When I began talking about leaving public school to be a reading tutor, I had no idea how many people would want to know how I did it.
Working for yourself as a reading tutor is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Some social media influencers claim that we can make thousands per month and teach online from glamorous international locations. If that’s what you’re aiming for, this might not be the blog for you. However, if you’re financially able to weather a few months of reduced income as you establish your business, you have realistic expectations about growing your client list, and you consider yourself an organized person, I’m here to guide you!
This post is a compilation of the most common questions I receive from Instagram followers about how to start a reading tutoring business. It’s not always easy. But if you’re wondering whether you can leave teaching to become a reading tutor, the answer is yes, and I’m proof.
This post may contain affiliate links.
Around 2020, I started daydreaming about becoming a private reading tutor after teaching in public schools for over a decade. We all know 2020 was a tough year for public school teachers, and I was no exception. Combine that with some tough situations that were specific to the district I worked in, and I started to explore my options. This brings me to the first question that followers frequently ask:
1. How did you start?
I had the advantage of planning my transition over time. I began daydreaming a few years before I actually made the leap to become a private reading tutor. This allowed me plenty of time to research. I compiled a list of all the factors I considered in this blog, Crucial Questions to Ask Before Starting Your Tutoring Business. My suggestion is that you browse the blog, print the planning guide, and work your way through it over time. There’s a lot to consider, but it can be done!
For me, an essential first step was finishing a certification program. I had been passionate about the science of reading and structured literacy for many years, but I felt that I needed some credentials to prove my knowledge and experience.
Whether or not YOU need additional credentials will be a personal decision. Do you already have a specialized teaching license? Is there little competition for private tutors in your region? You may not need additional credentials. But if you’re in an area where parents have many professional tutors to choose from and you only have general licensure, you may need to gain some credentials that will set you apart from your competition.
2. What services do you offer?
I offer four main types of services: tutoring, evaluations, consultations, and portfolio reviews.
One-to-one structured literacy tutoring is my main offering and what I enjoy the most. I also teach small groups at a local homeschool co-op.
I complete informal reading evaluations with varying levels of depth, ranging from quick screeners for homeschool parents who want to know where to focus their child’s instruction to more thorough evaluations with the CTOPP-2 and the WIST. These more detailed evaluations are often preferred by parents who are concerned about a dyslexia diagnosis.
I offer consultation-based services for parents whose children are being evaluated by their public school district. This involves helping parents write a clear request for the evaluation, helping them understand the evaluation reports, preparing them for the evaluation meeting, and helping them understand their rights as parents.
I offer consultation-based services for parents who are unhappy with their child’s progress in their special education placement. This involves a file review, after which I write up recommendations that the parent can present to the school district. We continue to work together, sometimes with the school district, until the parents feel that the school has made sufficient steps towards meeting their child’s needs for a Free and Appropriate Public Education.
Lastly, I complete annual portfolio evaluations for homeschool families, which is one way that local homeschool families can document their child’s educational progress for the state.
3. How do you find reading tutoring clients?
It is a multi-pronged approach and your strategy will vary depending on who your ideal client is. If you’re aiming to work with homeschool students so you can work daytime hours, I suggest:
- Joining Facebook groups for local homeschool communities. Know the advertising rules for each group. You may not be able to advertise in some groups, but you can answer parents’ questions to get your name out there as a credible source of advice for academic concerns.
- Discovering any websites that offer a directory of homeschool providers. Get yourself listed on them!
- Contacting any formal homeschool communities or enrichment centers in your area and offering your services. Keep an open mind about what you can offer. Even hosting a 30-minute, once-weekly session of reading games for early readers can help you build the Know-Like-Trust factor with potential clients.
Are you looking to tutor after school? You’re most likely looking to connect with public school families. I suggest:
- Joining local mom/parent groups on Facebook. Again, know the advertising rules for each group. Answer parents’ questions to get your name out there as a credible source of advice for academic concerns. Be on the lookout for parents who post seeking a tutor.
- Contacting local schools. Provide them with a handout or a brief email that highlights your experience, credentials, and contact information. Ask them to consider recommending your services to any parents who seek tutoring.
- Telling your friends! Call them, text them, tell them in person, and make a post on your personal Facebook account. Ask them to keep you in mind if they know anyone who is looking for a tutor.
The one area I don’t have advice for is finding virtual tutoring clients. I chose to focus on growing my in-person client list, and that has worked well for me so far.
Thinking about making the leap? I’ve put together a free guide for anyone considering leaving public school to be a reading tutor. Click the image below!
4. How do you decide what to charge as a reading tutor?
Tutoring rates will vary widely. Some factors include:
- Your geographic location and the average household income
- Your credentials
- Your years of experience
- Length of sessions
- The number of sessions you require per week
- Whether financial aid is available to families (some states offer assistance to homeschool students through scholarships, grants, or vouchers)
- If you’re traveling to the student, or they are traveling to you
Because of all of these factors, there is no one formula to determine your rates. A classroom teacher in rural Arkansas will charge differently than an IDA-certified reading specialist in suburban Connecticut. You’ll need to do a little research to fine-tune your rate. One tool that may help you is this spreadsheet of results from a survey. I posted the survey in a Facebook group for Wilson Reading System teachers. Members were asked to share their geographic area and their current rates. These are responses from real people, so they provide some insight into current rates.
5. How do you find daytime clients, or how do you find homeschool clients?
This is my favorite question because the answer is that all it takes is one single connection. For me, it was a former co-worker’s ex-sister-in-law. How random does that sound? This seemingly distant connection is what got the ball rolling for my tutoring business.
