The student was formally tested at the end of October 2013. The tests indicate a perfectly capable child who has deficits in processing and working memory, but the scores recorded in the assessment cannot be given a high degree of confidence compared with spending some time talking and working with him. Understandably, his struggles with school have had a strong impact on his self-confidence and willingness to take risks when asked questions with which he is unfamiliar. It is likely that when he is re-tested following a period of tutoring to help him develop the kinds of strategies that most children are taught by this stage, those subsequent scores will be much more credible. Whatever their accuracy, the tests support home observation of dyslexia and dyscalculia. This observation also includes some characteristics of ADD, but such lack of focus is more likely to be symptomatic of the exhaustion he experiences through the simple effort of learning, or from the very real distractions his brother creates.

Due the provincial and geopolitical nature of the student’s school, it does not have a program for recognizing or supporting those students whose learning style is a poor fit with the mainstream. It works within the standard American grade-school parameters, and due to having little experience dealing with students who display learning differences, the school has not been proactive in bringing the student’s issues to the attention of his parents either. It has therefore taken longer than ideal, although by no means is it too late, to bring the student the kind of all-encompassing support that he needs. He is now working at a level far behind that of his peers. The plan is to remove him from his school as soon as possible (February or March 2014) and employ a Tutor with experience in dyslexia and dyscalculia to help mitigate the damage.

The Tutor will be responsible for bridging the gap between what the student can do at the moment and what he should be doing in terms of the American curriculum at the middle of his grade level. The Tutor should embrace the learning opportunities that full time private tutoring affords, keeping lessons relevant, interesting, and engaging, and making good use of the natural surroundings and facilities that the local town has to offer. The family will also travel wider afield — the family has three houses across America and additional properties in Europe that they frequent. The Tutor should infuse his or her teaching with content that relates to these broader geographical experiences.

The tutoring will take place around the family’s timetable. While this will be relatively stable for the most part, it may deviate from traditional school hours in order, for example, to allow the family to make good use of particularly good ski conditions some mornings. The tutoring will also need to accommodate the student’s regular evening ice hockey practices in the early evenings, and of course the family travel plans.

The Tutor should be a well-educated individual with a wide range of interests and broad subject knowledge. Although the focus of this role is clearly the student’s development, the Tutor is likely to have interaction with the whole family, including his younger brother. The family is liberal, broad-minded and quite European in outlook, and it would be helpful to have a Tutor who shared their values, or at least does not have strongly conflicting ones of their own, and who had broadened their own mind through travel or experience of non-American cultures.

The Tutor should be eloquent, able to explain concepts simply and able to inspire the student with his or her enthusiasm for any given subject. He or she should have a wide knowledge base and a range of extra curricular skills and interests that they can share with the family. The Tutor should be a natural communicator with a kind and caring disposition, and a firm-but-fair approach to their work. The student likes skiing and ice hockey, and it would be helpful if the Tutor shared some or all of these sporting interests, especially given the opportunity for winter and mountain sports available on the doorstep.

The Tutor, supported by Tutors International, will be responsible for advising the student’s parents regarding adjustments that need to made at home to accommodate full time home-schooling, and regarding any resources that may be required.

The Tutor should expect an average of two consecutive days off per week. For the remainder of the 2013-14 academic year these will usually be at the weekend, to keep the same timetable as the younger brother, who will be continuing at school until the end of this academic year. If the same Tutor should apply for and be selected for the long-term role starting in September 2014 then it is likely that these ‘weekends’ will follow a more flexible pattern to allow for more extensive travel.

The Tutor has a minimum of nine weeks paid vacation per annum as per the Terms. These will be taken at times suitable to the Client, and will likely follow the same pattern as the school holidays, with breaks at Christmas, New Year, Easter and the summer. The Tutor is expected to work with the student on any public holidays Monday-Thursday that are not part of the arranged vacation periods.

The Client will provide a fully furnished four-bedroom house with excellent Internet.

All bills on this accommodation, expect for the Tutor’s personal phone bills, will be paid for by the Client.

Jackson Hole is small city, but with good amenities for its population. While it is far from being a buzzing and vibrant social mecca, the town has a budding arts scene, a theatre, a good selection of shops and restaurants and a friendly atmosphere. Winter sports are particularly good, as is hiking and other outdoor activities. The summer offers a broad range of activities making use of the rivers, lakes, trails, climate and wilderness. The local airport has regular flights to Denver, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles, all of which are good bases from which to explore the US or fly to Europe or Asia.

The Client will be responsible Tutor’s full expenses arising from any travel required for the position throughout the contract term.

The Tutor should be a non-smoker, lead a physically active lifestyle, and be healthy and fit. He or she should be engaging, have a good sense of humor and a sunny disposition, and yet be a serious educator who understands his or her responsibility in this important role.