Title I, Part A
Support for schools serving students from low-income families.
View funding source ↗Maine · Schools & districts
High-impact tutoring for Maine schools.
Live, small-group virtual tutoring in K–12 math and ELA. Connect Maine’s literacy, numeracy, and integrated student support priorities with focused instruction, recurring learning time, and a practical plan for your students.
A closer look at Maine
Your state’s priorities.
Your students’ next steps.
What Maine is prioritizing
State priorities.
Focused support.
Stronger readers and writers. Mathematical thinking that reaches beyond a calculation. Timely support connected with classroom learning. Build tutoring around the work Maine schools are already moving forward.
Official sources checked November 9, 2026
01Literacy. Connect strong foundations with meaningful reading.
Maine’s emphasis
Maine’s Literacy Hub brings together Literacy for ME 2.0, the State Literacy Action Plan, and a practical Literacy Playbook. Its structured-literacy resources emphasize explicit, systematic, cumulative instruction, while its broader literacy work connects reading, writing, and communication across subjects.
The Cignition connection
Begin with the school’s reading goals, student evidence, and classroom materials. Review the foundational skills, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, or text-analysis work students need next. Coordinate proposed tutoring tasks and progress conversations with the school’s literacy team.
02Numeracy. Make the thinking visible.
Maine’s emphasis
Maine’s State Numeracy Action Plan treats numeracy as the ability to reason, solve problems, and use mathematics to make sense of the world. The Numeracy Hub and companion Playbook connect that vision with instruction, assessment, leadership, and timely layers of support across grade levels.
The Cignition connection
Connect proposed tutoring tasks with the mathematics students are learning in class. Use visual models, purposeful questions, and discussion to uncover reasoning and address prerequisite needs. Make room for students to compare approaches, explain a solution, and apply what they understand.
03I-MTSS. Bring the support into one shared plan.
Maine’s emphasis
Maine’s integrated approach to multi-tiered systems of support begins with strong Tier 1 instruction. It organizes people, time, data, curriculum, and other resources around students’ academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs. Consistent problem-solving and progress review help teams decide when support needs to change.
The Cignition connection
Define tutoring’s instructional purpose within the school’s existing support system. Agree on how groups are formed, what recurring time is protected, and how teachers and program staff will review learning information. Plan local participation support alongside instruction; the school retains responsibility for its broader MTSS and special education processes.
Our curriculum. Your instructional goals.
From a learning target
to student thinking.
Start with the skill your students need next. Connect the learning goal, the task, and the explanation that shows how a student is thinking.
The Maine connection · A closer look at instruction
From a learning need to the work students do.
Maine’s emphasis on reading and writing, mathematical reasoning, and timely support provides context for reviewing this sample. Examine how a learner explains an interpretation and supports it with evidence.
Compare the task and prerequisites with your classroom sequence and student work.
Explore a sample lesson
High school ELA
ELA · 9–12 sample. Open the student lesson to examine the tasks for yourself.
Open the high school ELA sample ↗
What should we look for?
Consider how a learner explains an interpretation and supports it with evidence. Which responses would help your team decide what the student understands and what to teach next?
How would this connect with our curriculum?
Compare the learning goal, task, language, and prerequisites with your classroom materials. Your school’s learning sequence and the students’ starting points guide that discussion.
How should we use this example?
This grade-band sample illustrates selected instruction. It has not been customized for Maine and is not a comprehensive state standards alignment. For a specific alignment question, share the standard and classroom materials with our team.
Inside a school partnership
A shared plan.
People to keep
it moving.
Cignition brings live virtual instruction, purpose-built lessons, a dedicated program manager, and participation and learning information. For example, a Maine school could give secondary students recurring time to discuss a text, explain an interpretation, and connect work with classroom goals. Your school provides protected time, technology, and local support. This is a planning illustration; service eligibility and the agreed scope shape any partnership.
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Turn the instructional need into a workable plan.
Your school team
Identify the students and reading or math goals, share classroom and screening information, and protect recurring time. Your team names an onsite contact and checks devices, connectivity, and the proposed use of school funds.
The Cignition team
Your program manager coordinates planning with your school. Cignition prepares tutor assignments, small groups, instructional materials, and launch arrangements around your Maine school’s reading and writing, mathematical reasoning, and timely support.
Keep the session focused and students connected.
Your school team
Help students join on time, maintain a supervised learning space, and support participation or connection issues. Classroom teachers continue core instruction; tutoring provides additional targeted learning time.
The Cignition team
Experienced, carefully vetted tutors lead live virtual instruction using Cignition’s purpose-built curriculum, questions, models, and discussion. They respond to student work and record attendance, participation, and learning information.
Use the information. Keep the conversation going.
Your school team
Share classroom observations and school assessment context, review participation with your onsite contact, and identify questions about student learning or the routine.
The Cignition team
Your program manager shares participation and learning information and coordinates follow-up. Cignition’s instructional and implementation teams use that information with your school to consider grouping, learning targets, or scheduling adjustments.
Maine funding landscape
Understand the investment.
Find a relevant pathway.
Maine SAUs and community partners can explore federal instructional funds, existing after-school awards, and rural education funding for eligible schools. Each route serves a different purpose. Begin with the current local award, approved program, and available balance, then confirm how proposed tutoring services could fit.
Selected federal funding for Maine
FY 2026 · Published statewide awards
Title II, Part A
Educator effectiveness and instructional capacity.
