OnYourMark Education provides in-school virtual tutoring services and one-to-one instruction in the foundations of early literacy to students in grades K-12.
OnYourMark Education
2021
Mindy Sjoblom
Angelica Keeney
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OnYourMark Education provides in-school virtual tutoring services and one-to-one instruction in the foundations of early literacy to students in grades K-12.
OnYourMark Education
2021
Mindy Sjoblom
Angelica Keeney
An evidence-based, virtual tutoring program that provides students with dedicated, personalized guidance to develop the reading skills that will set students up for future success.
Creating Early Literacy Opportunities
The OnYourMark program, a project of Cambiar Education, provides high-quality virtual tutoring that focuses on building and strengthening the early literacy skills of students.
OnYourMark partners with schools and offers services complementary to the literacy instruction already in place. It offers individualized tutoring during the school day that focuses on students and their educational and social-emotional needs.
Founded in 2021, the program approaches reading from a child-first perspective; its method is science-based and built on principles of high-impact tutoring.
Unlocking a Student’s Potential
It is widely known that being able to read at grade level by the end of third grade is a predictor of positive academic outcomes for students. OnYourMark CEO and Founder Mindy Sjoblom says there is also a clear connection between early reading skills and high school graduation. And yet this type of personalized tutoring is not accessible for many students across the country, putting some at a disadvantage early in their academic careers. The OnYourMark program is designed to provide individualized support to close the gap in reading capabilities.
We make it our mission to get tutoring into schools and to students who need us the most.
Mindy Sjoblom Founder and CEO
How It Works: Student-centered Tutoring
During the 20-week program, tutors commit to working with students 20 minutes per day, four days a week. Through their work, the team learned that 20 minutes is the right amount of time for students to stay focused and still develop the skills they need.
The tutor and student first work on phonemic and phonological awareness to master an understanding of sounds in the English language. After learning sounds, students begin to connect sounds to letters and blend the letters and sounds together to make words, leading to the decoding of written words and reading fluently. Tutors regularly monitor student progression to ensure lessons are adjusted to increase reading proficiency.
The results are there: children who are in the program have shown reading growth that is two to six times the rate of their peers without tutors.
The programming not only embraces the science of reading but also focuses on the student’s learning and social-emotional needs. Prioritizing the relationships between tutors and students, the program ensures participating children know their tutor cares and is focused on their learning. In turn, tutors better understand each student’s individual needs and learning approaches to chart a tailored growth trajectory for success.
The Future of OnYourMark
In the first pilot year, OnYourMark tutors worked with 180 students and has quickly grown to serve 1,400 students in its second year. The pilot data reinforced that students benefit the most from tutoring beginning in kindergarten when they first start learning to read. As the program expands, the OnYourMark team plans to create an additional focus on older students who are far below their grade benchmark, another area where they see significant results.
The program aims to enroll 2,500 new students during the 2023-2024 school year and double that number by 2025.
Dive Deeper
Making a Connection
OnYourMark grows the connection both between students and tutors, but also through peers working to assist the next generation. OnYourMark tutor Alexis shares the multifaceted way that she is finding fulfillment in her role.