How to Find the Best Tutor Programs

Tutoring has quickly become a part of the modern schooling language in almost every grade. Some schools even have an internal tutoring center, and most communities have at least a few tutoring franchises. Even with so many options available, finding the best tutor programs isn’t always easy.

You want to hire a tutor who is the right fit for your kid. A friend’s child may achieve great results with their tutor, but your child is different. They may need to be taught in a different way as learning styles are different for everyone. The best tutor programs will be flexible in their approach, adapting to what each individual student needs.

What Makes For a Good Tutor?

One of the key characteristics you should look for when finding the best tutoring programs is the tutor’s interest in understanding and diagnosing your child’s needs. This should be done before they jump into the process and begin telling them what to do. Good tutors try to understand the child’s perspective, which allows them to get insight into the best way to teach them. 

Mastery of a subject does not automatically mean someone is a good tutor. In fact, some would argue that emotional intelligence is most important. Especially with one-on-one learning, the issue may not always be with the content itself. It could actually be a confidence problem. The best tutors will be able to identify which it is, so that gets addressed during sessions. 

How to Find a Tutor

If you’ve made the decision that now is a good time to hire a tutor for your child, you should make sure to follow these steps on how to find a tutor. It’s important you know what you want, know your options, and choose wisely.

Know Your Goals

First off, you should start by asking yourself, your child, and even your child’s teacher some important questions. These include:

• What level of help is necessary? Does my child need help with homework, intensive remediation, or something in the middle?
• What improvements do we want to see? Is it better scores in a certain subject or a few subjects, such as chemistry or trigonometry? Are you looking for improved general skills, like reading and comprehension? Or maybe better study skills and more internal motivation?
• What is my child’s learning style? Do they learn best by reading, listening, moving, or touching? Do they prefer visual learning? Is a nurturing style or a firm hand better?
• How much time and money do you have available to dedicate to tutoring? It’s important you set realistic boundaries before you begin.

Know Your Options

Next comes the task of learning what options you have available to you. Your two main options for tutors are either in-person or virtual. As students have become more familiar with online learning over the past couple of years, virtual tutoring is more popular than ever. 

Online options like Acadomia are great for both short-term and long-term tutoring help. You could purchase a one-off session or a monthly plan. Unlike trying to find local, in-person tutors, many more options are available to you. This means that you can find tutors for specific subjects if that is what your child needs the most help with. If they are struggling with math but not their other subjects, why not find a tutor who only focuses on math?

Don’t be afraid to ask friends, family, or staff at your student’s school for their recommendations. However, keep in mind what we said earlier about each child learning differently. It’s a good starting point, but what works for one student may not work for another.

Test Your Options

Now that you’ve narrowed down what some of your best options may be, it’s time to test them out. First, you’ll want to get to know their educational background. For example, different educations are needed to be able to effectively tutor a child in chemistry versus third-grade reading. You should also ask what type of teaching experience they have. Ideally, you’ll look for someone who has worked with students of similar age and ability to that of your child.

Time permitting, you may want to meet with several candidates and even bring your child along with you. It could be a quick introductory session where you can get a sense of whether your child will mesh well with the new tutor. You can also ask other helpful questions like:

• How do you evaluate each student’s needs?
• What methods do you use?
• What do you expect from me, and the rest of the family, to support this process?
• How much do you charge for your services?
• What days and times are you available?
• How long do you expect this tutoring course to last?
• How do you measure whether your approach is successful?

Lastly, you may want to ask for references. You get references for things like doctors and even electricians. You likely want the same for someone who will be working so closely with your child. 

Monitor Results

Once you’ve signed your child up for their first tutoring session, you should watch how they respond. Do they come back excited about what they learned? Do they dread going to every session? This will tell you if the tutor you found will work in the long run. Your child needs to be comfortable to get the most out of it.

In addition, monitor the progress in terms of your child’s grades. If you don’t see an improvement after several sessions, or even a negative attitude from them, you may want to move on to another tutor. You can also ask your child’s teachers whether they have noticed a difference in how they behave in the classroom. 

Find a Tutor Near Me

If you are still in need of help finding a tutor near you, check out Acadomia. Our tutoring programs include math, reading, or science either in-home, private online sessions, or online group sessions. We are one of the best tutor programs in the United States for children from kindergarten to twelfth grade and even college. We bring a unique approach where we personalize programs for the students we work with. Our goal is to boost their academic results while also strengthening their study skills that they can use for years to come.