Parent Resources

online reading tutoring

Consulting for Parents Teaching their Children to Read

Need assistance teaching your child to read or spell? Book a one-on-one consulting session with me for a customized literacy plan.  Includes one thirty minute session for your child to work directly with me to assess their skills and build rapport and trust with your student.


Follow-up coaching packages available. Add-ons include discounted rates for my spelling courses and Comprehensive Reading Course.

One session with customized plan created with materials: $245. Packages starting at: $295 Contact me for details: hello@readingsuccessacademy.com

Check out our newest training videos and sample lessons on YouTube!

Recommended products for homeschoolers!

I work with hundreds of homeschooling families and have learned about many products that make their kids' learning sessions more efficient and focused. I've also thrown in some personal favorites for managing household upkeep on the fly. Check out the Amazon links below. I hope these serve you and your family!


Need more information about the method I use?  Click the button below to go to the Phono-Graphix website.
Phono-graphix.com
Whether you need guidance on how to teach your child to read, or want to understand more about the method I use in my clinical and online sessions, check out my blog by clicking the button below:
RSA blog

Best Practices Summary video...

Not a big fan of reading blogs?  No problem!  I have a summary of several of my blog posts in this video: Three Mistakes to Avoid While Teaching Your Child to Read.  Grab your popcorn.  It's 12 minutes long but full of solid and surprising information for you!

Would you like to see a sample lesson?

This sample lesson is from the Intermediate Level Course that is included in both the Basic Code Course and the Comprehensive Course.  This is an auditory processing lesson which is one of the three basic skills for learning to read.  

Checklist for Choosing a Tutor for Your Child


Checklist of Qualifications for your child’s Reading Tutor


This checklist also provides a point system to help you rank your prospective tutors based on the most important decision making factors. The most important factors are weighted with higher points. After answering the questions, add up the points to determine if your prospect is recommended. 


Before spending money on a tutoring program, ask these 9 important questions:


Does the prospective tutor:



1_____have at the minimum of qualifications, a state elementary teaching certificate? 1 point


2._____have a reading therapist certification using a fast and effective method? 5 points


3._____have time to commit to at least two 30 minute sessions a week? 1 point


4._____have a quiet and convenient location? 2 points


5._____work with students in small groups or one-on-one? one-on-one=5 points, small group=1 point


6._____specialize in teaching reading? 5 points


7._____provide the same instructor for all of the lessons? yes=5 points, no= -10 points


8._____require you to sign a contract? yes= -10 points, no=1 point


9._____have online resources for you and your child? 1 point



How to evaluate the answers to the above questions: 


1. Your prospective reading teacher must have a minimum of a state elementary teaching certification. High school and college students are not recommended. Being able to read and teaching reading are two completely different skills. A secondary school teaching certificate is better, but normally secondary education teachers are not trained to teach reading. Even state certified teachers do not receive adequate instruction for teaching reading right out of college, so this question scores your prospective tutor only one point. 


2. Getting your child fast results is best so that your child doesn’t lose interest and dread going to an indefinite number of tutoring sessions. Sixty days or less is a great timeframe because you can get your child on board more easily if she knows there is an end in sight. Tutoring should not go on forever. You want your child noticeably building skills and CONFIDENCE within two weeks of starting lessons (with two sessions per week). This will teach an important life lesson as well: If you buckle down and put concentrated effort into a goal you can achieve it faster and move on to new and exciting challenges. A certified reading therapist with a fast and effective method scores 5 points!


3. Two 30 minute sessions a week should be the minimum your child works with a tutor. One hour a week is better than nothing, but the higher the frequency of sessions in a short time frame (my recommendation is 60 days or less) the better the results because the student doesn’t lose as much information between sessions. By doing more frequent sessions, less time is spent on review. Reading Success Academy recommends 2 one hour sessions a week for best results, or three 30-40 minute sessions. This time commitment scores your potential tutor 1 point.


4. A quiet location needs no explanation, but what about the convenient location? A convenient location is very important because if it’s difficult to get there, or takes a lot of time to get to, you are less likely to go. Please don’t drive more than 15 minutes to your tutoring sessions. Your time is valuable. If you do have to drive further, make that time productive by having your child read in the car to and from the sessions in order to review his skills.


5. This is a biggie! Please note that “individualized” does not necessarily mean “private” or “one-on-one”! You want a private/one-on-one tutor for your child. Your child will pay attention better and you know that the tutor has a planned lesson specifically for your child. In a small group setting, the teacher needs to teach what’s best for all the children in attendance. If your child needs work with comprehension and the other two kids need fluency work, how much comprehension work do you think will be done? You want your hard earned dollars and valuable time to be spent focused solely on your child’s needs. Your child will also feel more comfortable making mistakes if there aren’t other kids there. Small group scores one point because its better than nothing, but one-on-one gets 5 points!


6. A reading specialist or a certified therapist by a credible program is the absolute best choice. These qualified professionals know what it takes to get your child on grade level quickly. They will also recommend a great maintenance plan for keeping up newly acquired skills. Score this potential tutor 5 points!


7. It is essential that your child have the same tutor throughout his tutoring program, Just as it is for your child’s classroom teacher be the same for the entire school year. You want the same tutor working with your child for each session until he’s reached his goal. There are some programs out there that have a team of teachers lead the sessions and you may not get the same teacher each session. Consistency and a dedicated plan for your child is a must in order for her to progress. Your tutor needs to know your child and be able to point out specifically what she is improving on or needs more work with. This is why the points for this question are weighted so heavily! 


8. If you are required to sign a contract and pre-pay for sessions, you are less likely to seek out another tutor if the program is not working for you. You’ve already made the investment right? Instead, work with professionals who are confident enough with their program that they don’t need you to sign a contract. If their program is not working for your child, or it turns out that the sessions are not convenient to get to anymore, you shouldn’t have to continue to pay for them. I’ve had students come to me after they’ve already committed time and thousands of dollars to a national tutoring center. They still didn’t have the skills they needed and were out a lot of cash. Reading help for your child is an investment but it doesn’t need to cut into her college fund! Get results in 60 days or less, or don’t pay for it any longer. 5 points for a non-contractual agreement, and -10 for a contract (especially if it requires you to pay whether you are getting results or not!)


9. Online resources are a great way to get supplemental practice between sessions for students. Parent resources can include recommended reading lists, background information about the techniques the tutor uses, and do’s and don’ts for helping your child between sessions. This is a bonus and not a requirement so it scores 1 point. 


How did your tutor score?


25-26 points: This is my best recommendation. Expect to pay this tutor $45-$60/hour for this candidate.

20-24 points: This is a recommended choice. Expect to pay $30-$50/hour for this candidate.

15-19 points: Not a recommended choice. This candidate does not qualify to be paid more than $20/hour.

Under 15 points: Please do not even consider any tutors or learning centers with less than 15 points! This would be a waste of time for your child and your money.

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