The Tutor Group™
#1829 - 3230 Yonge Street.Toronto, ON M4N 3P6 Canada
(mailing address)
Phone: (416) 221-0018
Fax: (416) 221-0057
Email
FAQ
at The Tutor Group™
- How long have you been in business?
- How do you select your tutors? Are they all Ontario-certified as teachers?
- What subjects, levels or age ranges do you tutor? Do you work with special needs students? What about adults?
- It seems that most agencies have so many special policies and rules. Do you?
- How fast is the tutor assigned? And then what happens?
- What if I’d rather pick the tutor myself? Can’t I meet a few first? What if I don’t (or my child doesn’t) like the tutor you send?
- How does the TTG office assist its tutors? How is Janyce Lastman involved?
- How can I request a tutor?
How long have you been in business?
The Tutor Group™ has provided quality tutoring services, both in-home and online, to Greater Toronto Area families since 1979 and mentor tutoring services soon followed. Janyce Lastman opened her education consulting practice specializing in school placement and other related services in 1985, extending to case management in 1990.
How do you select your tutors? Are they all Ontario-certified as teachers?
An Ontario Teaching Certificate (OTC) not a requirement at TTG. It simply doesn’t determine if an applicant is a successful, individualized, one-to-one tutor. While many TTG tutors
The best tutors relate easily to young people, know their material and content well, and intuitively “switch things up” rather than default to the standard instructional methods. A re-run during tutoring of whatever happened in the classroom, isn’t helpful for many of our students. This is where The Tutor Group’s tutoring approach really shines.
TTG’s tutors are real people – interesting, creative and often quite entertaining. Really! Check out our About Us section: our tutors have never quite lost touch with their “inner child”. This helps them reach in, not just teach to or preach at their students.
On a serious note: you will receive your tutor’s professional biography at the time of the referral. This summarizes the tutor’s education, experience, teaching style and current interests. As well, all TTG tutors have valid, locally obtained vulnerable-person police-checks.
In sum, TTG tutors are professional, experienced, effective educators and instructors who can (and do!) connect with their students – and enjoy doing so!
What subjects, levels or age ranges do you tutor? Do you work with special needs students? What about adults?
TTG tutors provide classroom support enrichment and/or remediation, whether one-to-one in the family home*, online, or at the student’s school.
We support Kindergarten through Gr.12 core academic subjects like Maths, Sciences, English, French, Social Studies or ESL plus many post-secondary and adult education courses. Tutors can offer specialized support for Special Education*, study and organization skills, project management, essay writing and notetaking from texts, plus explicit training in test-taking skills* and life coaching* (eg. for social skills, self-regulation and problem solving; independence and daily life skills; post-secondary readiness, job and career planning etc.)
We welcome students of all ages with special learning needs, as well as adults trying to upgrade skills or improve literacy or numeracy.
It seems that most agencies have so many special policies and rules. Do you?
We don’t have that many rules and policies, but the ones we do have are important. We’ve written these down in clear, understandable language for clients to read and confirm agreement before the referral gets underway. This greatly reduces “surprises” later.
How fast is the tutor assigned? And then what happens?
New tutoring clients can explore various tutoring options with our office manager, then schedule an intake appointment with Ziny Kirshenbaum to review the student’s educational and developmental history. The intake is usually done by phone and takes 30 – 60 minutes in most cases. Once we receive a student’s reports and records (don’t worry, we’ll tell you exactly what we need) plus our completed paperwork, TTG Director Janyce Lastman reviews this to select the best tutor match. Once the referral is completed, the office confirms this with you directly. You should expect to
At The Tutor Group, we respond quickly but won’t take shortcuts. We also don’t support “cram tutoring”. Short term, intensive support just before a big test or exam reinforces poor study habits and promotes rescue over accountability. It isn’t ethical, doesn’t work and won’t be accommodated. Instead, we encourage families and students to see the looming assignment or exam as direct motivation to undertake ongoing tutoring support instead.
Effective tutoring, whether in-person or online, can’t be rushed.
What if I’d rather pick the tutor myself? Can’t I meet a few first? What if I don’t (or my child doesn’t) like the tutor you send?
Ours is a personalized service that operates on a referral-only basis. So our reputation is important to us. We value your trust, and work hard to maintain it. Many factors go into a referral, including matching subject content and level, availability and scheduling, and of course interests and personalities. Ultimately, we provide the very best tutor match available. While we try to honour special requests, clients cannot “try out” or “interview” multiple tutors. We’ll be glad to provide specific suggestions for how to get the student-tutor connection off to the best start if you have further concerns.
Before the initial meeting, your tutor will have reviewed a case summary including special directions from Janyce, along with report cards and other relevant material. The tutor’s professional biography is sent to you before the introductory meeting. TTG provides a free introductory meeting between the tutor, parents and student in your home. At that meeting, short and long-term goals are clarified, an initial program is formulated and the tutorial schedule for the term is established. Some families prefer to combine a formal lesson with their first meeting; if so, fees apply for instructional time only.
Regular tutorials must be a minimum of 90 minutes each session, and minimum once weekly as per TTG policy, but may occur more frequently or last longer, depending on the situation. Mentor tutoring has a similar minimum, but timing and frequency vary considerably after that.
Finally, our “Policies and Procedures” memo lays out all steps out in greater detail (sent out with our introductory materials), and we’re available by phone or email for further questions.
How does the TTG office assist its tutors? How is Janyce Lastman involved?
Our office manager handles all the paperwork, from annual tuition and special needs receipts to collection of consent forms, along with collecting information to open or update files, and safeguarding client privacy.
TTG tutors must continue their professional development while working with us, and the office also informs them of additional training opportunities, circulates new resources etc. Our tutors also use our extensive resource library for sample textbooks, practice tests and exams, curriculum guides, etc. and are generous in sharing their expertise with each other. The office conducts annual tutor evaluations, assists with any communication or administrative issues arising, and handles all paperwork.
Janyce Lastman, TTG’s founder and Director, is responsible for the tutor-student match, provides all TTG tutors and mentor-tutors with regular case supervision and is the go-to source for questions or issues arising. Janyce can provide education consultations to TTG students and families on request (additional charges apply).
How can I request a tutor?
Parents, guardians or adult students can call or email us directly; we also accept referrals through teachers and other professionals. Feel free to email our office.
Please note that as the school year progresses, our tutors have decreased availability in their caseload either for the semester or full year, so we may have less flexibility to meet a specific time slot. We suggest keeping a few possible time slots or choices of days as options. Arranging for “head-start” summer support or gap year (daytime) tutoring is another way to increase availability.
