The ABC's of Hiring a Tutor for Your Child

Now that school has started, its up top parents to check for signs that a child is falling behind. When a student starts to avoid homework, claims to hate their teacher and thinks up excuses for skipping school it may be time to invest in outside help. But parents shouldn't worry, there are plenty of great options for giving kids the helping hand they need to shine at school.

The first option should be working within the school system. Set up a teacher conference and assess the student's strengths and weaknesses. Many schools offer free after school tutoring to augment the daily class work.

Next parents can look into free options such as the Local Library. In New York City there is a special web site, homeworkNYC.org, help kids struggling with their assignments. The popular site receives more than 1300 visits a day.

Washington DC and Boston also have mentoring and tutoring programs available at local library branches. Parents need to stop by or do a quick online search to scout out opportunities in their city.

From there it may be wise to check out fee-based tutoring options.

1. Founded by Eileen and Ray Huntington in 1977, Huntington Learning Center is a franchise operation that offers on-site tutoring. The program can work for kids preparing for kindergarten all the way up to 12th grade.

There are now more than 300 Huntington Learning Centers in over 40 states. According to founder Eileen Huntington, all of the centers strive to build self-esteem. "The positive encouragement of our staff and certified teachers combined with individualized instruction based on our diagnostic testing, is what we believe sets us apart and continues to make our program a success," says Huntington.

To get started at Huntington, call or walk in for a testing appointment. Expect testing to last 1 ½-3 ½ hours depending on the child's age and skills. "Most of the time there are gaps in what the child knows," says Huntington, "Testing helps us identify these gaps."

From there, the tests are analyzed and an individualized program is developed. The student comes to the center to work on their individual curriculum.

What they don't offer: help with science, history or languages. Instead, Huntington focuses on reading ,writing, spelling, phonics, math skills and test prep. All of Huntington's instructors are certified teachers and the company is proud to have gone through the grueling accreditation process. Plan on paying $35-$50 per session and about $250 for testing and registration.

2. Sylvan has been in the tutoring business for more than 20 years. Thanks to a three-to-one student teacher ratio, Sylvan students get plenty of individual attention.

Don't expect fancy gizmos. Sylvan focuses on their staff not the surroundings. All the Sylvan instructors are certified teachers. Each teacher works with no more than three students at a time, spreading their time among the mixed-age group. The Sylvan model is to mix different age groups at one table to keep kids from getting distracted by gossiping.

The teacher starts the child off with some guided work called the lesson. From there the teacher assigns independent problems or reading depending upon the subject matter for the student to apply the lesson. In one hour, the teacher and student will accomplish six to eight activities. Sylvan's model includes a constant cycle of checking for retention. Every Sylvan franchise uses a reward system of tokens to keep kids motivated.

The hours are extremely flexible and centers are open seven days a week with many weekend hours. In fact Sylvan is so confident that they can improve a child's academic performance they offer the "Sylvan Guarantee": If after 36 hours of instruction, your child doesn't improve a grade level in reading or math they receive 12 free hours of instruction.

Sylvan specializes in writing, reading and math and they don't offer language instruction. An average tutoring schedule will take up 6-8 hours per week during the school year. Prices vary, but on average tutoring costs $66-$77 per hour.

3. Keeping things light and fun is important to the Score! philosophy. Students work at computer terminals while coaches circle the perimeter and occasionally scribble notes on a "Score Sheet" which tracks the child's tutoring session and records grades on skills tests.

Students are encouraged to take basketball shot at an indoor hoop after finishing their sessions and they earn score points by mastering skills and earning good test scores (above a 70%) in their sessions. Points can be traded in for prizes and to encourage goal attainment, progress is also mapped out on "Score Mountain" with small celebrations as a child reaches a new peak.

Score isn't a spot for serious test prep, rather it's a chance to get kids excited about learning and provide them with tons of positive feedback. Annette Doskow, Score! Regional Manager, feels Score! is most appropriate for children from age 4 to 16. Doskow hypes the fact that unlike other national tutoring services, Score! isn't franchised. She feels this helps crate consistent quality between the centers. Score! maintains a 6 to 1 instructor ration. They call the instructors "Academic Coaches" and they don't require certification or any special teacher training-just a college degree.

Parents seem to like the open door policy. Simply walk into a center and depending upon the crowd, there's a good chance your child can hop right onto a workstation and begin working on math problems or reading skills. Students can work on both math and reading skills in the same hour. Most centers are open six days a week and a few are also up and running on Sundays.

Session generally last about an hour and Doskow recommends students visit Score two to four times a week to get the best results. The cost depends upon the program, but works out to about $20-$25 per hour. Flexible payment options are available and Score! frequently run special promotional packages.

4. If group encounters aren't your thing, hiring an in-home tutoring service may suit your needs. The benefits: they come to house and work around the family's schedule. No carpooling or waiting around for the parents.

Tutor, Bonnie Evans, vibes off the student-teacher relationship, "I try to find books or articles geared to my student's interests." Evans works for Big Apple Tutors in New York City; one of many private tutoring businesses across the nation.

Many parents prefer one-on-one tutors to group sessions. At home, the students work out a set schedule with their tutors each week-allowing pupil and teacher to bond and for tutoring to fit in with busy family calendars without mom or dad having to run another car shuttle service. And unlike other programs, in-home tutors offer language instruction (including Japanese and Chinese) and can handle extremely challenging math and science courses.

This personalized instruction doesn't come cheap. In New York City, prices start at $50 and hour and can go up to $115 and hour depending on the bulk hours and the subject. Use your local colleges and high schools as cheaper avenues to find an at-home tutor.

5. For a less-expensive in-home tutoring option, look into Club Z! --the world's largest (with more than 400 locations nationwide) one-on-one tutoring program.

The Club Z! tutoring program relies on individualized, one-on-one instruction at your home. That means your child won't experience the distractions of large group setting such as the library or a tutoring center.

Club Z! tutors are experienced degreed professionals and state certified instructors with impeccable credentials. Each franchise interviews and recruits their own team of tutors-so do you homework, before signing on to a long-term program with one particular tutor.

Tutoring can start as earl as pre-kindergarten. For older kids Club Z! offers a variety of subjects: reading, mathematics, science, history, study skills, foreign languages, standardized test prep, assessment testing such as ACT and SAT, music lessons, and more. Rates vary by franchise but should run around$35-$55 per hour.

Depending on your needs and your willingness to part with cash, there are terrific offerings for parents. It's up to you to match the program to your child. Take into account their learning style and their ability to focus and then ultimately trust your instincts and the test scores.