For many, summer means vacations, long days, warm nights, and no school. While some people appreciate a few months off from academic pursuits, summer vacation can also be the perfect time for tutoring.
Taking advantage of the summer months and scheduling tutoring sessions can help your child find academic success throughout the school year and beyond. Meeting with a tutor just once a week during the summer can ensure your student’s academic skills stay sharp and prepare them for the upcoming school year.
How Tutoring Services During the Summer Support Students
While summer tutoring services may not be everybody’s ideal way to spend summer break, hiring a tutor over the summer yields massive benefits.
First, whether you think the summer slide — the learning loss that happens during summer break — is real not, staying engaged with core subjects like math and language arts can help students retain and reinforce what they learned during the school year. When the new school year kicks off, they’ll have more solid academic skills that will give them a strong start in class.
Second, students who struggled with a subject but still passed will benefit from revisiting the material in a different setting. Working with an individual Seattle tutor instead of their regular teacher allows the student to approach the material from a new perspective. What’s more, being able to work at their own pace and not having to worry about other subjects allows the student to truly grasp the concepts and be prepared for the next class.
Third, some classroom settings aren’t the best learning environment for everyone. It could be because a core class was too early or late in the day for the student to do their best learning. Perhaps your student was distracted by their peers and couldn’t pay close attention to the lessons. Whatever the reason, reviewing the subject matter over the summer fills in any gaps your student may have and prepares them for what’s next.
Finally, summer tutoring is a great way to learn new material. For example, if your student is starting geometry in the fall, a tutor can ease your student into the subject matter so they feel confident on the first day of class.
How Do Summer Tutoring Services in Seattle Work?
Some tutoring centers or private Seattle tutors take a boot camp-style approach to summer tutoring. It’s very structured, just like the school year is. While some students benefit from this kind of intense approach, not every student does.
Emergent Education focuses on tutoring services geared toward individualized learning and one-on-one support. Our tutors design a personalized learning plan and curriculum that supports a student holistically, helping them fill in any learning gaps and building on their existing strengths.
Most students meet with their tutor once or twice a week for an hour. Some tutors offer more intensive support, such as meeting with a student three to four times a week in the weeks leading up to school. Between each session, students have assignments they need to complete to reinforce what they’ve learned and develop the academic skills they need to find academic success in the coming school year and beyond.
What to Look for in a Summer Tutor
In some respects, searching for a summer tutor is no different than searching for one during the school year. You want to find a tutor who is experienced in the subject matter, has a flexible schedule, and is someone your student feels comfortable with and trusts. However, there are a few other things to consider.
Scheduling
While flexible scheduling is important, it’s even more important in summer. During the school year, most families and tutors have a pretty set schedule where tutoring can fit. But between summer jobs, summer school, vacations, and possibly summer SAT test preparation, schedules can be more unpredictable.
Ask how the tutor will handle vacations — yours and theirs. If they usually do in-person tutoring, will they offer online tutoring if you’re out of town? Do they have any vacations scheduled, and how will that impact your tutoring plans? How will they handle a change of plans, like the student having a last-minute change in their work schedule? Is it easy to reschedule a tutoring session, and is there a fee?
Availability
In addition to being flexible, ask how open the tutor’s schedule is. Summer tutoring in Seattle can be popular, and schedules may fill up. If you and your student want to meet with a tutor more than once a week, that may not be possible due to the tutor’s schedule. Some tutors may be more willing to meet earlier or later in the day for online tutoring sessions.
Progress
Summer is a great time for tutoring because school’s out, meaning there’s less pressure on students to perform. They have the freedom to cover the material at a pace that works for them and don’t have to worry about an upcoming test or handing in the homework on time. However, this can make it difficult to measure progress. When you don’t have quizzes, tests, or even homework grades to evaluate how things are going, how will you know if the tutoring is working?
Ask the tutor how they will measure your student’s progress and performance over the summer. Will they give your student tests or quizzes to assess your student’s progress? Do they have other ways to evaluate and share results with you?
Connect With a Seattle Tutor for the Summer
Emergent Education’s Seattle tutors are available year-round to support your student’s growth and foster academic improvement. Our personalized learning plans are tailored to meet your students where they’re at and help them grow from there. With in-person and online tutoring options, we’ll find a way to fit tutoring into a hectic or slow-paced summer schedule. Contact us today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation and learn how we can support your student’s academic success.
