Reading by grade 3 opens doors to lifelong learning. Early literacy tutoring focuses on building foundational skills including phonological awareness, phonics knowledge and decoding skills to help students become independent fluent readers in the early grades. To help all students become confident, fluent readers, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is accepting applications for DESE-sponsored early literacy tutoring, which will be offered to students between February and June 2026. Eligible public school districts and charter schools may receive free tutoring services for students in grades K–3, with priority for first grade.
Application Deadline: Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Before You Begin
Please read these important details carefully before submitting your application:
- This is an application that will be reviewed for selection. Providing complete and detailed responses will help DESE accurately assess your district or school’s readiness.
- Applications must be fully completed to be considered. Submissions with missing information will not be reviewed.
- Only one application per district or charter school should be submitted. The District Administrator or a designated School Leader must complete and submit the form on behalf of the district.
- Tutoring matches will be made based on each vendor’s minimum site requirements to ensure quality, compliance, and consistency. Matching decisions will consider both instructional and logistical factors, including your preferred tutoring format, model, and estimated student count.
Eligibility Requirements
- District or charter school uses a DESE approved screening tool(s) in grades K-3
- District or charter school agrees to the tutor’s administration of DIBELS 8th edition to participating students, pre and posttest for 10-12 week tutoring programs and pre, mid-point, and post for full year tutoring programs
- Curriculum Data Collection: As part of the tutoring initiative, districts and charter schools must complete Curriculum Data Collection for ELA/literacy, Mathematics, Science and Technology/Engineering, and History/Social Science. Your ELA/literacy curriculum data for grades K–3 will be used to score your application based on the use of High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) for the full core literacy block, including foundational reading skills. You can view or update your curriculum data via the Curriculum Data Report and access instructions and guidance on data collection on the DESE website.
- Universal screening data sharing: Districts and charter schools receiving this opportunity must agree to participate in research efforts, including providing student-level assessment data from the approved early literacy screening assessment that is administered in all schools during the award period. DESE will request that data be submitted by June 30 of each year awarded. DESE will analyze the data collected for research purposes, including evaluation of this program. Analyses will comply with state and federal confidentiality laws.
The Department will select districts and charter schools to receive early literacy tutoring based on criteria including:
Need Help or Have Questions?
DESE offers several ways to get support during the application process: