Transforming Boston’s Schools: A Simple Yet Powerful Idea
On a bright spring morning at John Hay Community Academy in Chicago, a scene unfolds that could hold the key to transforming Boston’s public schools. Three first-graders, Faye, Ka’mari, and A’Kyng, are eagerly participating in a high-dosage tutoring session. This method, which involves intensive, individualized instruction, has shown remarkable promise in improving academic performance.
Just across the hall, Felicia Mason, a dedicated member of the school district’s Tutor Corps, is guiding her young charges through a series of words. With each correct pronunciation, the children’s excitement grows—a testament to the effectiveness of this educational intervention.
High-dosage tutoring is not just another educational fad; it is backed by extensive research. Studies have demonstrated that this approach can significantly enhance learning outcomes, often outperforming other popular strategies like extended school days or summer programs. In fact, a pair of randomized control trials conducted in Chicago a decade ago found that high-dosage tutoring doubled or tripled the learning of low-income Black and Latino high school students.
The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to test the scalability of this intervention. With federal funding pouring into academic recovery, districts across the country, including Boston, were encouraged to adopt evidence-based strategies like high-dosage tutoring. While some states and districts have embraced this approach, Boston has yet to make it a priority.
The Boston Connection
Interestingly, Boston is the birthplace of the high-dosage tutoring movement. Match Charter Public High School, which opened at the turn of the century, pioneered this approach. By employing a “Match Corps” of live-in tutors, the school transformed its student body into one of the highest achieving in the state.
Despite its origins, Boston has not fully embraced high-dosage tutoring in its public schools. The city has experimented with the intervention in a small number of schools, but it has not been prioritized. With a wealth of underutilized school buildings and a rich philanthropic infrastructure, Boston is well-positioned to implement a robust high-dosage tutoring program.
The Boston Globe editorial board argues that Boston should seriously consider investing in high-quality, high-dosage tutoring. The potential benefits are immense—not only in terms of academic achievement but also in addressing long-standing achievement gaps between white students and students of color.
Scaling Up
Scaling up high-dosage tutoring presents challenges, particularly in terms of cost and labor. However, innovative solutions, such as remote and hybrid tutoring models, offer promising pathways to expand these programs. By leveraging technology, districts can tap into a wider pool of qualified tutors, thereby reducing costs and increasing reach.
In Chicago, for example, the district has partnered with Saga Education to implement a hybrid tutoring model. This approach combines self-guided computer lessons with live, remote tutoring sessions, allowing more students to benefit from high-dosage tutoring.
As Boston considers its educational future, it would do well to learn from these examples. By investing in high-dosage tutoring, the city can provide its students with the best learning conditions possible. The potential for transformative change is within reach—Boston just needs to take the leap.
More Articles
Getting licensed or staying ahead in your career can be a journey—but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Grab your favorite coffee or tea, take a moment to relax, and browse through our articles. Whether you’re just starting out or renewing your expertise, we’ve got tips, insights, and advice to keep you moving forward. Here’s to your success—one sip and one step at a time!
Florida’s insurance market is under intense pressure as millions of residents and trillions in property wealth cluster along hurricane‑vulnerable coastlines. This article breaks down how decades of growth in high‑risk zones created today’s crisis, why traditional pricing models can’t keep up, and what real estate and insurance professionals must do to stay ahead. It offers actionable insights on underwriting, risk communication, policy partnerships, and resilience planning—critical knowledge for anyone advising Florida homeowners or navigating the state’s evolving insurance landscape.
Florida’s homeowners insurance market may have stabilized, but not in the way residents hoped. After years of runaway increases, premiums have stopped spiking—but they’re holding at painfully high levels. Coastal properties remain the hardest hit, with some policies topping $15,000 a year, while insurers continue demanding costly upgrades and resisting calls for transparency. For real estate professionals, understanding these pricing pressures is becoming essential as insurance costs increasingly shape buyer decisions across the state.
Florida homeowners face soaring premiums, shrinking insurer options, and storms that grow stronger each year. This article breaks down what hurricane insurance actually covers, how deductibles really work, why flood insurance is essential, and what professionals in real estate, mortgage, and insurance must understand to protect clients and properties before the next major storm hits.
Teresa King Kinney, one of the most influential executives in modern real estate, is retiring after 33 years as CEO of the MIAMI Association of Realtors. Under her leadership, the organization grew from 5,000 members to 60,000, became a global real estate powerhouse, and built the nation’s largest association‑owned MLS. As she transitions into CEO Emeritus, MIAMI prepares for a new era shaped by the foundation she spent decades building.
Miami’s commercial property market is heating up again, posting an 11% jump in investment volume for 2025. The surge is driven largely by a revitalized retail sector fueled by population growth, strong tourism, and new mixed‑use development. While office and industrial activity remains steady but softer, investor confidence is returning as Miami’s CRE landscape matures and buyers re‑enter the market with renewed interest in high‑traffic retail opportunities.
The Federal Reserve is preparing major changes to mortgage regulations in an effort to pull more mortgage activity back into the banking sector. With banks losing significant market share to nonbank lenders over the past decade, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman says new proposals may ease capital requirements and make mortgage servicing more attractive for banks. These shifts could have wide‑ranging effects on real estate professionals, lenders, and borrowers as the balance of power in the mortgage market begins to shift once again.
