FAQs
**March 2023 update: Time slots are currently full.
What Is Literacy Tutoring?
- Literacy Tutoring, most simply, involves the areas of reading and writing. Further explanation can be found under the, ‘What is Literacy Tutoring?’ link.
- I will consider your goals for your child and my own assessments of your child in order to create individualized lessons to target your child’s specific needs, building upon skills as time goes on.
Do You Have a Business License?
- Yes, I hold a City of Airdrie 2023 Business License: LC2003184.
Who Would Benefit from Literacy Tutoring?
- Literacy Tutoring is ideal for any children who are struggling with reading and/or writing, below grade level in these areas, or who would just like to improve their literacy skills and become more confident.
- My education and experience is in K-6. Outside of that range, please contact me as I may still be able to meet your specific needs.
Do You Only Teach Literacy?
- Literacy is definitely my specialty and biggest area of interest and forms the bulk of my professional development and reading.
- I will only take clients that have literacy as their primary need, however, I do have a handful of younger students that also have basic math needs. Although math is not my passion, I have tons of resources and hands-on materials to teach early math skills and am willing to “add on” to literacy instruction.
Can We Meet Before Committing to Tutoring Sessions?
- Yes! Please contact me to arrange an initial meet-and-greet of about 15 minutes.
- During this time, I will determine what your goals are for your child, explain what a typical session would look like, and answer any questions that you may have.
- There is no cost for this meet-and-greet and there is no obligation to start services.
- Take some time to think it over and if you feel that I would be a good fit for your child then you can contact me to arrange the start of services.
How Long is a Tutoring Session?
- Tutoring sessions are approximately 50-55 minutes.
What Is the Frequency of Sessions?
- The same time slot will be reserved for you each week. Once you commit to a weekly time slot it is very hard to change your time. Please schedule other activities around your time slot.
- Sessions are once a week. I rarely have the time to consistently do sessions twice a week, however, if you would prefer bonus sessions now and then I can let you know whenever I have a cancellation.
Where Are Tutoring Sessions Held?
- I only tutor in the city of Airdrie, Alberta.
- I will come to your home for all sessions.
When Are Tutoring Sessions Held?
- Sessions might be held after school, evenings, weekends, on professional development days or holidays, etc.
- A consistent day and time will be reserved for you each week.
Homework:
- Families are asked to read with the child on a regular basis. Books, poems, and decodable word lists and passages may make up your child’s reading homework.
- Families are also asked to practice assigned high-frequency words (aka: “sight words”) on a regular basis (if applicable). The child will be provided with word cards. New cards will be added on a regular basis as the words are mastered. (We will work on these words during sessions. Students are not expected to learn the words through memorization.)
- I may also provide suggestions for activities to reinforce learning such as games, activities, or website suggestions.
- Some students may be asked to practice a short list of spelling words based on spelling patterns taught in lessons.
Practice at home will dramatically improve the child’s progress and is vital to overall success.
What Are Our Family Responsibilities?
- The family agrees to provide an area to work with as minimal distractions as possible.
- The family agrees to encourage their child to listen and do their best work during a tutoring session.
- The family agrees to support their child’s learning by practicing reading on a regular basis and attempting the homework assignments given.
How Do I Cancel A Session?
- No-shows are subject to the full charge for the missed session. Please ensure that your family is home at the scheduled time each week.
- Please try to give 24 hours‘ notice if you need to cancel a session for any reason other than illness/emergency.
- There will be no fee for cancelled sessions if appropriate notice is given (illness/emergencies exempt).
- Please cancel your session at any time if your child is sick or not feeling well.
How Will I Know How My Child is Doing?
- At the end of each session, I usually have a minute or two to let you know how your child did that day.
- Initially, you will receive a detailed progress report after each session. Eventually, those emails will taper off to a monthly email update.
- Please contact me at any time with any questions or concerns about your child’s progress.
Can I Cancel Tutoring Services?
- The family may terminate services at any time; no reason is required.
- Advance notice of a final session is requested and greatly appreciated in order to collect any borrowed materials, say goodbye, and have closure.
Can the Tutor Cancel Tutoring Services?
- I may terminate services at any time. Some reasons for termination may include things such as non-payment, repeated cancellations without notice, or my opinion that the sessions are not beneficial for the child.
What is the Cost for Tutoring?
- I realize that the investment of tutoring services can be expensive. The fee takes into account:
- My education, experience, and ongoing training
- Time to plan specialized lessons for each child
- Printing costs for activities, homework, poems, etc
- Travel time and gas to/from your location
- Time to send progress reports
- I believe that literacy should be a basic right for all children. In order to aim to be affordable for most families, I try to keep my fee as low as possible. Please contact me for my current rate.
Are There Any Other Costs?
- There is an initial one-time material cost of $20.
- This is to be used for the initial cost of a folder to hold materials, notebooks for work, and homework supplies.
How Do I Pay for Services?
- Please pay for tutoring sessions by cash or EMT.
- Payment is due within 24 hours of the session.
What COVID-19 Precautions Are in Place?
- I will not come to your house if I have symptoms of illness. I will arrange for the session to be rescheduled.
- I will sanitize my hands before entering your home and again during the lesson. Your child will also be asked to sanitize their hands at the start of the session.
- If you would like me to wear a mask during the session please let me know as I am entirely open to this!
- Shared supplies such as books, letter tiles, dice, etc. will be sanitized after each client.
- Families are asked to:
- Clean the work area before each session.
- Cancel your session if your child has any symptoms of illness or if there is a Covid case in the household.
- Remind your child to wash their hands after a session.
Do You Do Any Virtual Sessions?
- Literacy tutoring, especially for younger students is most easily and effectively done in person. My tutoring style relies on lots of hands-on materials for students to manipulate. These elements are hard to do with a virtual format. It is also much easier to motivate and keep a student’s attention in person. However, with the time of COVID-19 and regular cold and flu season, virtual sessions could be beneficial.
- At this time I do not offer virtual sessions but I am considering the idea for the future. I am exploring the best ways to tutor young learners in a virtual format that is both engaging and effective. I’m hoping to create a virtual lesson format that will work for occasional sessions to replace sessions that needed to be cancelled due to illness. Stay tuned…Virtual ZOOM sessions might be coming soon!
More Questions?
Please contact me.
