Profiles in mentoring: Meet Professor Matthew A. Kraft

Editor’s note: We’re absolutely thrilled to feature Brown University professor and rising star, Matthew Kraft. His work highlights the challenges and importance of integrating tutoring programs into US public school systems. We talked with Dr. Kraft to learn more about his findings and direct implications for youth mentoring programs.
JR: What first sparked your interest in exploring the integration of tutoring and mentoring within the U.S. public education system, particularly through a scalable, national model?
MK: When I was a student in college I volunteered as a tutor, working with a middle-school student who attended a near-by school. It was such a formative experience to see first-hand the power of sustained relationships and individualized support. But many students do not have access to these types of tutoring programs. This was the original spark for my simple idea – what if we were to democratize access to tutoring and mentoring by making part of the fabric of public schooling.
MK: Taking effective tutoring and mentoring to scale is a significant challenge. My collaborators and I just released a new study (https://edworkingpapers.com/ai24-1031) that examines these challenges as districts across the country have attempted to expand tutoring to meet the needs of students in the wake of the pandemic.  Challenges range from budget constraints and a tight labor market for finding tutors, to the difficulties of maintaining program fidelity. In some sense – the goal of getting to scale has eclipsed the paramount importance of constantly striving to maintain and enhance program effectiveness. There are no quick fixes, but I do think state and local efforts to invest in tutoring for the long-run and to focus on quality before scale are steps in the right direction.
MK: I think we need to recognize that each student has different needs and that success comes in a variety of forms. That is the power of tutoring – to personalize support and instruction to meet students where they are.
Link to related articles by Dr. Kraft:
https://edworkingpapers.com/ai24-1031