math tutoring - advice needed on cost

[disney_5]

My son has realy fallen behind in math. He has learing disablilities and is pulled out for math and they just don't teach him the grade level math that the other kids are being taught. So its not that he dosen't have the skills. He understands what he is being taught in school but its way behind where he should be. I am wondering if math tutoring is the right thing to do with him so he can learn some more math concepts that they are not teaching him at school. I have looked at 2 places (and in his cases going somewhere would be better than at home tutoring for right now since he has a baby brother). One place guarentes your child will have 1:1 tutoring for an hour a session, and unlimited sessions for a montly fee but its expensive. (I think its $300 per month). Another place does group sessions with 2 or 3 kids and one teacher and is half the cost, but only once per week. Does anyone have experience with math tutoring that you can share with me? Would you go to a center or try and find a teacher to tutor in your home? And what cost sounds reasonable to you?

thanks, Jen.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

Honestly, if your son is not getting the help he needs in school, you should start there. Does he have an IEP? If I were you, I would call a meeting and address the issue. My son gets an aide for 1:1 help due to ADHD, and he is doing so well.

If that does not work, look for a teacher. My friend has a teacher come to her home, one hour a week, and pays $15/hr.

 

[Pigeon]

Personally, I'd find a teacher or a retired teacher who would do one-on-one. I'd avoid the for-profit tutoring chains like the plague. You also might investigate if it's possible to get additional help through the school for free.

As for cost, the hourly rate for hiring a teacher is going to very hugely by geography. Dh is a high school teacher and his colleagues who tutor get around $25/hour. My sister lives in another part of the country and she can get $75/hour.

 

[princess barbara]

My friend's son was weak in math and she was worried he would fall behind during the summer. Last year she hired a teacher for part of the summer who would tutor him privately in the town library while she was elsewhere in the children's room with her other children. I believe each session was $25 an hour and she did 2 sessions a week for I believe 6 weeks. When school began (4th grade) for him last summer, he hit the ground running and now in 5th, he is not behind and requires no further tutoring. I would also arrange a meeting with his teacher to find out what his exact needs are and why the school may not be able to meet those needs. Good luck!

 

[Darcy03231]

I live north of Boston and the going rate for a tutor around here (high school teacher, college student) is $25-$35/hr

 

[NorweJenNY]

I'm a former teacher and professional tutor. I've also lived in several parts of the country. Honestly, rates are going to vary TREMENDOUSLY.

For instance, in NY, some tutors were getting paid $70-75/hr (even a few years ago)... elsewhere I've seen $20-40... if you're in a more expensive area, you might see if there is an older student available to tutor. When I was a HS senior, I tutored in that same expensive NY area for $20/hr... granted it was about a dozen years ago, but the principle applies - a younger, less experienced tutor is cheaper - and not necessarily a poor option. Some HS seniors know they are going to pursue education as a career, and if so, sometimes they need experience in the field before entering their field of study in college. And honestly, professionals can sometimes be away from certain specific topics of study and need to freshen up their own skills when given a certain teaching/tutoring position. A student (HS or college) is currently immersed in their own education and might actually have a slight advantage at times because of the freshness of the materials all in their minds.

Regarding group sessions - sometimes I've seen "homework help" sessions vs "tutoring" sessions - so make sure it's an actual tutoring session if you're trying to make progress on overall skills. You also know your child well, so you should know if he might thrive better in a one-on-one or small group situation.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

We paid $50/hr for a HS teacher (different HS) to tutor our son in AP calc. It was well worth it. I think it was only 5 sessions.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Check with the school first to see if there are any resources there. Check some local colleges....check the Math and Education depts. College students would probably jump at the chance to make some $$$$. High School students can also be a great resource. Most kids have to complete some community service hours and if they are going into Education (as previous poster mentioned) they may explain things better to your child. My daughter had trouble because although she loved her Math teacher he had trouble simplifying the material. We had a young lady come to our home for a little tutoring. She was cheap and loved hanging around a family because it made her feel like home. The young lady we had explained it and went over it and it clicked with DD. Good luck!

 

[MSSANDRA]

I too would start with school first. Ask lots of questions. Find out if he is building on skills he already knows and why they are using the pace they are using. Perhaps an adjustment to this arrangement would work well.

If you find you need additional help, I too recommend an individual. A teacher, or depending on his grade level, perhaps a older high school kid that excels at math would be a good match. Lots of people use the local library for tutoring if you need a quite place for him away from home. Our area, going rate is 10-15/hr for a HS or college kid and 20-25/hr for a certified teacher.

 

[stm61]

My son has realy fallen behind in math. He has learing disablilities and is pulled out for math and they just don't teach him the grade level math that the other kids are being taught. So its not that he dosen't have the skills. He understands what he is being taught in school but its way behind where he should be. I am wondering if math tutoring is the right thing to do with him so he can learn some more math concepts that they are not teaching him at school. I have looked at 2 places (and in his cases going somewhere would be better than at home tutoring for right now since he has a baby brother). One place guarentes your child will have 1:1 tutoring for an hour a session, and unlimited sessions for a montly fee but its expensive. (I think its $300 per month). Another place does group sessions with 2 or 3 kids and one teacher and is half the cost, but only once per week. Does anyone have experience with math tutoring that you can share with me? Would you go to a center or try and find a teacher to tutor in your home? And what cost sounds reasonable to you?

thanks, Jen.