- I posted on my personal Facebook page asking if anyone had connections in the local homeschool community. My former coworker responded.
- She connected me with a woman who was about to open a new homeschool co-op.
- I met her business partners.
- One of the business partners referred me to a local homeschool expo, where I rented a table.
- I met the owner of the enrichment center that hosted the homeschool expo.
- The owner of the enrichment center suggested I contact the owner of a nature-based homeschool co-op.
- The owner of the nature-based homeschool co-op hired me to teach small groups two days per week.
All of these people offered to display my handout and recommend families to me. They also tagged my business in the comments on Facebook posts when parents asked for tutor recommendations. The ball was officially rolling!
One year ago, I knew exactly zero people in my local homeschool community. Now, I work with eighteen homeschool students and have made connections with several other families through consultation and advocacy services!
Outside of working with local homeschool families, there are other ways to find daytime clients: Depending on your time zone, you may be able to work with virtual clients during the daytime. However, finding virtual clients is not my area of expertise!
6. What curriculum or materials do you use?
I currently use the Wilson Reading System, Just Words, UFLI Foundations, and some aspects of The Writing Revolution. I use the WIST to determine if students need the intensity of the Wilson Reading System. If the WIST results do not suggest the need for intensive remediation, I’ll consider UFLI for younger students or Just Words for older students.
Are you trying to decide what you will teach with? Some considerations are:
- What programs or approaches are you comfortable teaching with?
- What are you certified to teach?
- What materials do you have access to? Will you have access to them outside of school hours? Will you have access to them if you leave your current job to become fully self-employed?
If you need to invest in materials in order to become a private reading tutor, UFLI is a great option. The program is effective, the manual is affordable, many free resources are available online, and few other materials are required to complete the lessons. In addition to the manual and the free resources online, I also use the following supplies in my UFLI lessons:
- Personal whiteboards, markers, erasers
- Cubes for phonemic awareness
- Magnetic letter tiles
7. What initial assessments do you use with new clients?
After my initial chat with parents, I consider whether the child sounds like a good match for the Wilson Reading System. If I think WRS might be the right path, I administer the WIST. The WIST helps determine if a student needs the intensity of the Wilson Reading System. If the WIST results do not suggest the need for intensive remediation, I’ll consider UFLI for younger students or Just Words for older students.
If my initial chat with the parent suggests that the student may have significant difficulty sustaining attention during the WIST, they are younger than second grade, or they have not begun reading yet, I consider other assessment options. These may include:
- A letter name and letter sound assessment
- A decoding assessment of words across the six syllable types
- A spelling inventory
- A one-minute timed fluency passage at their current grade level
The data gained from these assessments will help me to choose an approach and set goals for the student.
8. Do you have any tips for virtual tutoring?
Lots of folks want more information about virtual tutoring! I do have some hybrid clients who have one in-person session and one virtual session per week. None of my students are completely virtual. I prefer this arrangement for two main reasons. First, students become acquainted with their materials during the in-person sessions, which means they can navigate them with independence during our virtual sessions. Second, I can plug in my document camera and essentially teach the lesson as I would in person. Being able to show our materials with the document camera means less time is spent preparing online slideshows or other adapted materials.
9. Where do you tutor?
Three days per week, I rent space from a homeschool co-op. It includes a classroom learning space, a sensory room where siblings and parents often hang out during sessions, and a small kitchen area. It’s perfect for what I need!
Based on the recommendation of my insurance agent, parents are required to remain within earshot of the session for liability reasons. The space allows parents to either sit within the classroom space with us but at a separate table, or to wait down the hallway in the sensory room or the kitchen area. This gives my student enough space to focus, it gives all of us enough proximity to each other for liability concerns, and it provides a space for siblings to stay entertained.
When my roster increased, I began offering sessions at my hometown library on the two days when my rented space is not available. With some families, I sign out a conference room to reduce environmental distractions. In this case, the parents remain in the room with me and sometimes even participate in supporting their child in their lesson. With my older students and students who can manage the distraction of an occasional library patron passing by, we simply meet at a table among the stacks. There are small workspaces scattered throughout the library so parents can pass the time at a nearby table.
If you are trying to decide where you will teach, keep these in mind:
- Parents should be able to remain within earshot for liability reasons.
- It’s VERY helpful to have a space nearby for parents and siblings to pass the time.
- Tutoring from your home means that you need to keep your home clean and keep your other family members, including pets, away from your space.
- Check with local libraries to be sure they allow you to conduct business within their building. Each library will have different rules.
10. The question no one asks: Do I need professional liability insurance as a reading tutor??
Literally no one has ever asked me this, but you must know about insurance! Professional liability insurance protects you in case a parent claims your services caused harm, whether that’s academic setbacks, emotional distress, or a misunderstanding about progress. Even if you’ve done everything right, legal fees can add up fast just to defend yourself. Insurance gives you peace of mind so you can focus on helping your students without worrying about the “what-ifs.”
Never heard of professional liability insurance? It’s actually quite common! Your real estate agent, personal trainer, esthetician, plumber, and healthcare providers (among many other professional service providers) likely have this type of insurance.
Of course, we like to imagine that a parent will never make a claim against us, but what would happen if they did? If you work in a public school, you’ll likely have the support of your administration and your union. As a private tutor, it’s just you. This is where professional liability insurance comes in. It’s a simple way to protect your reputation and your income.
There you have it: the top ten questions I’ve received about leaving public school to be a reading tutor!
(Okay, plus that last question I snuck in there.) If you’re looking to learn more about establishing yourself as a tutor, or you want free science of reading-based tips and resources sent to your inbox two times per month, please join our community by subscribing to the email list below!