View funding source ↗Title III, Part A
English-language acquisition and support for English learners.
View funding source ↗21st Century Community Learning Centers
Academic enrichment during non-school hours.
View funding source ↗Read the MAINE row and Fiscal Year 2026 column in each federal award table. These are statewide allocations, not unspent local funds or a dedicated tutoring budget. Title II generally supports educator capacity. Confirm your district’s allocation, allowable use, and available balance before planning an expense.
Maine funding pathways
Funding reviewed November 10, 2026Focused academic support.
Begin with the school’s plan.
Ongoing formula funding · Approved local program required
Who / what it supports
Maine’s Title I-A program can support additional academic instruction connected with identified needs. Schoolwide and targeted-assistance programs have different participation and planning requirements. Maine DOE publishes FY27 final SAU allocations and guidance for local programs.
Where tutoring could fit
Maine’s spending guidance includes supplemental instruction and contracts with third-party providers that meet Title I requirements. Review proposed math or ELA services against the needs assessment, participating students, approved school plan, evidence requirements, assigned tutor qualifications, and virtual delivery arrangements.
Practical next step: Ask the SAU’s ESEA and business teams to verify the actual award, available balance, supplement-not-supplant requirements, and purchasing process. The statewide allocation above is not a school’s available tutoring budget.
Review Maine’s Title I-A guidance ↗Learning beyond the school day.
Part of a broader program.
Existing grant awards · Current-year approval and funds required
Who / what it supports
Maine’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers support academic enrichment and tutorial services outside regular school hours, alongside youth development and family learning. The award supports a broader after-school and summer experience than tutoring alone.
Where tutoring could fit
A current grantee can consider focused math or reading instruction aligned with state expectations and local curriculum. Review how a contracted virtual tutor would work within the approved program, including onsite supervision, student access, attendance, session time, and coordination with classroom learning.
Practical next step: Review the executed award, approved current-year program and budget, continuation conditions, and remaining funds. Confirm delivery arrangements and any needed amendment with the grant lead and Maine DOE before contracting.
Explore Maine’s 21st CCLC program ↗Additional instructional capacity.
For eligible rural SAUs.
Title V-B RLIS · Verified eligibility and approved local use required
Who / what it supports
Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) funding helps eligible rural SAUs address resource constraints and improve student achievement. Maine’s FY27 final Title V-B allocations identify participating SAUs. Being located in a rural community does not, by itself, establish eligibility or an available award.
Where tutoring could fit
RLIS funds may support activities allowable under Title I-A, including eligible additional academic instruction. Review the proposed reading or mathematics support against the SAU’s approved funding application, student needs, program rules, and available balance. Confirm the instructional staffing and virtual delivery arrangement.
Practical next step: Have the SAU’s ESEA coordinator confirm the specific award and budget period. Rural Education Achievement Program funding has distinct programs and eligibility rules; verify which funds the SAU actually receives before planning a purchase.
Review Maine’s current Title V allocations ↗Maine · Program fit & purchasing
Start with fit.
Plan the details.
Include the school administrative unit’s curriculum, ESEA, business, and purchasing leads in the decision.
For grant-funded services, the grant award and provider contract are separate decisions. Confirm current-year funds, allowable costs, background checks, student-data protections, and any Maine DOE approval or amendment required for the proposed arrangement. Complete the applicable local purchasing process before launch.
A few useful questions
What would you like to work through?
Start here, then bring the questions specific to your students and school.
How would reading support connect with Maine’s literacy priorities?
Start with the school’s curriculum, reading goals, and student evidence. Review suitable foundational-skills or text-based tasks and the assigned tutors’ qualifications with your literacy team. Tutoring can complement the school’s structured literacy and integrated literacy work while keeping instructional decisions and progress review connected with classroom learning.
What does Maine’s numeracy work mean for tutoring?
It provides a useful focus on mathematical reasoning, problem-solving, representations, and applying ideas. Discuss the classroom sequence, prerequisite needs, and the explanations students should be able to give. Review the proposed tutoring tasks with your school team rather than treating them as a replacement for the core mathematics program.
Can Title I or rural education funding support tutoring?
It may support eligible academic services within the SAU’s approved local program. Title I-A and RLIS have distinct eligibility and use requirements. Ask the ESEA coordinator to confirm the actual award, students served, instructional purpose, staffing qualifications, allowable costs, budget period, and available funds before contracting.
Could tutoring be added to an existing after-school program?
A current 21st CCLC grantee can review tutoring as part of its approved broader learning program. Confirm the current award, participating students, non-school-hour schedule, available funds, and local contracting process. Review virtual delivery, onsite support, and any change in program scope with the grant lead and Maine DOE.
Can we review examples of your curriculum?
Yes. The Content Library includes existing math and ELA grade-band samples. Review the instructional approach, then discuss the Maine Learning Results and your school’s curriculum sequence. The samples illustrate instruction; they do not establish a comprehensive or reviewed Maine alignment crosswalk.
What if I’m looking for help for my own child?
This page focuses on school and district partnerships. For tutoring arranged directly by a family, explore Cignition’s family plans and discuss your child’s learning goals, grade level, and scheduling needs.
Your school’s next step
Let’s plan around
your students.
Planning around reading and writing, mathematical reasoning, and timely support? Request curriculum examples, implementation details, evidence, or funding information for your Maine school before deciding whether to book a call.
On our contact page, choose “Another question” for an information request or “School or district tutoring” to explore a program.