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School-Aged Children
Reading Problems
Ok so our 4th grader reads on 2nd grade level 6th month. We have been trying to do things to improve the reading skills since the school has been incompetant at getting her the help she needs and they just this month said they think she needs a reading tutor. We all have known this since the school year started. Anyways I am running low on ideas to improve her skills and statistics show that after 3rd grade these valuable skills are harder to aquire. We plan on using the school appointed tutor as well as pondering the idea of kaplan or sylvan since its too much stress on me to focus on teaching her myself. Any other suggestions or help is much appreciated. TIA
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Re: Reading Problems
I did private tutoring for 6 years, so I may be biased about this, but I would not go with a "homework help mill" like Sylvan or Kaplan. I have heard at least one parent say that there's not a one-to-one ratio of students to tutors. I also taught with a woman who worked for Sylvan while she pursued her Masters in Teaching. She said tutors work with more than one kid during a session, basically just overseeing that the child is working on homework and generic Sylvan or Kaplan worksheets. It's not real tutoring. Kids make progress because they are forced to spend at least that one hour a week on schoolwork, but there's not much progress or individualized attention given to the students.
I would ask your school's reading specialist for a list of private tutors. See if any of the teachers in the school do private tutoring on the side. Ask around at other area elementary schools or go through colleges/universities in your area that have teacher education programs. If your school doesn't have a list of referrals, I would ask around to other moms. Finally, I would check Craigslist.
True private tutoring will be expensive. The going rate in the area where I live is anywhere between $50 and $100 an hour. Sylvan is probably close to the bottom of that range. A grad student might do it for closer to $30/hour.
GL!
I'm not trying to be mean, but why are you waiting until now (more than half way through the school year) to get her a tutor when you have known since the beginning of the year that she needs one?
Teacher lurker here:
I agree to skip Sylvan and other programs of the such. They are going to charge you a ton of money. PP's idea of asking for a teacher tutor is a great idea. Asking the reading specialist for names is also a great idea. Though tutoring is expensive, you'll pay a lot less than Sylvan and those places.
I'm sorry you feel your school and teachers are incompetent. Trust me, I fight for students' rights to gain more reading help every day. I'm fighting a tough public school system. Schools are low on money and cutting staff left and right. The funding for public education is rather poor.I have third graders who read at the pre-primer level and they only qualify for 60 minutes of reading assistance each week and some special education assistance. I arrange my whole teaching schedule to give these kids as much one-on-one reading instruction as possible. The "red tape" is a pain.
Good luck, I know it's a frustrating journey.
Parent and a teacher here. I was also Director of Education at a Sylvan Learning Center so I will touch on that.
A few things....
as far as a reading tutor I would ask for suggestions for teachers at school. That way they know what your child is working on and can communicate with the teacher. Our counselor keeps a list of teachers who would like to tutor.
I do not think Sylvan is the best- but I did not want to clarify that they do not just work on homework. They have a reading comprehension program they follow and it is at the level that the child is reading on. The ratio is 1:3.
I agree you need a tutor instead of doing it yourself- that rarely works!
As a parent, you are your child's biggest advocate. There are good teachers and there are crappy teachers- unfortunately that is the way it is.....and if a parent does not feel they are getting what they need in the classroom then it falls to them. Blaming the school isn't going to help....looking into outside sources (tutoring, additional testing, etc) can be a good idea. As a parent, you also have the right to request that the school conduct testing for a disability. I would start with that instead of paying for your own testing.
This exactly. You should not expect the school to provide everything for your child. We had an independent neuropsych eval and found out that my daughter has a high IQ, but is behind because she has dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. She has been seeing a private tutor 1-2/week for the last year... in addition to the extra work we do daily at home.
I know it is frustrating to see your child struggle. Schools do not have all of the tools, resources and funds to provide for everyone's unique needs (unfortunately). You need to do some work on your own. Some health insurance plans cover part of the expense of neuropsychological evals. If you find it is a particular condition, the public library and the internet have a wealth of information.
Newlyweds since 2007
I am a teacher and I also agree to skip Sylvan and the like.
I would request a meeting with the child's teacher and the special education or reading intervention teacher. Ask what things you can do at home to support (they may have subscriptions to reading websites, etc. that your child could do from home), and inquire about any programs or services your child is eligible to receive AT school.
Also, you have the right to request special education testing, and I would push that as well if I were you. This will legally bind the school to provide extra services for your child, if he/she is tested and found to have a learning disability.