The End of ESSER: Lessons about Sustaining Tutoring at Scale from Guilford County Schools

We examine Guilford County Schools’ efforts to scale and sustain a home-grown high-dosage tutoring (HDT) program using a multi-level case study design drawing on district documents, observations, and interviews with district and school leaders, educators, and tutors. We trace how the district rapidly expanded tutoring under Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding and subsequently downsized the program after those funds expired. With external pressure easing, the district shifted attention from reach to quality, investing in systems intended to strengthen tutor hiring, supervision, and implementation fidelity. Despite these system-level investments, persistent challenges remained in middle school math, hard-to-staff schools, and schools serving large proportions of students below grade level. These patterns highlight the structural limits of systems building, even as districts transition to more stable, post‑ESSER operations.