Governor Mikie Sherrill unveiled today her first budget to the Legislature, a $60.7 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2027, which includes a plan to double last year’s investment in high-impact tutoring to $15 million.

The following is a statement from Katherine Bassett, CEO of the New Jersey Tutoring Corps (NJTC):

"Governor Sherrill sent a powerful and clear statement yesterday to every New Jersey public school parent, scholar, and teacher - that educating our children is a priority and driving innovation in our schools is of the highest importance.

“By doubling the state’s investment in high-impact tutoring in her first budget, the Governor is providing a clear vision to build both academic proficiency and the confidence students need to thrive in the classroom.  Most of all, because of the Governor’s actions, our children's future will change for the better, educational opportunities will expand, and we will embrace proven, research-based strategies that work and deliver results.

“For the last three years, in partnership with the state and school districts throughout New Jersey, NJTC has served as the state’s focal point for high-impact tutoring and its advocacy, establishing tutoring operations in hundreds of communities across the Garden State.  Together, we have shown firsthand the transformative power of high-impact tutoring.  Our most recent, independently collected data shows that after just one year of high-impact tutoring, the percentage of scholars performing at grade level jumped by 15% in both math and literacy.  Review the facts on how a small investment in consistent, high-impact tutoring is transformative in supporting our public schools and is the most effective tool we have to close the opportunity gap, especially for our most under-resourced scholars.

“On this beautiful and much-needed spring day, NJTC appreciates the new breeze that is blowing in Trenton and having a Governor who clearly embraces evidence-based learning supports.  NJTC will continue to advocate on behalf of high-impact tutoring and will support the Sherrill-Caldwell Administration in any capacity to ensure that all New Jersey scholars have the support they need to access the highest quality public education.”

Now in its third year of service since formally launching statewide as a nonprofit organization, NJTC has dramatically scaled its tutoring operations, growing from serving 500 New Jersey scholars in its first year to over 15,500 scholars across 247 locations statewide.  Initially established as a needed corrective response to the state's dramatic learning gaps exacerbated by the pandemic, the organization has since evolved to become the focal point for implementing and advocating tutoring in public schools and community organizations throughout New Jersey and has been instrumental in partnering with school districts and public charter schools to establish and operationalize more tutoring throughout the state. 

NJTC was created through an innovative public/private partnership, that united support from statewide anchor institutions such as the Overdeck Family Foundation, The Tepper Foundation, the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, the New Jersey Children's Foundation, the Prudential Foundation, The Carlson Family Foundation, the Debra and Kenneth Caplan Foundation and investment from the State, through the continued support of  Senate Majority Leader Ruiz, Senate Education Committee Chair Gopal, and Assemblywoman Andrea Katz and Assembly Budget Chair Eliana Pintor Marin.  Throughout the school year, NJTC co-designs tutoring programs with schools, districts, and community partners, ensuring that its research-based, evidence-rich program meets each partner's needs. NJTC follows the recommendations of the Annenberg Institute and the National Student Support Accelerator to ensure effective, high-impact tutoring.  Specifically, staff members provide responsive, personalized, hands-on instruction aligned to New Jersey state standards. Partners co-design each implementation. Tutors are often embedded throughout classrooms during the school day and receive support from instructional coaches and site coordinators. Tutors serve scholars in 30- to 60-minute embedded sessions during the school day, after school, or in summer programs two to three times per week. The program provides a 1:1 to 1:4 tutor-to-scholar ratio for each tutoring session, with the same tutor working with the same scholars throughout a program cycle.