What do I do first?
Families seeking our expertise may arrange a no-cost telephone consultation with our Educational Director or other staff to discuss their concerns and goals. Call or email to arrange for a mutually convenient time to do that. If you would like, you may email some details in advance of the conversation. Having some background in writing may be helpful and can allow us to make efficient use of our time for the initial consultation, though it is not necessary.
Will you match us up with a program or a tutor?
We have no pre-set curriculum or program. Together we can review the existing knowledge of the student’s learning profile and the strategies you have used in the past. Based on that knowledge, we can identify appropriate services and strategies that we can provide to help achieve your goals. Going through this initial process will allow us to recommend the most appropriate and practical match between your goals and our staffing resources.
More often than not, our initial phone consultation will allow us to see if we have a potential match of educator and student. We take into account the studen'ts learning needs, our staff's expertise, our staff's availability, the student schedules and other commitments, transportation factors, and other considerations that may have a bearing on a successful plan. If we feel we have a good match and you wish to move forward, the information from our consultation will be passed on to the tutor so he or she may contact you with an informed background. From there, you and the individual tutor can manage specifics of following through, and you are always welcome to speak with the Educational Director or other QWERTY staff as needed.
Can I meet the tutor first?
Our experience tells us that the vast majority of parents are convinced of the likelihood of a good match following their initial intake conversation or by their intial phone conversation with the tutor. Potential familes and students are welcome to arrange to meet a tutor beforehand if they feel it is necessary. You may schedule a very brief greeting time, or you may plan on one full billable session as a trial. A word of caution, though: most parents find the greatest success when they approach their child with confidence in the tutoring plan rather than a tentative, "Let's see what it is like" sort of stance. You are under no obligation to continue should your initial session or sessions suggest it might not be what you want.
Should I send or bring other paperwork like prior testing or report cards?
We will have a conversation about what would be most helpful. When you are considering tutoring initially, we may not need to see this beforehand except in complex cases, though the tutor may benefit from having this information once they begin. In the case of formal evaluations, we request copies of all relevant documentation; we'll discuss just what on a case-by-case basis. Reports may be faxed to us, though we most appreciate photocopies brought or mailed to us that we may keep and mark up with our own notes.
Do you have a waitlist for tutoring?
Availability of tutors is a moving target. We may have a number of openings at any given time or we may have none. We may have openings but not with the ideal tutor. We may have openings that do not coincide with your schedule, in which case you may evaluate the possibility of changing another commitment if practical. There is no "Waitlist," but rather a "Waitpool." Our waitpool is the list of students hoping for initial placement or a switch from a less ideal time. Our staff evaluates multiple factors in determining what priority might be given to placement. We will do our best to let you know what you can expect an any give time. If we do not feel optimistic about an imminent opening, we will encourage you to look elsewhere for the time being.
Do you have a waitlist for evaluation?
Demand for evaluation varies seasonally and according to numerous other factors. We can sometimes schedule and complete an evaluation within a two-week period, and at other times it may be several weeks before we can get started. We will discuss the current options at the time. Please note that advance planning for testing is always advised.
What about ending my time at QWERTY?
Whether you have worked with us just briefly, or like many of our growing family of students, all we ask is for "reasonable notice" to discontinue scheduled tutoring sessions. We consider last minute illness (given a phone call to us before the session) reasonable, but not a pattern of that. We expect more than 24 hours notice for scheduled events that you should have forseen such as a planned vacation or a prescheduled sports commitment. When you provide us with ample time, we can offer the time to other students who would be eager to take advantage of it given enough advance notice.
