Are Tutoring Programs Worth The $?

I took my son to Sylvan.........and all I need to say is stay far away.......it didnt help at all. See if the school offers tutors....or sometimes a local college will offer a program.

You're better off asking the teachers at school for recommendations than using the big name places. Is you son getting special ed? My son who is going into 7th grade has always had learning issues with language based stuff - reading, writing, etc. He also deals with ADD. I pushed for reading help and resource room. What a huge difference. It took a while for that part of his brain to connect - but once the lightbulb went on he completely got it. he's still not an excellent student - he never will be - but he has other strengths. he's good with math and he's got an excellent aptitude for spacial perception and reasoning. He'll be a builder or engineer. Traditional school settings are not for everyone - and sounds like your son is similar to mine. he needs lots of positive reinforcement and you need to discover his learning style. There are lots of resources available - there's a book called The way they learn by Cynthia Tobias which will help you help him.
In th emidst of frustrating times I've told my son that I'm going to outlast him and not give up on him no matter how difficult he tries to be - that I'm not going to ignore the situation. I've learned that his learning style is that he does best when he's in motion - so we study while he shoots hoops with a nerf ball in the living room, etc.

The teen and pre-teen years are tough - but your persistence and positive "you can do it" attitude will go a long way - get him the help he needs at school - find appropriate tutors through the school staff and make sure he knows you are going to outlast him. Then make sure to take your vitamins and get plenty of sleep...

the tutors are not worth the money, My oldest is ADD and we didnt get any help until he was in 8th grade. He finally got into a "study skills" class at school the problem with ADD is the organization of the brain you have to teach him and yourself to do things a bit differently. Everything needs to be organized checked and re-checked. My son would take his 7th period class to go through his day finish his homework study for tests with the supervision of a teacher. His gpa went from 1.4 to 3.6 in one year. Talk to your school or find if there is an in home tutor or "counselor" that would organize his world every day and help him that is the best way to help them.

I think those programs are great for kids who love school and are motivated to do better.
But kids like ours? (mine has adhd)
No way. It's just more of everything they hate about school: drills, worksheets, etc.
My daughter gets her best support through her resource class at school. Does your son get that support?
It is REALLY difficult to make a child like and care about school and grades. I loved school, loved doing my best, so it has been a real challenge to understand my own kids' seeming disinterest (my older kids are satisfied with B/C grades and it makes me crazy because I know they could do better!) My husband was also a poor student, didn't care about grades, but after going to college he changed into someone who cared a lot and now has a very successful and profitable business as a financial advisor.
If I were you I'd be inclined to spend the money on something else, another activity your son might actually enjoy that would also be enriching, like an art class? Lego robotics class? guitar lessons? graphic design? something like that :)

The tutoring centers in our area are not usually recommended by the teachers or guidance counselors because they don't always teach the way the particular ISD is teaching material. It really confuses some children when they get to school and have to re-learn a techniqus. Tutoring centers are places of business and the bottom line for them is $$$ and profit.

The best route is to talk to the guidance counselor. MANY teachers tutor on the side one on one. In my area, depending on the topic, tutiuring starts at $50/hour.

Your son might do better in a smaller situation as well and especially if he bonds with the teacher. There are some great teacher who absolutely love their students and work wonders with them in private tutoring.

I think you have to address the underlying issues - ADD, defiance (Oppositional Defiance Disorder perhaps?), and the learning issues. Just throwing money into tutoring when he simply cannot learn doesn't sound like a good plan. For the moment, I would focus less on the academics (grades, homework) and more on the fact that he is clearly an unhappy kid because of these issues. You can go two different routes - 1) more diagnosis, therapy and meds or 2) looking at nutritional solutions. You would be astounded at what can be done with a balanced supplement designed for kids. I can help you with that. I've worked with a hundreds of people who have gotten rid of their kids food problems, ADD, learning issues, focus problems, and behavioral issues (anger, etc.). Happy to help you connect with other parents.

I have taught in the elementary classroom and then ran a tutoring center similar to these. I was BLOWN AWAY by how well it helped the kids. The one I worked in was more similar to Sylvan. I personally did not like what I was being told by parents who had "shopped" at Huntington. Parents were pressured to have their children tutored in subjects they had done well in and the testing validated this. That would be fine if that is what the parent wanted to do, but many wanted to only work on the subjects the student was struggling in. I can't blame them. The other problem I had with H, was they had the students sitting in carols working in workbooks. Students in our center and Sylvan face the instructor and were given smaller assignments. (This may have changed in the past 4 years, so ask!)

