Tutoring FAQ
Our tutors come from a mix of backgrounds but all with education experience, content expertise, and demonstrable emotional intelligence. They range from former teachers to chemical engineers. Every tutor undergoes a thorough reference check before being interviewed and teaching a sample lesson. We then select only the tutors whose skill and enthusiasm meet our standards.
Our diverse team of tutors provide academic support in a wide range of subjects to students of all ages. We tutor virtually all ages, subjects, and backgrounds, from elementary to post-secondary, from low skill levels to extremely high achievers. In cases where we are not equipped to serve a student well, we will be 100% up-front and transparent about it.
We consult with you prior to matching your child with a tutor to ensure that we fully understand his or her learning profile and academic needs.
While a typical session lasts for an hour, sessions usually range from 45 minutes to two hours, depending on the age of the student and the assignment at hand.
Most tutoring is instructional, putting students in the passenger seat. The Aspire approach is just the opposite. Through a team of tutors stocked with content expertise and emotional intelligence, our students are asked questions that build on their prior knowledge and bring them to a stronger conceptual understanding of the material. Then, to ensure they understand it, they teach it back to the tutor. It leads not only to deeper knowledge of the content, but greater confidence to tackle problems when the tutor isn't there.
We measure success by independence, and endeavor to work ourselves out of a job with every student we serve. This means that we are not homework do-ers. Rather, we form partnerships with our students to help them define and achieve their goals.
As a non-profit organization, our commitment is to our students over our profit margin. We believe that all children deserve to have equitable access to educational tools, whether it is with Aspire or not.
Yes. Although our tutors are not educational therapists, we are skilled customizers and can adapt to many student needs. Our tutors are trained and experienced in working with ADD/ADHD, executive functioning issues, working memory challenges, processing speed differences, and other differences.
While we are happy to send a monthly invoice at the beginning of each month for the previous month’s sessions, most of our parents opt for an automatic credit card payment after each session.
No, there are no additional fees.
In addition to working with students at public schools throughout the Bay, our tutors have supported students from: Aspire Berkeley Maynard Academy, Bay School, Bayhill High, Bentley Upper School, Berkeley High, Berkeley Realm, Bishop O'Dowd High, Chabot Elementary, Cleveland Elementary, College Park High, East Bay Innovation Academy, Encinal Junior & Senior High, Escuela Bilingue International, Head-Royce, Ile Omode, Joaquin Miller Elementary, Laney College, post hs, Manzanita SEED, Marin Academy, Miramonte High, Montclair Elementary School, Montera Middle School, Northgate High, Piedmont High, Prospect Sierra, Redwood Christian Center, Redwood Day School, Roosevelt Elementary, Saint Mary's College High School, San Leandro High, Sankofa Academy, Skyline High, St. Vincent, The Bay School, and The College Preparatory School.
Please send a resume and a cover letter describing your teaching/educational experience and tutoring expertise to info@aspireeducation.org.