NJTC CEO Katherine Bassett To Advocate For Investment In High-Impact Tutoring At New Jersey Assembly Hearing Regarding FY 2026 State Budget
[New Jersey – March 18, 2025] Katherine Bassett, Chief Executive Officer for the New Jersey Tutoring Corps, Inc. (NJTC), will provide testimony to the New Jersey Assembly Budget Committee on Wednesday, March 19th at 9:30 am in Committee Room 11, 4th Floor, State House Annex. In her remarks, Ms. Bassett will provide an overview of the creation, mandate, and development of NJTC; review comprehensive data that high-dosage tutoring has provided public schools throughout the Garden State; and outline clear expectations that continued support and investment will bring New Jersey during the coming year.
Launched during the 2022-23 school year, NJTC initially served approximately 500 scholars. Since then, it has become a needed focal point for advocating and expanding tutoring in New Jersey. Over the last three budget cycles, Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz and Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal have been instrumental in fighting to support NJTC and, with their assistance, have scaled to serve over 12,500 scholars in 247 locations, creating 740 jobs for residents. The most recent third-party evaluation showed that NJTC scholars' grade-level performance jumped by 550% in math and 150% in literacy after just one year of NJTC tutoring.
“The results NJTC is bringing to New Jersey's public schools would not be possible without the consistent, ongoing support of Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz and Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal. Their tireless commitment and deep understanding of high-impact tutoring has changed lives,” stated Katherine Bassett, Chief Executive Officer for NJTC. “In just three years, NJTC has become a necessary and consistent resource for the educational development of New Jersey’s public school scholars. Through the help of the Assembly and the Senate, NJTC has become a dependable statewide institution that effectively reaches those in public schools who need support the most. Together, by improving access to high-impact tutoring in our local schools, districts, and communities, we have built a new education paradigm of support for New Jersey. I am proud to have the opportunity to report back to the New Jersey Assembly’s Budget Committee on our results and our vision for the future.”
Initially established by First Lady Tammy Murphy, Laura Overdeck, and anchor institutions such as the Overdeck Family Foundation, the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, the New Jersey Children's Foundation, the Prudential Foundation, and the Debra and Kenneth Caplan Foundation, NJTC serves as a needed corrective response to the state's dramatic learning gaps exacerbated by the pandemic. NJTC's model is co-designed with schools, districts, and community partners, ensuring its research-based, evidence-rich program meets individual partners' needs. NJTC staff members provide responsive, personalized, hands-on instruction aligned to New Jersey state standards. Partners co-design each implementation. Tutors are often embedded in classrooms during the school day and receive support from instructional coaches and site coordinators. Tutors serve scholars in 30 to 60-minute embedded sessions during the school day, after school, or in summer programs two to three times per week. The program provides a 1:1 up to 1:3 tutor-to-scholar ratio, with the same tutor working with the same scholars throughout a program cycle, following the recommendations of the Annenberg Institute.
WHAT: New Jersey Assembly Budget Committee
Fiscal Year 2026 State Budget Hearing
WHEN: March 19, 2025, at 9:30 am
WHERE: State House Annex, Committee Room 11
4th Floor
Trenton, NJ 08625