HATTIESBURG — As Hub City students settle into a new school year, tutors from Ampact, a national nonprofit, are once again working alongside the city’s public school teachers to help students succeed. 

The tutors’ first step is to identify which students may need extra help in reading and math. 

Ampact, now in its third year locally, began serving Mississippi schools in 2021. Since then, state Education Department data shows reading and math scores in the Hattiesburg Public School District have risen, a change educators partially credit to the nonprofit’s targeted tutoring efforts. 

“In Mississippi, fewer than one-third of our students are proficient in reading and math. That’s alarming,” said Danielle Harris, executive director for Ampact’s Reading and Math Corps programs in Mississippi and Georgia.  

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress — often called the nation’s report card — 32% of Mississippi fourth-graders scored at or above proficient in reading in 2024, while 22% of eighth-graders reached proficiency in math. The state’s Literacy-Based Promotion Act requires third-graders to meet reading standards — scoring above the lowest two achievement levels on the state-approved reading assessment — before advancing to fourth grade. 

Identifying and supporting students

Harris said Ampact uses a “high-dosage” model for each student that totals 90 minutes per week in math and 100 minutes in reading. Students are enrolled based on assessments conducted by Ampact tutors in partnership with teachers.  

In Hattiesburg, Harris said the process is straightforward and designed to target those most in need. 

“It is really an opportunity to connect with … the leadership to make sure that we get the right students,” Harris said. 

By embedding tutors into the school day, she said, it becomes easier for them to connect with staff and students — something Hawkins Elementary School Principal Taneka Lett has seen firsthand. 

“(The students) really enjoy working with the Ampact tutors,” Lett said. “The tutors do a really good job of building relationships with the students, so they’re always excited to go.” 

At Hawkins, tutors are paired with kindergarten, first-grade and second-grade teachers and typically work with students in 30-minute sessions before returning them to class.  

“It’s … pretty much an all-day thing — pulling students — but (the Ampact tutors) are very strategic so they don’t impose on general instructional time,” Lett said. 

Tutoring in action 

The same approach applies to older students. Hattiesburg High School senior Joanna Flores said she was able to receive tutoring during nonessential electives. 

“I didn’t understand much of it … then with tutoring, I honestly felt like it helped me a lot at the end of the year,” she said. “Whenever we had testing … I did a lot better than I did (before I had a tutor).” 

Flores said she was hesitant at first because she was worried about the stigma of needing extra help.  

“When the teacher told me he had enrolled me in tutoring, I was honestly not happy,” she said. “As a high schooler, you hear, ‘Oh, you’re being tutored,’ and then other people hear about it … they’re going to be like, ‘Oh, she doesn’t know much. Oh, she can’t understand it.’”  

Now, she encourages others to take advantage of the program if they start to fall behind. 

“I feel like it’s a good thing to be tutored, especially when you’re not understanding … (what) you’re trying to learn,” she said. 

Tracking progress and results 

Lett said the program’s results are evident — and she said she hopes it continues to grow and eventually include science instruction.  

“From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, (past) students did show some growth,” she added. 

For some, success means meeting or exceeding academic benchmarks. For others, it’s about smaller milestones. Harris said students learning English often face extra challenges, so progress can look different.  

“A student that may not be able to read a complete sentence — if at the end of the week they are able to read that full sentence … that’s success,” she said. “Those are big wins for us.”

In 2024, Ampact served more than 1,400 students statewide, including hundreds in Hub City public schools as well as in the school systems of Belzoni, Jackson, Vicksburg and Yazoo City. Harris said 71% of reading participants exceeded their growth targets and 88% of math participants increased their scores. 

“This is game-changing for young people to change the trajectory of their future,” she said. “If that foundation is not solid, it really creates barriers for their success going forward.”  

She said the program also helps teachers by giving them more room to focus on curriculum. 

“It does lift the weight (off teachers), but again, partnership is key,” Harris said. “We are ingrained in the school culture, and the goal is to really make sure our young people are creating a strong foundation for their success.” 

Funding, staffing and future plans 

Harris said Ampact tutors come from varied backgrounds, including retirees and recent graduates, and are selected based on the needs of each state. They receive training, resources and full background checks before entering classrooms. 

Program funding is a mix of school contributions — up to $15,000 per tutor — and AmeriCorps support, along with private donations. Harris credited the program’s success in the state to local partners such as the state’s volunteer service commission, the Pinebelt Foundation and the Community Foundation for Mississippi. 

“This is not something that is an additional program,” Harris said. “We are embedded in the school schedule. We are glad to be a part of this work, glad to expand this work.” 

With spring testing months away, Harris said early intervention is key.  

“It’s essential for our young people to be successful,” she said. “If those basics — reading and math skills — and core competencies are not completed during … (kindergarten) through eighth (grade), it creates barriers for (students).”