.8%.
• Phonemic awareness growth jumped from 4.4% to 36.0%.
• Decoding growth more than quadrupled from 4.4% to 18.0%.
• Word reading growth nearly doubled, from 6.7% to 12.5%.
• Each grade level consistently outperformed peers, demonstrating significant progress in every skill area targeted by the personalized curriculum OnYourMark tutors use to support each student, effectively closing proficiency gaps.

Based on the initial success at Hillcrest, and with the critical support of its teachers, the district expanded access to four additional schools in February, now serving a total of 225 students. Neighboring parishes, including such as Ouachita, launched in February as well based on the success they were seeing in Lincoln.

Dana Talley, Chief Academic Officer of Lincoln Parish Schools, lauded the results at Hillcrest and reinforced the importance of a precise, science-based approach, sharing, "These outstanding results underscore OnYourMark's commitment to personalized learning experiences, grounded in the Science of Reading. I was confident that OnYourMark was the right partner for our district since they had the right approach to literacy and a demonstrated capacity to scale. I'm thrilled to see the dividends that this investment has paid for our students."

OnYourMark CEO and Founder, Mindy Sjoblom, reinforced Talley's comments while also expressing strong optimism for the support that students across Louisiana will receive, sharing, "Our evidence-based programs work not only because we apply the Science of Reading with fidelity, it's also because of the deep care that our tutors bring to their relationships with students and the teachers who care so deeply about them. I'm beyond thrilled that the state will be supporting this kind of growth for all students."

The Louisiana Department of Education has mandated the use of Amplify's mCLASS^® with DIBELS^® assessment as the state's K?3 literacy assessment; OnYourMark uses both mCLASS^® and DIBELS^® to achieve the kind of results demonstrated in Lincoln Parish, making it the only such provider capable of ensuring seamless teaching and learning experience in the classroom and through virtual literacy tutoring.

About OnYourMark
OnYourMark Education is a leading provider of high-impact, individualized virtual tutoring grounded in the Science of Reading, to K-5th graders. OnYourMark partners with schools across the country to augment their existing literacy instruction and ensure students develop the foundational reading skills they need to excel. Recognized for its impact on student reading, OnYourMark was the subject of the first randomized controlled trial of a virtual early literacy tutoring program conducted by the National Student Support Accelerator at Stanford University.

OnYourMark-www.onyourmarkeducation.org

Media Contact: Mariela Abreu
[email protected]

SOURCE OnYourMark