The student is a very busy young lady whose passions lie in a variety of areas. She is a Sophomore enrolled in an online high school. She is an equestrian and competes at a high level. The demanding schedule of her sport requires her to travel, although she is based primarily in Connecticut and Florida.

Using an online school platform has been highly beneficial for the student’s need for flexibility. Location-independent, it has enabled her to advance academically while having the freedom to pursue her love for equestrianism. However, the flexibility of the program has introduced self-management challenges. When she was younger in traditional school, she was good at working at an appropriate pace. As time has gone by, last minute preparation and studying has become commonplace. She struggles sometimes in her executive functioning ability, and so appropriate task flow management in a program that has weekly rather than daily deadlines has proved difficult for her. She tends to avoid tasks in which she’s not entirely confident, which compounds her problems in task initiation. The online school includes not only independent asynchronous study, but also some synchronous classes as well; that has helped the student to keep on pace to a degree, but she needs help to manage her academic work schedule. Once she concentrates on a task and undertakes it seriously, she is good at accomplishing work, but she has not been able to structure that effectively by herself.

The student’s learning style is assisted through video learning formats, but she learns most effectively in face to face conversation. Textbooks have not proven valuable to her: even when directed specifically to the appropriate section to answer her questions, she prefers a verbal and experiential mode of learning. Another of her challenges is her ability to digest long and complex readings quickly. This is probably related to her aversion to textbooks. She can eventually get through such readings, but developing the means to apprehend them more efficaciously will be important for her future academic success. In an online high school format, since the majority of course material is presented textually, this learning style has proven less than compatible with her natural abilities.

The student is naturally a smart and gifted student. When she finds material challenging, for example in mathematics, she has a talent for finding her own way to solve a problem that might not reflect the “official” way of doing so. On an ad hoc basis, this has proven effective for her in developing problem solving abilities; the problem is that these ad hoc solutions for problem solving might not apply universally to every similar problem she faces, and so this approach has been treacherous in establishing consistent ability to undertake problem solving systematically. Once shown that the more traditional ways of solving problems work better, she will take that on board and modify her approach. A verbal explanation is not sufficient to sway her views; she needs to see how it works. Furthermore, grasping a large complex system tends to be a weakness. She excels at finding a solution to a specific problem but sometimes lacks the ability to see the big picture.

The student is especially gifted in mathematics and science subject areas. Her talents in humanities were let down a couple of years ago by a combination history/English class which did not develop her abilities appropriately, and the consequences to the evolution of her abilities in the humanities have been cumulative. Her abilities in analytical writing need improvement; her logical flow in such essays must be strengthened with an understanding of appropriate structural writing. Socratic discussions have been effective for her in understanding ideas in the humanities, and would serve as an excellent strategy to cultivate her abilities further.

The student is naturally respectful towards adults in whom she holds high regard. She feels strong accountability to teachers or riding coaches whom she believes are competent and have her best interests at heart. Her favorite teachers have had good humor, are positively interactive with students, and are emotionally stable. She can appreciate sarcasm, and prefers an energetic stimulating personality rather than a more reserved approach. Her least favorite teachers have been rude and unable to relate well to their students; they may have been subject experts, but failed to convey subject mastery due to their relational deficit. She hates condescension and being talked down to.

The student loves a challenge, and responds well to positive reinforcement and gamification of academic work. The successful Tutor must be all this and more in order to really capture her imagination and help her to get the most benefit from all of the opportunities that homeschooling affords. Due to her family’s lifestyle and her equestrian endeavours, she changes locations, and would love the opportunity to explore the locations that her family visits more deeply to engage her education with the real world that she experiences.

The student has a number of other interests as well. She enjoys board games, escape rooms, and social deduction games like Avalon. She used to play online games, but not any more, since time has such a premium. She likes watching soccer as well as Formula One. As a younger child, she played softball and swam competitively. Fantasy novels have been a favorite in the past, but time for them has declined recently. She loves not only horses, but also dogs and other animals. One of the main reasons the student's family has chosen homeschooling is the flexibility it affords. With a full-time Tutor who can deliver all the school subjects and help teach Spanish, it will be possible for the tutoring to be arranged around all the extracurricular activities and equestrianism. Clearly this will mean that the Tutor must be well-organised at all times and be ready to accommodate the family’s schedule, calmly and with good grace even if, at times, it may be inconvenient in relation to what has been planned.

