ESS buys HeyTutor to add tutoring programs to K-12 staffing business

ESS has acquired HeyTutor, adding in-person tutoring, paraprofessional management and academic intervention services to a K-12 workforce business serving more than 1,200 school districts, according to its Sept. 16 announcement.

The purchase brings instructional programs and student-progress tracking alongside ESS’s staffing services. ESS describes the acquisition as part of its strategy to expand into adjacent workforce services for districts.

Backed by The Vistria Group, ESS employs more than 100,000 professionals nationwide. Its existing business includes substitute teacher management, clinician placement, virtual teachers and school support management.

HeyTutor combines educators with curriculum delivery, workforce management technology and student-outcome reporting. Its services include high-dosage and bilingual tutoring, delivered in one-on-one and small-group formats. The business also supplies state-standards-aligned math and English language arts lessons that can be used through its tutoring services or districts’ own in-house programs.

The technology adds a different kind of tracking to ESS’s offering: student-level progress and program-wide performance, rather than workforce administration alone. ESS says HeyTutor’s platform allows districts to adapt interventions using those data.

ESS also says the purchase deepens its presence in California, which it identifies as a key growth market, while giving HeyTutor access to its national district network. HeyTutor CEO Jennifer Sheffield will continue to lead the business and work with ESS management on growth and integration.