If your son or daughter is off to a slow start in school this fall, there’s no need to panic. Tutoring centers in the city and throughout the suburbs are equipped to help your child in areas ranging from homework assistance to masytering basic reading and math skills.
But finding the right center for your child will require a little homework of your own. Beyond checking prices and location, you’ll also want to verify the credentials of the teachers, the methods of teaching and the means by which performance improvement is measured.
One thing’s for certain, though: If your child is struggling, the time to act is now–especially if he is in the early grades. “If you can take these first through sixth graders and build them a strong foundation, they’re less likely to have problems in junior high and high school,” said branch manager Jennifer Ols of Kumon Math & Reading Centers.
The first step in choosing a tutor or tutoring service is to understand the various options, said Darryn Deqtvaal, instructional coordinator for Educational Transformations Inc., a four-year old tutoring service with offices in Chicago’s Peterson Park and Hyde Park neighborhoods.
The Chicago area offers “everything from free programs to very expensive programs,” he said. “You can get free after-school homework help through many local schools and churches. And in Chicago’s Yellow Pages, there are some no-charge tutoring services listed.”
The next step up the cost ladder, he said, is tutoring help from undergraduate- or graduate-level college students. Prospective tutors can be reached by calling the education, English or mathematics departments of nearby colleges or universities.
“Let them know you’d be interested in hiring a student to help your child,” said Deqtvaal. “Most colleges are eager to help in their communities, and they’ll post the tutoring opportunity on campus for interested students.”
If, however, you want a tutor who’s specifically trained to work with children, you probably should seek a tutoring service, he said. Most such programs go beyond help with homework to provide assistance with basic skills such as math and reading, as well as study skills.
That’s the kind of help that can provide long-term benefits, agreed many tutoring center administrators. “When kids learn how to learn, all other areas open up to them,” said Ols of Kumon Math & Reading Centers, which has 51 “learning centers” in the Chicago area.
When contacting tutoring services, learn what skills the programs emphasize, said Kim Ainis, director of The Reading Center in Chicago. “(In reading) some students just need a lot of practice, some have problems with word recognition, decoding, comprehension or retention. If a program focuses on one area and that’s not what your child needs, it’s not a good match.”
Also inquire about the instructors. Some services will report that they hire only Illinois-certified teachers, others that they employ undergraduate or graduate students, and still others that they use tutors who have academic backgrounds but don’t currently teach in schools. All can be effective tutors, say most observers.
But if a tutoring center reports that it provides no training because it uses only certified teachers, that could be a concern, said Deqtvaal. “In general, I’d recommend services that do train their tutors,” he observed. “That’s likely to mean that they meet daily or weekly with supervisors to review the work they went over with students. It’s also likely to mean regular staff meetings to discuss the dynamics between specific students and tutors. The instructors need to know how to handle behavioral problems, for instance.”
Along the same lines, ask if the tutoring program offers one-on-one instruction, or if students are taught in small groups. According to many tutoring service directors, there are advantages to both types of teaching. “I think you can focus to a greater extent on the child’s individual needs in a one-on-one setting,” said Ainis. “But on the other hand, students can learn a lot from each other in a small group setting.”
But just to make sure you’re comparing apples with apples when sizing up services and their prices, ask how the services define one-on-one or “individualized” instruction.
” `Individualized’ is often a euphemism for a small group setting,” said Deqtvaal. “There’s nothing wrong with that, but people should know what they’re getting.”
Another issue to address is the length of time the tutoring center has served the community, said Roderick Smith, president of North Shore Achievement Center in Glenview, which opened in 1991. “The more experience the tutors have in working with (that area’s) schools, the more effective they will be in adapting the materials in the center to the child’s specific needs.”
The initial assessments that services give to incoming students should also be discussed. These diagnostic tests aim to save parents both time and money by identifying students’ problem areas, and their results help in tailoring programs to individual needs. But the cost of testing varies dramatically from center to center. The lesson: Don’t just compare tutoring costs; also compare the costs of the initial testing and how much assessment is administered in return for that fee.
Performance measurements are yet another issue. According to Deqtvaal, progress should be measured in several different ways, not just though standardized testing. Among the additional yardsticks used might be changes in the student’s attitude toward learning, the speed with which he or she completes homework, and reports from teachers at school.
Tutoring centers should also be willing to regularly discuss progress with parents and teachers. “Make sure the service or center will keep parents up to date on a regular basis, and do it face to face,” said Jean Remez, director of The Success Lab, an 11-year-old service in Park Ridge.
When it comes time to select a tutoring service, actually visit a few centers and sit in on the teaching if possible. Such a visit can provide “a better idea of the atmosphere at the center and of the quality of the teachers,” added Remez.
To establish whether the chemistry is right, it’s also beneficial for both you and your child to talk with the tutor. “Often what happens is that the parent decides the child needs tutoring, but the child hasn’t necessarily bought into it,” said Ainis. “If the child is involved in the process of choosing the tutor, he or she is more likely to be invested in the decision, and the experience is more likely to be successful.”
For one-on-one tutoring, expect to pay $8 to $15 an hour for college students, $25 to $45 an hour for graduate students and certified teachers, and $20 to $45 at tutoring centers. For tutoring at centers where a small group of students share an instructor, expect to pay from $10 to $40 an hour. The cost of diagnostic testing at tutoring centers can range from no charge to $300.