Why it works:
1. Students work at THEIR level, not actual grade level. ---Students are tested at the beginning to have a baseline and to know where to start. Ex: 5th grader reading at 3rd grade level starts at end of 2nd grade level or beg. of 3rd grade level (to build some confidence).
2. Assignments/activities are in bite sized pieces. ---Students read a small passage and answer a few questions at a time. Not read a whole book and have to take a test or answer a ton of questions.
3. Assignments/activities are tailored to the skills that child needs. ---Student needs help with organization of details (esp. if ADD), so he reads a passage then puts the details in order.
4. The student gets outside help with people trained to do the job and keep it fun. Many centers have a positive reward system. Ask about it.
5. It allows the student to catch-up during summer breaks and build confidence.--- Kids today are expected to keep up in the classroom and have very little time in the class to catch-up. Very sad, but it is the way it is.

DON'T sign a contract. If it isn't working for your child (because sometimes it doesn't work for every kid), you need to be able to leave and find someone who can help. If you find an outside tutor, they have to be able and skilled to work with many types of kids (especially special needs kids) and have a bag of tricks to make it work. I've been privately tutoring students for the past 4 years after our center closed due to the economy. Many of the students I tutor are ones from the center. I don't know that I'd hire someone with minimal experience or straight out of college for this. Partly because it takes time to know HOW to work with these kids and to have the resources to do it.

Keep the conversation going with the tutoring center and your child's teacher. They should work together. We met with the teachers and emailed as often as we needed to. It is vital!

If you choose to find an individual, ask at your child's school or go to www.care.com and be super choosy.

I would start him with someone sooner than later since he is behind. Most of our kids in the center could move up a grade level in 40 hours of tutoring (more if they were older and there was a greater gap). The closer a student gets to his actual grade level, he will naturally slow down.

Do your homework and pick the best place/person for YOUR child's needs.

I hope this was helpful!
PM me if you have additional questions. :)

Updated

My daughter, who is 11 and has ADD, is currently working at Sylvan. She has struggled every year through school in reading and math. We have had private tutors for her every year and she gets resource help at school but she never really seems to "catch up". Sylvan assessed her and said she was at a beginning 3rd grade level in math and reading! So, that's where they started her. Supposedly they guarantee a whole grade level advancement during the first 36 hours of tutoring. We haven't been going that long yet, but my daughter seems happy and feels like she is learning. There are a maximum 3 students per teacher, and the only thing my D complains about is that she works with kids younger than her. But they give prizes and make a big deal about advancements. One of my neighbors had her son there (she is the one who recommended it to me) who was having trouble with math. She took him for about a year until he finally got to grade level. Yes, it's expensive, but we were at our wits end and hope that this will get her caught up. Sorry I can't be more conclusive, but so far, it seems to be helping. I guess we won't really know until school starts up again.

I had a teacher in 5th grade who decided the begin the school year by letting us know everything that we would need to get done by the end of the semester. Good concept for college students ... not so much for 10 year olds. She scared me! I was so overwhelmed that I just pretended I didn't have to do it. Boy did my did flip out when he realized this! (Years later, I found out he had a few choice words to say to the teacher.)

My dad took a different approach to my education after that. First, he worked with me for a couple of hours after school each day to get me caught up!

Everyday after school my dad went through each of my subjects one at a time, asked me what we did in class, asked me if I had any homework due the next day, did I have any tests or quizzes coming up, did I have any projects coming up, etc. Every subject, every day!

Homework was to be done at the kitchen table where there was a clean workspace and no tv.

I would try more structure first. Really be aware of what he needs to do and stay on top of it. Teach him really good habits. Try that first, and see if you get better results.

We took our child to Sylvan and it was a BIG waste of money. Sylvan over promises and under delivers. We spent over $1000 and actually accomplished more by be sitting beside him and insisting he do his homework, checking the answers and asking him about what he read.

We had a battle of the tears every night I did this, but I wasn't going to allow him to graduate high school and not be able to read well enough to fill out a job application.

If you think your son is worth it, take him to a doctor and find out if he has any food allergies. When we took our "adhd" son, we found he was allergic to several colors (FD&C yellow #5, FD&C Red #40, etc.) and food items (fermented foods, like vinegar). When we altered his diet to get rid of these thing his behavior improved tremendously. A dutch study that just concluded earlier this year found that 64% of ADHD cases could be resolved by changes in diet. It worked for our son.

Good luck to you and yours.

Suggestion: ask your pediatrician for a referral to get an Occupational Therapy evaluation. My son is younger than yours, and has different issues associated with ADHD, but OT plus meds have worked wonders for him. The best part about the OT program his therapist developed for him is that it's helped my son to understand and identify what his body needs at any given time (kids with ADHD are often sensory seekers, needing way more body "input" than average folks). We now have a bunch of simple task-related tools to help him calm and focus himself. He can now notice for himself when he's starting to get out of control and ask for help. (When the meds are wearing off at the end of the day, for example, for when we're in a quiet, boring situation.) Meds have been key for us as well, but I feel like meds alone (or OT alone) would not have been enough. Together, they've been really, really helpful. OT can also address the reading issues - it's possible he has some physical delays that they can address and remediate. Plus - OT is covered by health insurance!!!!