Pullout programs have certain advantages.  Students are already on campus and can take new skills and strategies directly back to the classroom. Teachers are readily accessible for consultation with program coordinators; specialists or part-time staff also may be able to extend their hours to manage a team of 10 to 15 tutor/tutee pairs.  Using Learning Together as an in-school program also offers less tangible benefits. Marginal students become more involved at school; they gain a visible, high-status friendship that combats the alienation many at-risk students feel. Coordinators say the whole climate of a school changes as other students observe close mentoring relationships. And recruiting cross-age tutors is simple when students see the programs in action.Districts have implemented Learning Together in dozens of ways to fit campus needs, using both cross-age tutors and adult mentors. Some conduct tutorials before school; others begin 20 minutes before the last morning bell. Many schools choose first or last periods, and others work during lunch or recess (and some student tutors have volunteered to give up their free periods to participate!). Other campuses use designated enrichment time, since tutor and tutee both benefit. There are as many variations as Learning Together schools.

Before school

One site conducts tutor preparation over a weekly breakfast, then conducts tutorials another morning. 

One school has corporate volunteers who come on extended lunch hours to work one-on-one with students.

Some schools in a district have designated times campus wide for tutorials and  enrichment.  Reading Together is a tutorial offering for tutees and an enrichment offering for tutors -- and it's reading time for all!   

Consider using a whole classroom of fifth graders to tutor. The regular classroom teacher can preview the lesson as part of their Language Arts instruction.