Listen to Our Future Earns National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) Tutoring Program Design Badge
We're excited to share that Listen to Our Future's Education Mentorship program has been awarded the Tutoring Program Design Badge by the National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) at Stanford University, achieving full alignment across every Tutoring Quality Standards indicator.
When LTOF was initially launched, our CEO, Lillian Barkes, hoped for a method to distinguish high-quality tutoring programs. In practice, tutoring can involve activities such as homework assistance, virtual tutoring, and the use of packets and worksheets.
This Badge is granted when an organization is determined to be completely aligned following an evidence-based review process. During this process, a team of researchers and practitioners assessed our program's design against nationally recognized Tutoring Quality Standards. These standards encompass aspects such as tutor recruitment and training, data utilization, instructional structuring, school integration, student safety protection, and leadership organization.
Why Tutoring Matters
High-quality tutoring is one of the most well-supported interventions in education research. When done well, it can help students catch up on missed learning, build confidence, and develop the academic habits that carry them through school and beyond. But the research is clear that not all tutoring is created equal. The structure and consistency matter and the relationship between tutor and student is crucial. That's why frameworks like NSSA's Tutoring Quality Standards exist: to help programs like ours build on what actually moves the needle for kids.
What Full Alignment Means
Being found Fully Aligned across every indicator means our program reflects best practice on the things research points to again and again: consistent tutor-student pairings, structured and vetted instructional materials, sufficient tutoring dosage, clear systems for measuring student progress, strong safety and data privacy protocols, and a clearly defined mission and leadership structure. It's a comprehensive stamp that our program was built with intentionality.
What Makes LTOF's Program Different
At Listen to Our Future, tutoring isn't a standalone service. It's part of a broader ecosystem we've built across school and community sites in Central Indiana since 2020. Our mission is to equip youth to make long-lasting changes in their community through education, empowerment, and social action. We envision a future where youth’s educational needs are met, and they are empowered to create the changes they want to see as respected citizens in their communities across the globe. We accomplish this by serving youth ages 5-24 through tutoring, project-based learning, and youth employment. We incorporate academic health and wellness topics along with 21st-Century Employability Skills to ensure students are receiving the durable skills needed to tackle new academic challenges.
This recognition matters to us because it's not just a stamp of approval. It's confirmation that the systems we've built are grounded in what the research says works for children, across the board. As we continue growing across Central Indiana and beyond, this Badge gives our partners, families, and funders added confidence that our tutoring program is designed with quality at its core.
We're grateful to the National Student Support Accelerator for this recognition, and even more grateful to the students, families, tutors, and staff who make this work possible every day.
Learn more about the Badge process here: nssa.stanford.edu/tqis/badging
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