Title I, Part A
Support for schools serving students from low-income families.
View funding source ↗North Carolina · Schools & districts
High-dosage tutoring for North Carolina schools.
Live, small-group virtual tutoring in K–12 math and ELA. Connect North Carolina’s literacy priorities, classroom learning, and intervention plans with focused instruction and consistent support for your school team.
A closer look at North Carolina
Your state’s priorities.
Your students’ next steps.
What North Carolina is prioritizing
State priorities.
Focused support.
Reading instruction grounded in evidence. Curriculum transitions planned with care. A connected system that helps students get the right support and keep participating.
Explore North Carolina funding ↓
Official sources checked November 9, 2026
01Early literacy. Connect the reading plan with the next skill.
North Carolina’s emphasis
North Carolina’s Early Literacy work emphasizes the science of reading, educator knowledge, and stronger reading outcomes. Its current resources connect the 2026–27 Comprehensive Plan for Reading Achievement with literacy assessment and instructional support.
The Cignition connection
Start with the foundational skills and reading needs your team has identified. Review proposed Cignition lessons, explicit instruction where needed, and progress communication alongside the school’s literacy plan.
02Curriculum transitions. Keep support connected.
North Carolina’s emphasis
The 2017 ELA standards remain in place for 2026–27, with new ELA standards starting in 2027–28. Current mathematics standards remain in effect during installation of the new standards, which begin implementation in 2028–29. The two subjects have different timelines.
The Cignition connection
Identify the standards and materials your school is teaching now, along with the changes it is preparing for. Review proposed tutoring lessons, prerequisite support, and reporting against that instructional sequence.
03NC MTSS. Connect learning, participation, and support.
North Carolina’s emphasis
North Carolina’s Multi-Tiered System of Support brings together academic, behavioral, social, and emotional support. Its implementation work includes attendance and uses data, systems, and practices to guide decisions about core, supplemental, and intensive support.
The Cignition connection
Plan where tutoring fits within the school’s intervention routines. Agree on student groups, recurring time, onsite support, and communication. Look at participation alongside instructional evidence when deciding what to adjust.
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 North Carolina connection · A closer look at instruction
From a learning need to the work students do.
North Carolina’s emphasis on early literacy, curriculum transitions, and connected student support provides context for reviewing this sample. Examine how a learner connects sounds and print, responds to prompts, and practices a foundational reading skill.
Compare the task and prerequisites with your classroom sequence and student work.
Explore a sample lesson
Elementary literacy
ELA · K–5 sample. Open the student lesson to examine the tasks for yourself.
Open the elementary literacy sample ↗
What should we look for?
Consider how a learner connects sounds and print, responds to prompts, and practices a foundational reading skill. 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 North Carolina 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
Cignition
in North Carolina.
Cignition has supported math and ELA through Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ Out of School Time Tutoring program. The work connected North Carolina’s Standard Course of Study with district goals and regular communication about student progress.
At Charlotte East Language Academy, families were offered small-group virtual math tutoring for the 2022–23 school year. That local experience is a starting point for a conversation about your school’s goals.
For a new North Carolina partnership, Cignition brings live virtual tutors, purpose-built curriculum, a dedicated program manager, and useful participation and learning information. Your school brings its learning priorities, protected time, technology, and local support. Local partnership experience informs planning; each new program has its own scope and requirements.
“We have seen tremendous growth in our student academics during the school year. Cignition has made a great impact on student achievement.”
Doris Chisholm
Federal Programs Specialist
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Educator perspective from our past Charlotte-Mecklenburg partnership.
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 North Carolina school’s early literacy, curriculum transitions, and connected student 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.
North Carolina funding landscape
Understand the investment.
Find a relevant pathway.
North Carolina’s literacy intervention allotment provides a state-specific planning route. Title I supports locally approved academic services, and the current 21st CCLC competition offers an opportunity to build a complete out-of-school program.
Selected federal funding for North Carolina
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 NORTH CAROLINA 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.
North Carolina funding pathways
Funding reviewed November 10, 2026Additional learning time.
Build from the school’s plan.
