Summertime provides many possibilities for tutoring, and there are a variety of types of programs available to parents and children to suit these needs. “Summer school” is a traditional threat in the parents’ attempt to motivate their children toward better performances in school. Some children face a required summer school because of a poor academic year, and approach it with all the enthusiasm of longtime Hingham residents regarding the Greenbush line. Therefore private, elective summer academic programs must provide major benefits to the child—and be enjoyable as well.

The major summer tutoring types include:
1. Embedded in a recreation program.
2. Intensive full-time programs.
3. Intensive but distributed programs (1-3x per week).
4. Enrichment programs.

The easiest program to persuade your son or daughter to attend is one that is included in a summer camp or recreational activity. These programs are most frequently of the enrichment variety—some extra practice and support to help students improve their academic skills during a day that is predominantly recreational. For many children they are an ideal way to keep rust from forming on critical skills while also getting a tan!

If your child is more than two years behind in reading at any age you should make every effort to change the picture. The first student at our learning center, for example, is now well above grade level in reading and composition. Her new confidence is worth every effort that she and her parents made. As she entered the fourth grade she was almost three years behind in reading. Now she is on the honor role in middle school and scored in the 95th to 98th percentile in reading and composition. She is happy and feels highly accomplished—and deservedly so!

The most extreme form of summer tutoring is the full time, full summer program. Several major tutoring chains provide these programs, and they will happily offer you a method to finance them as well. Prices can be stunning, but these chains offer strong testimonial support of their work with children. These programs can be worthwhile if they are effective with a child who has failed to learn to read and is now nearing college age. There are many less intensive programs that can be equally successful, but there are some clear advantages to having the child work throughout the summer with an intensive program—and always keep in mind that the danger of failing to read justifies the length and expense of such programs.

Less intensive programs can be quite successful as well. It is quite possible to rapidly advance in reading if the program is properly designed and delivered. If your early reader struggles with reading, make certain that your tutor will use a phonics-based approach. Be extremely wary of the Reading Recovery program, as it is not a phonics program and tends to continue the problems that began through the use of a whole language curriculum.

I would also recommend that if your child is not succeeding in his present school setting it might be best to look for instructional approaches that are different from those used in his or her classroom. While one-to-one tutoring helps, the design of the program is more important than the ratio, and continuing the same form of instruction with a higher ratio may not lead the kinds of dramatic improvements that are readily possible with better instructional approaches.

Enrichment programs are primarily for children who are at or above their grade levels in their present academic performances. They are an excellent method for helping a child build even stronger performances, become more skilled and fluent, or prepare for standardized tests. These programs most often center on a particular area but are broadly designed to increase academic and general knowledge rather than being targeted narrowly on a specific skill area. They can be a wonderful “extra” for the child who loves to learn—or can provide the enjoyment and stimulation to help a child discover the love of learning!

Finally there is home tutoring. While not mentioned above, there is always the possibility of using the summer as a time for independent exploration of a series of books, or a particular author, or some interesting point in geography or other sciences. You don’t need to use a tutoring center! There is a world of excellent instructional material at local libraries, online, and through the various homeschooling resources. Even if you are not a homeschooler, the summer can be your chance to see just how your child is learning. Have a wonderful summer!