Houston Migrant and Refugee Impact Tutoring Program - SiSTEM Case Study

SiSTEM works with every kind of campus, providing programs tailored to the specific goals of administrations and learners. We know that there is no one-size fits all solution. SiSTEM works swiftly and efficiently to create effective action plans that benefit all learners and elevate school ratings. Insight into some of our successful tutoring programs provides ample evidence of SiSTEM’s capability and commitment to serving a wide variety of educational institutions.

SiSTEM’s proven history of increasing academic growth in underserved populations is well-documented and grounded in a practice that promotes equity. Additionally, we have secured contracts worth over $1,000,000 since 2019.  The case studies that follow demonstrate SiSTEM’s ability to simultaneously execute multiple contracts for diverse student populations and school types.

Let's dive into one of our recent partnerships, where SiSTEM worked with supporting Houston migrants and refugees.

Houston Migrant and Refugee Impact Tutoring Program

The Houston Migrant and Refugee Services Department, part of Houston ISD which serves 195,000 students, reached out to SiSTEM to meet the needs of their linguistically and experientially diverse ELLs, including recently arrived students from Eastern Africa, Central America, and Afghanistan.  The department needed to source tutors who were competent in a variety of languages including Pashto, Urdu, Arabic, Swahili, and Spanish to prepare students for TELPAS, RLA and Mathematics STAAR tests. In fewer than 10 days, SiSTEM onboarded and trained 11 multilingual, degreed/credentialed tutors to serve 600 students at seven elementary and four middle school campuses.  

Without that very specific tutor corps, administrators would have been relying upon volunteers who may not have had the cultural competence, academic experience, or linguistic skills necessary to help students succeed academically and socially.  With four sessions of 45 minutes per week over 16 weeks, 80% students were able to improve their benchmark scores by an average of 10 full points  Additionally, 10% of students in 3rd-8th grades who were required to take TELPAS moved from Beginner to Intermediate. In light of the recent TEA takeover of HISD, campus level administrators are currently negotiating new ways of funding to keep SiSTEM on board to continue the successful relationship we built this spring.

Are you ready to explore for what SiSTEM can do for your organization? Connect with us today to get started. 

Reference: Stephany Gonzales, Senior Specialist Refugee Impact Program,
stephany.gonzales@houstonisd.org,
713-550-6895
4400 West 18th St.  Houston, TX 7792-8501