Top Journalists in Tutoring Services

Melanie Asmar Chalkbeat Colorado

Chalkbeat Colorado bureau chief who has covered how districts deploy high-dosage tutoring with COVID-relief dollars, including Denver’s investments in literacy and math tutoring programs. Specialties: District implementation of tutoring, ESSER/relief-funded learning recovery, Denver Public Schools.

Kara Arundel K-12 Dive

Senior reporter at K-12 Dive who has reported that consistent, in-school high-dosage tutoring produced substantial math gains in Chicago and Fulton County, translating evidence into implications for district leaders. Specialties: Research findings on high-dosage tutoring, district results (CPS, Fulton County), program design.

Olina Banerji Education Week

Education Week contributor focused on student achievement who has examined how tutoring programs face uncertainty after the expiration of federal COVID relief aid and what effective models should look like. Specialties: Program sustainability, funding cliffs post-ESSER, student achievement.

Jill Barshay The Hechinger Report

Hechinger Report’s ‘Proof Points’ columnist who regularly synthesizes tutoring research — from ‘sobering’ large-scale evaluations to studies on online drop‑in tutoring and virtual models — to clarify what works at scale. Specialties: Tutoring effectiveness research, on-demand/virtual tutoring evidence, learning recovery.

Kalyn Belsha Chalkbeat (National)

Chalkbeat’s senior national education reporter who has covered new evidence that intensive, in‑school tutoring can also boost attendance and has chronicled challenges districts face scaling high‑dosage models. Specialties: Nationwide K‑12 tutoring initiatives, high‑impact tutoring research, implementation hurdles, attendance effects.

Collin Binkley Associated Press

AP’s national education reporter who co‑reported that despite high need, only a small fraction of students receive high‑dosage tutoring — framing the scale of the access problem for districts and providers. Specialties: National education policy and learning recovery, access gaps in tutoring.

Michelle Caffrey EdWeek Market Brief

EdWeek Market Brief reporter covering tutoring market moves, including IXL’s acquisition of MyTutor and state solicitations for tutoring tools that shape provider opportunities. Specialties: K‑12 market/edtech and tutoring M&A, RFPs and state procurements, international tutoring deals.

Emma Kate Fittes EdWeek Market Brief

EdWeek Market Brief reporter who has tracked tutoring provider contracts — from New Mexico’s termination of a statewide deal to large-district RFPs — offering market intelligence for vendors and districts. Specialties: District purchasing and tutoring provider RFPs; state contracts and program accountability.

John Fensterwald EdSource

EdSource editor‑at‑large who reports on California’s evolving tutoring landscape — from Ignite Reading pilots to state guidance — and how districts can leverage remaining learning‑recovery funds for tutoring. Specialties: California policy on high‑impact tutoring, early literacy tutoring initiatives, state funding levers.

Linda Jacobson The 74

Senior writer who has led The 74’s coverage of tutoring — from outcomes‑based provider contracts to new studies showing when virtual early‑literacy tutoring works — with practical insights for systems leaders. Specialties: High‑impact tutoring policy and research, outcomes‑based contracts, virtual tutoring effectiveness.

Rebecca Koenig EdSurge

EdSurge’s senior editorial leader who has reported on the platforms and partnerships underpinning statewide tutoring efforts, helping contextualize vendor and policy trends for the sector. Specialties: Edtech and tutoring intersections, statewide tutoring platforms (e.g., Zearn in TN/TX), funding trends.

Lauraine Langreo Education Week

Education Week staff writer whose Q&As and reporting explain emerging tutoring research — such as how matching affects girls’ interest in STEM — for K‑12 leaders evaluating program design. Specialties: Research on tutoring and STEM participation (e.g., tutor gender effects), student achievement coverage.

Asher Lehrer‑Small Houston Landing (formerly The 74)

Houston Landing’s HISD reporter and former The 74 journalist who has produced deep coverage of tutoring pipelines (e.g., tapping teacher‑prep students and parents) and district rollouts. Specialties: High‑impact tutoring models, staffing pipelines (teacher‑prep and parent tutors), district‑community partnerships.

Kevin Mahnken The 74

Senior writer at The 74 who distills tutoring studies — including new findings that well‑designed virtual tutoring can rival in‑person models — and profiles effective community tutoring programs. Specialties: Tutoring evidence syntheses, senior‑care and volunteer tutoring, virtual tutoring results.

Naaz Modan K-12 Dive

K‑12 Dive senior reporter who has broken down how alternating human tutoring with high‑quality ed‑tech can cut costs without reducing impact, and how states plan to sustain high‑impact tutoring post‑ESSER. Specialties: Cost‑saving tutoring models, state policy shifts post‑ESSER, AI‑assisted tutoring research.

Daniel Mollenkamp EdSurge

EdSurge reporter who has detailed how colleges and nonprofits are building tutor corps at scale and launching micro‑credentials/training for high‑dose tutoring to bolster program quality. Specialties: Workforce pipelines for tutors, college‑student tutor corps, training and credentials for high‑dose tutoring.

Roger Riddell K-12 Dive

K‑12 Dive senior editor who has reported national data on schools’ use of high‑dosage tutoring and effectiveness ratings, grounding the tutoring debate in current survey findings. Specialties: NCES and district data on tutoring availability/effectiveness; policy context for recovery strategies.

Brooke Schultz Education Week

Education Week federal policy reporter who has covered how federal cuts to service programs (e.g., AmeriCorps) imperil tutoring and after‑school supports districts rely on. Specialties: Federal policy shifts that affect tutoring, AmeriCorps/service impacts on tutoring capacity.

Sarah D. Sparks Education Week

EdWeek assistant editor and longtime research reporter who has examined why some high‑impact tutoring succeeds (or falters), including virtual models, dosage ‘bursts,’ costs, and implementation fidelity. Specialties: Tutoring research translation, cost‑effectiveness, design features of ‘high‑impact’ models.

Emily Tate Sullivan EdSurge

EdSurge senior reporter whose features have chronicled tutoring programs pairing elementary students with college tutors and how those designs support early literacy and learning recovery. Specialties: Human‑interest and program‑design features of tutoring, especially pairing K‑12 students with college tutors.