Selecting a Tutor

Most of my students are repeat students, meaning I've taught them or their sibblings in previous semesters. But just about every semester, I have at least 1 new student, meaning every semester I go through the process of getting hired by somebody. There's many things for parents to consider, because every parent's needs are a little bit different, and there's a great variety of tutors available in Calgary. Hopefully, the info on this page will help you zoom in on what exactly you need from a tutor, then you will be more effective in your hiring process and find the right fit for you.

Cost

The cost of tutoring in Calgary is weird. Some tutors charge $18/hr, some charge $120/hr, most are somewhere in between. If you think "you get what you pay for," are you in for a shocker. Different people become tutors for different reasons. Some like the money and the hours, some like students, some always wanted to be a teacher but can't, some are just good at it. Most tutors in Calgary have more than one reason for being a tutor (I do), but here's a breakdown of what you can expect based on the fee they are asking.

$18/hr-$25/hr

These tend to be university students who have found that the pay and the hours as a tutor are better for them during the school year than a typical Calgary student job. Post an ad on a public bulletin board at the University of Calgary, MRU or SAIT to find them and try them. Some of them may be quite good, but some of them seem to think that just because they got an "A" in Calculus means they can teach Calculus. Think of it this way. You know how to tie your shoelaces, right? It's something you probably do every day! Now teach someone just by telling them. Doing something well and teaching something well are two completely different skillsets.

The caveat about university students is that they have midterms, term papers, assignments and finals of their own to get ready for. There may be times during the semester when they are suddenly not available for your student.

$25/hr-$50/hr

This is the price range you would expect in Calgary from what I call a "professional tutor," someone who devotes a large part of their time to tutoring and are doing it mostly because they enjoy it and are good at it (I am in the middle of this price range). You can expect them to be out tutoring 4 to 5 hours per night, every night, and on weekends, even on statutory holidays. If your student is freaking out 2 days before an exam, your tutor may be able to squeeze them in somewhere. This price range is your best bet to find a good tutor in Calgary.

$50+/hr

Sheesh. Let's just say I've replaced many of these tutors in Calgary. Some frustrated parents tried me because I was half the price of their current tutor. They figured they had nothing to lose by trying a different tutor, and were delighted that I actually got their student to perform. Other parents just responded to my ad in an effort to find a better tutor than what they currently had, and were delighted to have found me cheaper as well as a better fit for their student.

When you get into this price range, especially in Calgary, you find people that are tutoring only for the money but often lack the skills to deliver. I've seen frustrated teachers (yes, actual teachers) charging $50/hr, even $70/hr, to help their own students from school with their homework. I've seen $90/hr, even $120/hr. WOW! Most parents in Calgary make $25/hr each (on average), it's often one parent's take-home pay of an entire day that goes to paying tutoring for that week! Even though I charge a lot less than these people, I've had a few students over the years where the Mom was in the next room with a stopwatch to make sure I didn't go over an hour, because an hour of my fee is all she could afford.

Location

Some tutors have a location (often a public library) where they expect students to come and go according to a set schedule. This is very efficient for the tutor as there is no "down time" between students. On the other hand, if your student needs an extra 15 minutes this week, that's just not possible, there's another student striding into the library for the next timeslot already. This is also an inconvenience for the parents, as you will probably need to "hover" in that area since a typical tutoring class is 1 hour and you may not live close enough to that library to make it worthwhile to drive back home and return later.

Some tutors (I do) will drive to your home (or a nearby public library, if you prefer) and teach your student at the kitchen table, in a setting where the student is most comfortable and with all their books and school supplies nearby. This is way more convenient for parents as they can go about their planned evening, whether it's helping a younger child with their homework, chilling in front of the TV, doing some chores, or even going out shopping. On the other hand, because the tutor expects to drive from house to house, there are always large gaps in the schedule to allow for driving through unexpected traffic and nasty snowstorms. If your student needs an extra 15 minutes this week and the roads and sky are clear, this can often be accomodated.

References

Feel free to ask for references, I'm sure most tutors provide them. I don't. I understand the stigma that is sometimes attached to having to hire a tutor for your student, I do my very best to keep my students' tutoring needs private. I will not discuss a student with another parent or another student, even if they know eachother. I won't even park in front of your home when I show up for tutoring, I will park a few houses down the road to protect against nosy neighbours.

