High-Impact Tutoring Doubled Literacy Rates Last Year. SF Ed Fund Aims to Scale Up.
The only factor preventing access to the single most effective literacy intervention – high-impact tutoring – is funding, and the SF Ed Fund is seeking to raise an additional $600K to meet the urgent literacy needs in San Francisco.
San Francisco, CA – July 25, 2025 – The San Francisco Education Fund (SF Ed Fund) is issuing an urgent call for large donations to expand access to high-impact literacy tutoring for students in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) who are furthest behind in reading.
With only three weeks left until the 2025-26 school year begins and major federal education cuts looming, the nonprofit is working to raise $600,000 by the start of the school year on August 18 to serve the 835 elementary school students currently on a waiting list for high-impact tutoring, which is the most effective literacy intervention available.
The SF Ed Fund’s programs reach every school in SFUSD, which serves approximately 49,000 students. Its primary focus is supporting the district’s highest-benefit schools – referred to as Priority Schools – defined as having 50%+ low-income students and 50%+ students not yet meeting literacy standards.
High-impact tutoring – defined as a consistent, qualified tutor working with students at least three times per week using high-quality, science-of-reading-backed materials – has already shown dramatic results in supported K-5 Priority Schools. In just five months of high-impact tutoring in the 2024-25 school year:
The number of participating students meeting grade level standards more than doubled from 24% to 54%
The number of participating 1st graders at Sanchez Elementary reading at or above grade level nearly quadrupled from 15% to 59%
71% of kindergartners in the program were reading at or above grade level
In the 2025-26 school year, the SF Ed Fund is prepared to provide support to students across K-5 Priority Schools. The only barrier to reaching the students on the waitlist for this opportunity is funding.
The need is urgent: nearly half of SFUSD students are not yet reading at grade level. Among third graders, the numbers are especially alarming – only 8% of Latinx students, 19% of Black students, and 13.6% of English Language Learners met literacy standards in the latest state assessment. SFUSD ranks in the bottom 7% of California districts for third-grade reading outcomes, according to the CA Reading Report Card. Many SFUSD reading interventionists’ roles have been eliminated, a result of the district’s layoffs to close the $114 million deficit ahead of the 2025-26 school year.
SFUSD has set a bold goal: to increase third-grade literacy proficiency to 70% by 2027, up from roughly 50% today. One of the district’s big bets in achieving this goal is a new, science-of-reading-backed curriculum, launched in the 2024-25 school year. The SF Ed Fund’s high-impact literacy tutoring program directly supports this strategy by providing personalized intervention to students who stand to make the most gains.
This is the single most effective literacy intervention we have,” said Ann Levy Walden, CEO of the SF Ed Fund. “Our schools are ready. Our tutors are ready. The students are ready. We know how to implement this program and show profound results. What’s missing is the investment to match the moment.
With federal, state, and city budget cuts looming, there has never been a better time to invest in the future of San Francisco—our children.
In response to school feedback and rising demand for in-person support, the SF Ed Fund will now partner with two in-person providers exclusively: Braintrust Tutors for grades 3-5, and Chapter One to serve K-2 students. Both providers offer highly personalized support that fits seamlessly into the school day and reinforces SFUSD’s new literacy curriculum. The SF Ed Fund is uniquely positioned to align deep relationships with Priority Schools, close collaboration with SFUSD, and on-the-ground site-level support with a network of highly vetted, in-person service providers.
Eighty percent of our kindergartners are now reading at grade level, and I know high-impact tutoring has played a role in that,” said Annie Roach, the instructional coach at Bret Harte Elementary. “Our [Chapter One] tutor is so awesome; she’s great with kids and they love working with her. She is responsive to student needs and is a strong member of our team.
Since launching its tutoring initiative four years ago, the SF Ed Fund has delivered high-impact literacy tutoring support to more than 6,300 K-5 students. Students who attend at least 70% of sessions routinely gain more than a year’s worth of reading growth. The program works in close partnership with educators, literacy coaches, and school leaders to identify students based on STAR assessments, CAASPP data, and classroom insights.
Founded in 1979, the SF Ed Fund has spent 45 years mobilizing San Franciscans in support of public education. Its high-impact tutoring initiative is one of the largest, most data-driven efforts in the city to address literacy inequities and help students succeed.
The SF Ed Fund is seeking donations of $25K or higher in order to meet provider minimums. To make a donation today, please contact Laura King at lking@sfedfund.org.
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About the San Francisco Education Fund
The San Francisco Education Fund (SF Ed Fund) advances equitable education by providing quality learning programs, community support, and financial resources to students, educators and schools. The SF Ed Fund was founded in 1979 as a response to Proposition 13 decimating funding for public education in California, and since then we have consistently mobilized the San Francisco community to champion equitable access to quality education for all public school students. As the first third-party intermediary in the nation focused solely on uplifting local public school teachers, students, and their schools, the SF Ed Fund has spent 45 years building a powerful legacy of community engagement and quality learning.