The boys come from a loving, supportive family. They are polite, friendly and mature for their ages – both keen to do well in their studies and both keen to progress through high school and into undergraduate studies. They enjoy a wide range of interests and sports, are well-travelled, and knowledgeable about the world at large and current affairs. They are both engaging and interesting young men and will be a pleasure for a patient, calm, knowledgeable and considerate teacher to work with.

As early as age seven, the older boy was diagnosed with dyslexic characteristics. More recently, Dyscalculia and non-hyperactive ADD were also identified. He spent some time in specialist schools, but the plethora of students with more serious diagnoses did not give him the motivation he needed to reach his true potential. At the end of his first semester in 8th grade, he rejoined mainstream education and, with the help of a team of by-the-hour after-school tutors provided through a local tutoring company, is currently attending his local main stream high school. Although working on a reduced timetable, he is able to keep up, albeit with lower than average grades. His current subjects are Biology, Mathematics, English, AP Human Geography, and his electives are Choir and PE/Football. He is also taking Spanish and has a deep personal interest in History and is highly knowledgeable about the subject, despite having had a bad experience with a previous subject teacher who refused to reference textbooks and frequently gave flawed factual information.

The student’s auditory processing powers are limited. While he is quick to absorb knowledge that has been read to him from a textbook, he is slow when reading the same material himself, and his writing ability is also well below average. There is great potential for technology to be a real help in terms of audio books and software such as Dragon Dictate, and for a Tutor to read material aloud, disseminate and reduce texts into more accessible parcels, or convert much of what needs to be learned into forms that he can more easily access.

The student responds best to teachers whose personal knowledge is evident and to those who have high expectations of his or her students. He enjoys working with staff who have no need to provide instant verbal feedback; rather their body-language, manner and expression when students perform well is praise enough for him, and he finds the simple verbal commendation rather glib. In contrast, he is not fond of teachers who have no time for their students, who lack the ability to explain concepts easily, and who don’t bother or don’t have the patience to follow up with those students who may be struggling with the material. He has the maturity to separate a bad experience with a teacher from his experience of the subject overall, and is smart enough to know when teachers are not properly prepared or invested in their lessons and consequently get their facts wrong.

While the focus of this role is undoubtedly the older brother, the Tutor is also required to work with the younger brother. Like his older brother, he is a very intelligent young man. Although he does not face the same challenges as his brother, the family recognize that having a full-time Tutor about the house is a resource that should benefit both boys. It is envisaged that he will be able to work with the Tutor to consolidate work covered in the classroom and to ensure his knowledge, along with his homework, is always complete. The development of suitable study techniques, which will help him throughout his academic life, would also be well received.

The student is an intelligent boy, and will benefit enormously from one-to-one tuition from a caring and compassionate educator who can get to know the best way to help him to continue with his wish to remain in mainstream high school. As with many students who present with learning differences, he is a bright young man – indeed, he has a recorded IQ of over 130. It is his learning pathways that require additional, focused support. With this in mind, the Tutor should be someone who is able to explain concepts simply and effectively, targeting his weak areas and helping to consolidate knowledge. He or she should also be comfortable introducing study techniques and ‘tricks’ such as mind mapping which will help him to study more effectively right through to his university education and beyond.

The family are very supportive of using technology to help the student to manage his learning differences, and as such, the Tutor must be familiar with a range of programs and applications that could help, as well as being constantly striving to explore new developments. He or she should not be afraid of IT, and should embrace any suitable technology as it comes along.

It is envisaged that while the Tutor will spend most of their time in an after-school support role, there may be certain times when they work within the school environment, either in a support role within the classroom, or by taking the student out of lessons and working with him one-to-one on the school grounds. For example, he is currently struggling with Mathematics, and it is hoped that giving him one-to-one teaching in the subject will provide him with the help and support he needs to get back on track. In addition to providing him with a solid foundation in the subject, one-to-one teaching within the school will also open up different pathways for his studies. It may be that he continues to follow the mathematics curricula as set out by his current school, or it may be that he opts to follow a mathematics course devised by NUVHS or another accredited online high school course. A third alternative is that he changes from the American Mathematics curricula and instead studies for the British GCSE qualification, which is less demanding in terms of the need to keep up with the speed of a class and allows for study to progress at whatever rate best suits him.

In the long run, given the student’s interest in history, it may be that he works towards an undergraduate degree in the subject at a British university so as not to have to take a wide range of subjects that he struggles with just to major in his preferred subject. With this in mind, as he goes into his post-16 education, it might be that reducing his subject concentrations to follow the British A-level system is a better plan than the broader requirements of American high schools. This can be reviewed nearer the time, but it does mean that a Tutor with an understanding of both the American and British 16-18 education systems would find themselves at an advantage. Alternatively, it may mean that a change of Tutor for the equivalent of Junior and Senior years will be needed.

Given that this role will require cooperation and good communication between the student’s school teachers and his Tutor, it is essential that the Tutor be able to build and maintain strong professional relationships with the staff at the school. He or she should be organized and efficient with their planning, making full use of available resources and helping to make all of the lessons interesting and memorable.

The Tutor should be eloquent, knowledgeable and able to inspire with his or her enthusiasm for any given subject. He or she should be an exceptional role model, diplomatic, polite and friendly at all times. It is essential that the Tutor speaks and writes impeccable English, has demonstrable experience with Special Ed students, and holds a recognised teaching qualification. The Tutor should be organised, kind, fun, inspiring, efficient and flexible in their work. Historical knowledge is very important for this long term role, since that is clearly the student’s favourite subject.

This full time role will also include supporting the student’s younger brother, aged 13. He is a bright, engaging child who, while he has no Special Ed issues, will still benefit from having a professional Tutor on hand to ensure his homework and overall study techniques are sound.

The student is likely to begin learning French this year, and so it would be helpful if candidates are able to teach it.

The Tutor should expect to work an average of about 40-50 hours per week over the course of five days, with preparation time in addition. It is likely that the tutoring will be scheduled for Sunday-Thursdays, though a degree of flexibility may be required. The boys will keep regular school hours, and so tutoring will predominantly take place after school. However, there may be some deviation when the Tutor is required to work during school hours for the periods where extra support is needed or during the subjects where the Tutor takes sole responsibility for the student’s education.

The Tutor will be entitled to an average of two consecutive days off each week, though these will not always fall on the weekends. Any untaken holiday entitlement that has accrued will be compensated at the end of the contract, pro rata.

The Client will provide separate, furnished accommodation in Newport Beach or a stipend for accommodation if the Tutor is already based within a commutable distance. A room in the family home will be made available solely as the boys’ school/study room.

The Tutor is responsible for his or own meals except for any that occur during tutoring time. Meals that occur during tutoring hours may be taken with the boys.

The majority of the contract will take place in Newport Beach. During any unexpected periods of travel, the Client will be responsible for all the Tutor’s travel and accommodation expenses, and for all meals for any periods where the Tutor is accommodated in a hotel.

It is essential that the Tutor is a non-smoker, is fit and physically active and leads a healthy lifestyle. The ideal Tutor will need a good level of competence in Spanish – the higher their level the better.