ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — There's a new tutor at Madisonville Elementary. It's an artificial intelligence program called Amira.
St. Tammany Public Schools is one of 16 school systems across Louisiana piloting the new program. Amira offers in-school tutoring aimed at improving reading skills.
Principal Candice Hickman said it's working.
“Our teachers are using it during their intervention time, and we’re seeing that the students that are using it are really making great gains in our words per minute for our little ones and really learning those sounds," Hickman said.
State Supt. Dr. Cade Brumley visited the school on Tuesday. Brumley said after LDOE observed positive outcomes for English language learners using Amira, they wanted to offer it to all students.
“We’re spending time out in the schools to figure out what’s working and what we can improve, because at the end of the day, we just want stronger reading outcomes for students," Brumley said.
According to LDOE, Amira is funded by $1 million in pandemic relief funds. 14,000 students across Louisiana are using the program right now.
But it's not the only tutoring option for public school students.
The Steve Carter Literacy Program gives eligible K-5th students $1000 vouchers for after-school, private tutoring. The state legislature approved the program in 2021 but failed to fund the $159 million initiative.
So, the department stepped in and allocated $40 million from pandemic relief funds, but only 1 percent of eligible students used the Steve Carter program in the last year, LDOE said.
“We realize these are taxpayer dollars and we want to make sure we’re using them wisely," Brumley said, “The Steve Carter tutoring program is just one year old. We had to develop infrastructure for tutors across the entire state. We have just under 2,000 students in that program now. We do expect it to grow.”
Brumley said some of the unused money went to other learning loss initiatives, including Amira.
Data shows Louisiana students are still rebounding from the learning loss caused by the pandemic. More than half of K- 3rd students tested below reading level last fall, according to the Louisiana Department of Education's Fall 2023 Reading Assessment.
Recent LEAP scores show reading improvement, but math scores continued to decline.
While Amira won't work for every student, it works for many, Hickman said.
"Amira is a tool in the toolbox," Hickman said.
If lawmakers approve LDOE's proposed funding formula, $30 million will go towards tutoring. School systems could then choose to offer Amira in-class with their portion of that funding, LDOE said.
"As pandemic relief funds sunset, we are requesting $5M in the executive budget for next year to continue the current Steve Carter program and expand it to also include math. Based on demand over the past year, we feel this funding will meet the demand," LDOE said.
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