Ongoing formula funding · District approval required
Who / what it supports
Title I-A supports stronger teaching and learning in schools serving low-income communities. Schoolwide and targeted-assistance programs have different planning and student-service requirements.
Where tutoring could fit
Review supplemental math or reading instruction against the school’s needs assessment and approved activities. Your district’s federal programs team determines eligible students, allowable costs, and required documentation.
Practical next step: Confirm the district allocation, available balance, service scope, spending period, and purchasing process.
Explore North Carolina’s Title I resources ↗A North Carolina literacy pathway.
Start with the approved plan.
PRC 0085 · State allotment, not an open grant competition
Who / what it supports
The FY 2026–27 allotment manual identifies K–3 literacy intervention and implementation of approved literacy plans. It permits intensive tutoring by qualified staff trained in the science of reading.
Where tutoring could fit
Review a proposed reading program against the district’s DPI-approved Literacy Intervention Plan, intended students, available funds, and instructor qualifications. Do not assume the allotment is a general K–12 tutoring budget.
Practical next step: Ask instructional and finance leads to review the current manual, plan approval, allowable costs, and assigned staff’s science-of-reading training before committing to services.
Review the current literacy allotment rules ↗After school and summer.
Build the complete program.
Open · Cohort 19 applications due November 18, 2026, at noon ET
2027–2030 Cohort 19 opportunity
Eligible public and private organizations can propose out-of-school programs combining academic support, enrichment, and family engagement. Requests may reach $500,000 per year, depending on program design; the academic-year-only maximum is $415,000.
Where tutoring could fit
Supplemental math or reading tutoring may be one academic component of a broader program. Check school eligibility, service hours, staffing, procurement, and any proposed virtual delivery against the current RFP and administrator guidance.
Practical next step: Read the current RFP and October 30 FAQ, confirm the required documents, and submit through CCIP before the deadline. Funding and continuation are conditional; this is not a stand-alone tutoring-vendor award.
Review Cohort 19 requirements and the RFP ↗North Carolina · Program fit & purchasing
Start with fit.
Plan the details.
For the state literacy allotment, confirm the approved Literacy Intervention Plan, eligible students, available balance, and science-of-reading qualifications for the proposed service. For 21st CCLC, tutoring needs to fit the full out-of-school program, with separate review of any virtual component.
Review the funding source, service scope, tutor qualifications, student-data protections, and local purchasing requirements. Our past Charlotte-Mecklenburg partnership is evidence of North Carolina experience; it does not by itself establish statewide approval or eligibility for another district’s award.
A few useful questions
What would you like to work through?
Start here, then bring the questions specific to your students and school.
What North Carolina experience can we look at?
Cignition has worked with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ Out of School Time Tutoring program in math and ELA. That work included a virtual math tutoring opportunity for Charlotte East Language Academy families in 2022–23. The educator perspective above comes from our past district partnership.
How do you handle North Carolina’s standards transition?
Start with the standards and curriculum your school is teaching now. ELA changes begin in 2027–28; new mathematics standards begin implementation in 2028–29. Review proposed lessons and prerequisite support against the relevant subject, grade, course, and implementation year.
Explore the current ELA standards and transition resources ↗
Can the literacy intervention allotment support tutoring?
The FY 2026–27 PRC 0085 rules permit intensive literacy tutoring by qualified staff trained in the science of reading within an approved Literacy Intervention Plan. The district must confirm the proposed service, eligible students, available funds, and purchasing requirements.
Is the current 21st CCLC competition a tutoring grant?
Tutoring may be an academic component, but Cohort 19 funds complete out-of-school programs that also provide enrichment and family engagement. Applications are due November 18, 2026, at noon ET. Review the RFP and confirm any proposed virtual component with NCDPI.
Can we review samples before discussing a program?
Yes. The Content Library includes the existing math and ELA grade-band samples. Use them to explore the instructional approach, then discuss the specific curriculum and standards connections your school needs. They do not establish a comprehensive North Carolina 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 early literacy, curriculum transitions, and connected student support? Request curriculum examples, implementation details, evidence, or funding information for your North Carolina 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.