Referals

Now referals are a whole other story! Ask around to people you know and trust. Maybe they've been using a tutor and would be happy to recommend them. About half of my students come from referals, sometimes from their family, sometimes from their friends at school, sometimes from the parents' friends from work. After 14 years of tutoring, I currently have a student that was refered to me by one of their classmates, and that classmate was refered to me by their one of their previous classmates, and that classmate was refered to me by their cousin, and that cousin was refered to me by friends of the parents, and the friends of the parents responded to one of my first ads 14 years ago. Word gets around.

Interviews

Don't overthink it. Often, tutors are "brain people" and tend not to do so well in social settings, especially with new people. Just think about what we all go through as adults when we need to change jobs or get a new job. Get ready for the interview, and the interview never has anything to do with what the job actually is. The best thing you can do when looking for a new tutor is hire them for a one-time class. It will cost you their hourly fee, your student will get some help and you get to eavesdrop from the next room and see how this tutor is interacting with your student and how your student is responding to this tutor. If you like them, book a regular weekly time with them. If you don't like them, tell them you'll call them if you need them again. Feel free to conduct these trials at a public library, just in case.

In 14 years of tutoring privately in Calgary, I've only had one interview. However, and this is something that always seems to skip my mind until I step into the home for the first time and start taking my shoes off, parents respond to my ad, book me for a session and then grill me at the front door. Where am I from, where did I go to university, how long have I been tutoring, am I busy most nights: it's an impromptu interview. In my mind, I got the gig because they booked me and I know I can deliver. I keep forgetting these are parents that will leave me alone with their child in a room of their house. Compared to that one weird interview, I much prefer the "door grilling": it's short and sweet, and I get to tutor their student right after, and they can eavesdrop from the next room if they want to. Only one time in 14 years did the Mom sit at the table with us.

Tutoring Centers

I've worked at tutoring centers in Calgary while tutoring privately. I can't say I recommend them, but I can't say that I don't either. For high school subjects, you can't really say one tutoring center is better than another one, it only depends on the fee they charge and who are their tutors right now. Tutoring centers tend to cost more than a private tutor, but most of the fee you are paying is not going to the tutor (it's a business, they are leasing a space and they always have a receptionist). In addition, you need to drive to their location and probably hover in the area for the duration of the class. Typically, tutoring centers charge $40/hr-$50/hr for a 1-on-1 class, but only pay the tutor $15/hr-$20/hr.

The absolute only advantage of a tutoring center is when they organize group classes, then they can give the parents a discount and the tutor a raise. Typically, they can drop their fee to $30/hr-$35/hr for each student and pay the tutor $20/hr-$30/hr for the entire class, but there are a caveats to these group classes at tutoring centers. Most high school subjects that you would seek tutoring for (certainly all the 20 and 30 level science courses) are not compulsory, making it difficult to find enough students to make a group. And if another student drops out, either for scheduling reasons, or they dropped the class at school or they no longer need help from the tutoring center, your fee could increase to make up the difference. Lastly, the other students in the group may be attending a different high school and may not be covering the different units in the same order. The Alberta curriculum only specifies WHAT needs to be covered, not the order it needs to be covered in. Some classes are more prone to this (Chem 30 is the most common class where I see different schools cover the 4 units in a different order), but if your student's school is covering the units in a different order than the other students in the group, your student won't be staying in that group and if there isn't another group, you're not getting a group discount either.

If you are looking at a group discount to make tutoring more affordable, find a private tutor that is willing to accomodate (I do). It will usually be up to you to find other students to make a group, just ask your student's friends from school and split the bill with the other parents. Some tutors charge more for group settings (I don't), but after splitting the bill it's still a little cheaper than going at it alone, and some students prefer a small group setting. I mention the group discount to all the parents, I even started including it in my ads, but very few students take me up on it and never get more than one request for group discounts each semester. I charge per hour not per student. Group settings allow me to reach more students and make me more affordable to those where cost is an issue.

Ads

Well, there's 2 ways to go about finding a tutor without asking for a referal: place an ad, or respond to ads. Different tutors have different strategies regarding advertising in Calgary. Some place free ads on Kijiji, some print leaflets at home and post them on public or community bulletin boards, some go all out and have more substancial placards made and displayed on or near roadways or place ads in newspapers. When responding to ads that have a more substancial cost attached to them (like the latter two), be advised that you may be dealing with a tutoring center and not a private tutor. When placing ads of your own, be advised that tutoring centers may respond to your ads.