The family intends for the student to complete an excellent high school curriculum through her online high school. They seek the help of a homeschooling professional who uses the resources of the accredited online high school program to achieve an accredited high school diploma. In addition to serving as the student’s primary instructor for the full range of the American curriculum, the Tutor must have experience in SAT/ACT preparation as well as university admissions to premiere institutions. Looking forward to the years ahead, the Tutor must help the student to prepare for standardized testing, university applications processes, and the potential for applications to universities such as Dartmouth or Cornell. The student has been tested for learning differences, and there is an indication that she has attention deficit in addition to her executive functioning challenges. The student’s foreign language of choice is Spanish; applications from candidates with Spanish fluency will be privileged.

The Tutor must be dedicated and disciplined in her own preparations as much as with the work produced by the student. The Tutor should plan creative lessons and projects that take full advantage of the immediate locale, integrating classroom lessons with outdoor venues, hands on study periods, and practical science or technology sessions in the appropriate locations.

The Tutor should be eloquent, able to explain concepts simply and able to inspire the student with her enthusiasm for any given subject. She should be a natural communicator with a kind and caring disposition, and a firm-but-fair approach to their work. It is important that the Tutor is flexible in her approach to teaching, but strict enough to keep the student’s academic work on target.

The Tutor must remain flexible, with a youthful adaptability, but without any loss of discipline when accommodating the family’s organic schedule. This can sometimes mean that plans may change at short notice, and therefore the Tutor must be all the more structured and organised. The Tutor must exercise predictive insight and coordination, planning for multiple potential schedules due to the variability of the family’s obligations, and do their best to ensure that no deadlines are missed or opportunities lost. It is likely that the Tutor will act in loco parentis and should be comfortable with taking on parental responsibilities such as staying the night with the student when her parents must be absent. A key aspect of this tutoring role will be providing mentorship as a positive role model for the student. In past years, the student’s social group has encouraged unfortunate choices. The Tutor must assiduously cultivate a relationship of mutual respect with the student that will enable mentorship to encourage positive behaviors and uplifting life choices. The student needs an appreciation that sometimes the gratification for good things can be very delayed and will require a long term view of the fruits of hard work. She also sometimes has had difficulty with emotional self-regulation, and so a Tutor who can balance empathy with professionalism and respect is essential to help her to moderate her moods.

This is a full-time position. The Tutor must be able to respond flexibly to the client’s requirements in terms of availability and working time. The Tutor should expect to be working with the student for at least 40 hours per week, and to fit their preparation time in during personal time as needed. The Tutor will be entitled to two consecutive days off per week as a weekend, although these days may not be Saturday and Sunday. However, given the nature of the position, the Tutor should be prepared to adapt their plans to suit the Client’s requirements. Advanced notice will be given when possible. The Tutor is entitled to a minimum of nine weeks (45 working days) paid vacation per annum. The dates for this will be at times convenient for the Client. Although they are likely to mirror the usual seasonal breaks, they will not necessarily follow the pattern of school terms and holidays. Any two day “weekend” days that are occupied by professional activities will add to the 45-day entitlement.

Fully furnished accommodation with all modern conveniences including high speed Internet will be provided by the Client separate from their residence in their primary location, whether Florida or Connecticut. It is not known at this stage what the accommodation arrangements will be for the Tutor at other locations when attending horse shows, but the Client is mindful of the need for appropriate privacy and security, and for creating a suitable working environment.

When the surrounding environment is appropriate, the Client will make arrangements for a car for both personal and professional use of the Tutor and will cover all expenses involved in the running of this car for work-related purposes, including comprehensive insurance. The Tutor will be responsible for the costs arising from their own personal use of the vehicle.

The Tutor should expect to travel with the family. During all travel, the Client will cover all travel-related expenses for the Tutor including accommodation, apart from personal meals, and the tuition should continue irrespective of the location.

The Tutor will be physically fit and healthy, a non-smoker. The successful applicant for this role will live a healthy lifestyle and be a positive role model, not only in academic matters, but also as an all-round adult. Fluency in Spanish would be helpful. The Tutor must be comfortable around animals, especially horses and dogs.