If your son is LD and is in pull-out resource, they should be teaching him at his own level. His level may not be even with what is going on in the classroom. Math skills are sequential, you have to know A, B, C, before you can do D, E, or F. He might be learning C, while the majority of the kids are on D or E. If you feel that he is not being given the appropriate goals or being taught skills below his current level, you need to contact his resource teacher to schedule a meeting to discuss it. You can always rewrite his goals if everyone agrees they're not appropriate.

 

[yakkin' yeti]

I wouldn't automatically discount one-on-one tutoring in the home. We had a college student come and help our son over the summer. $25 a session. Now, this wasn't a case of learning disabilities -- just a boy who was sure he would "never" be good at math. But the turnaround was amazing. It really helped that the tutor was a young guy who liked the same things our son does: art, video games, Star Wars, Legos, etc.

DS and I were near tears trying to memorize the multiplication tables in the spring. His teachers couldn't believe the difference in him -- he's breezed through division and multiplying with two numbers and is now on fractions and simple algebra equations.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

If your son is LD and is in pull-out resource, they should be teaching him at his own level. His level may not be even with what is going on in the classroom. Math skills are sequential, you have to know A, B, C, before you can do D, E, or F. He might be learning C, while the majority of the kids are on D or E. If you feel that he is not being given the appropriate goals or being taught skills below his current level, you need to contact his resource teacher to schedule a meeting to discuss it. You can always rewrite his goals if everyone agrees they're not appropriate.

I am a teacher, and this is my thought exactly.

 

[Macprincess]

I spent the 1st 6 weeks of the school year going through a Math nightmare. I so feel your pain! My eldest son had the same teacher two years ago as my younger one has this year. Both boys were very good Math students until his class. They always maintained A’s with an occasional B. In this class both boys struggled and test scores were/are horrid. I know it’s the teacher but try as I might the school won’t move my son out of this class. The school won’t get rid of him despite countless parent complaints. (That’s a whole other story.)

When my older son was in his class we spent upwards of $300 a month on a tutor. This helped as he began to understand the concepts and the next year with a great teacher assignment was back to bringing home A’s in Math. This year we don’t have the extra funds to pay for a tutor. Last week I found Khan Academy’s web site. I don’t think I’m allowed to post web sites on here but you can Google it. It’s a not for profit and totally free to use. We started using this last Monday. Amazingly, the stressful all-consuming insane nights of Math homework have disappeared from our house. Friday’s test came home today with a perfect score. His highest grade before this was a 62%. It’s very nice because as implied above Math builds. On this site you type in what you child is having trouble with or a type of lesson and they teach it in 10 min or less. The child can go back if they don’t understand something and they have problems to practice with. Once you master one concept you can move on. I don’t know if it will help in your situation, with the baby and all, but it’s worth a try.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

I would ask his math teacher for a suggestion. I'm sure he/she has had experience with students who need tutors. I'm a teacher and we find the students who need extra help do better working with someone "in-house" who knows the curriculum and testing style of the teachers in the school.

My school's policy is that as long as we don't have the student in one of our classes, and we tutor outside of school hours, then they are fine with it. I tutor pretty often in both math and Spanish, and I charge $40 per hour which is the going rate for my area. I'm in a middle school but I know that the elementary school teachers charge $50-60 (that seems excessive to me).

 

[IDoDis]

I charge $30 per hour for elementary reading tutoring in a specialized program that I'm certified in. I also charge $5 for gas if I have to drive to/from their home. It's not just the gas, but the time it takes to get there and back. I could charge more, but usually I end up tutoring my own students (over the summer) so I don't want to gauge the parents.

 

[madelyn]

My friend was just hired through her son's Christian school and will be a private tutor twice a week for an hour after school (1 child 5th grade math). Her pay is $30/hour (Austin, Texas area). I don't know if the school hired her or the child's parents will be paying her.

 

[momma2gap]

I am a reading teacher that tutors. I charge $50 a session (which is about 45 minutes) but could easily charge $75 a session based on where I live. I'd look for someone who specializes in math & has Special Ed certification so that you know he/she knows how to differentiate instruction to meets your child's needs. Good luck!

 

[hineshm]

My daughter also has a learning disability. We have a tutor that meets with her 1 time per week for 1 hour at $25.00. It has made a tremendous difference. She can complete her work so much faster with the extra help she has been receiving.

 

[Kitzka]

DD has a math tutor. we go to her house and it's $65 an hour. totally worth it but it can add up as she currently goes once a week to prepare for high school entrance exams

Lara

 

[patsal]

If your son is LD and is in pull-out resource, they should be teaching him at his own level. His level may not be even with what is going on in the classroom. Math skills are sequential, you have to know A, B, C, before you can do D, E, or F. He might be learning C, while the majority of the kids are on D or E. If you feel that he is not being given the appropriate goals or being taught skills below his current level, you need to contact his resource teacher to schedule a meeting to discuss it. You can always rewrite his goals if everyone agrees they're not appropriate.

I was just going to write this. I am in charge of the program at my school. I help the Math teacher's determine what gets taught in the remedial class and I teach all the remedial reading. We have a computer program in addition to multiple measures of assessment that help us to learn what each child doesn't understand then we build the skills sequentially from there. While it will not be what is going on in the class it insures a sound foundation to build upon. Homework help and support in the regular classroom is another matter entirely and another part of the IEP.