tutoring fees

When I first started after my initial LMB training I charged $25.00 an hr, then I went up to $35.00 then the next increase was $45.00.

Now that I have my masters degree in speech pathology I can demand more money… I work per diem for an audiologist who charges clients at least $55.00 to $60.00 an hour for my services. I get approximately 80% of that rate.

I know LMB facilities charge different rates around the country depending on what the market will bear. In CA the rates were $75.00 an hour last time I checked a few years ago.

Good luck.

:D

I would charge $75.00 an hour. I would then give a $25.00 discount if the child completes the homework, didn’t cancel, and showed up on time.

I was told that parents would have a hard time getting their kids to complete their simple homework assignments but have to admit I’m still shocked that it would happen in tutoring. I would think that a parent who paid good money could follow through but it is not the case with the kids I’m tutoring this summer.

Next time I’m thinking I will charge $75.00 and discount it to $50 no matter what the excuse. Maybe that would get someone motivated to follow through. They would get the discount if they showed up on time without cancelling. Just a thought. What do you think? :lol:

They don’t want to be bothered with homework, that is the tutor’s responsibility. I try to keep my rates reasonable as I know what it is like to have a child with special needs and having to fork over $1,000’s of dollars for remediation and training. I would have parents pay up front for the month and if they cancel on me at the last minute or don’t show up they forfeit the money. If I cancel on them I have to do a makeup.

In regards to discounts on homework, that wouldn’t fly with the clients I had. They had similar issues to their kids and they came to me to fix the kids problems as they couldn’t. :wink:

Doesn’t your fee depend on where you live? I mean it will be higher in NY than in Ark or NM say.

As for homework, I am going into a tutoring practice myself, and don’t plan on giving homework. IMO, for LD kids homework is MUCH harder than for NT kids. Most of the time it just gets on the parent anyway. The parents are hiring the tutor to ease their burden a bit imo. I am not sure homework has anything to do with school success anyway. Parent involvement does, but that’s different.

Factors that might lower (or raise) fee: how much training or experience you have; the no. of kids in the family I am tutoring; amt of time I am tutoring for, that kidn fo thing.

—des

I am thinking that when they say homework, they mean that the child must practice the skills taught at each tutoring session at home if they are only having tutoring once or twice a week. They’ll never master the skills without practicing at home. Fluency comes only with frequent practice.

LMB in NC charges $69 per hour. My decision on how much to charge would have to take these questions into consideration? Is this a business where you will be paying taxes as self-employed? If so, say good-bye to about half your fee. Will you have overhead such as office rent or will you be using your home?

I think I’d try to charge about half the clinic rate in your area if you are doing informal tutoring. But if you are doing it as a business, then I’d charge more (maybe 75%) to cover your taxes.

Janis

I’d check out the going rate for tutors in your area…the spread around here is amazing, from a high of $120/hr for an SLP who is good with language (50 minute hour), to $90/hour for the O-G tutor, to $25/hour for a teacher acting as a homework helper.

With my PGX and LMB training, master’s in LD, and years of experience, I’m comfortable somewhere in the middle (less than the O-G tutor, but way more than the homework helper.) I’ve had to turn students away this summer, so could probably charge more, but there is a certain amount of what my conscience can bear that falls into the equation…I’m definately a stretch for some of my families, and do give the periodic hour free just ‘cuz.

Gosh! I’ve got an OG tutor here in Jax, FL that’s only $28.00 an hour. She’s been doing it for years and goes to the Carolinas for 4 wks. each Summer to teach. Recommended by IDA. She works out of her home.

My LMB tutor (through a private LD school) was $45.00/hr. She didn’t have a masters - in fact - found out later not certified, but my kid learned to read, so I’m still happy. Probably couldn’t have afforded anything higher b/c we were also doing SI OT at $45.00/30 min weekly.

NOW I understand people having to refinance homes to afford tutoring!

Hi!

I charge $25/hr in the K.C. area and won’t raise my prices despite being LmB LiPS, V&V and OG trained :lol: . I would give it away if I could because parents are just so overburdened with paying for services. Needless to say, I generally have a waiting list.

I do not give homework, except that I wish for parent/child to read together daily. Sometimes, if parents are willing, they do daily Great Leaps readings for fluency (5 minutes). I check it weekly or semi-weekly, depending on the number of sessions.

Hope you all are enjoying summer. I will be as soon as summer school has ended. Every year, I wish I’d taken the month of June off!

Fees, like house prices and plumbers fees vary greatly; ask others in your area.

Hi Susan Long!

Glad to see you on the board. I miss your knowledge and helpfulness. Came across a couple of private emails we exchanged this week and put them in a note book for future reference. Sure do appreciate your willingness to help. As you can see above I finally found that OG tutor - referred by IDA.

I agree with Leah! We have missed you, Susan! Hope to see you around here more often now that school is out!

Jansi

This new format makes it difficult to look in on those of you that I follow and avoid those that consistently irritate me. It may drive me farther away yet. :roll:

Well, I must get back to a paper I’m writing. Still trying to find the original copy of those LmB Goals. Maybe I should just try to write some new ones. :shock:

Yes, the little faces are fun.

Later, Girls!

I have been charging $75 per hour for the last year or so in the NYC area. I’m certified in Reading Revolution and have over 20 years experience working in public schools with many different disablities.
Some parents are surprised by the fee, but they pay it. Others have not even questioned it.
ilene

It depends upon the area you are tutoring in I have gotten local prices that ranged $10 either way. As it turned out I was overpaying for my area.

Check Census info to get medium income for your area you can’t expect parents to pay you alot more than they are earning per hour.

Your are great it is awesome to hear from someone who cares more about helping the kids and being sensitive to the parents expensives. earn.

Your unselfish is heartwarming.

I have struggled for a long time over how much to charge. I once had a parent tell me that, because of the lack of trained reading teachers, I had the responsibility of not getting burned out and keeping my business open. So far, I have been doing that. The burned out part is not a worry because I love what I do; the keeping the doors open is trickier. We stay busy and maintain a waiting list. I try to offer at least one discount slot. I charge about 53 dollars an hour. From that fee, I ensure a quiet private space for each of my teachers by paying rent for our offices; we are not all crammed into one large room with dividers. I pay employee state and federal taxes, workman’s comp., material costs (test protocols, books, etc.), accounting fees, conference fees (travel, hotel), membership in professional organizations that deal with dyslexia and learning differences, emergency parent counseling (usually a call to my home at dinner time or my children’s bedtime) AND ensure that our students receive the best instruction that research has to offer. I am trained in LMB, OG, use some Wilson techniques, am an expert on fluency and have about 25 years of experience. After all is said and done, I make about 15 dollars an hour.

What truly puzzles and troubles me is bill collection. Often the same parent that brags all over town about how great my clinic is, is the same one who hasn’t paid me. - sometimes not paid me for a very, very, long time. Because of my lack of “business skills”, I have let one parent become 6 months behind. They take regular vacations, buy expensive clothes and the clinic has done an excellent job teaching her daughter. Let’s face it; I’m a special ed. teacher. How can I say, “Your kid can no longer receive help until you pay up.” I have had other experiences in the past like this but this one is the biggest whopper. I have recently hired a business manager who will help with bill collection and developing a contract. This way, I can focus on what I love: teaching teachers and teaching children.
Adding a manager, adds to the cost of running a business. I wish there was a polite way of explaining to parents that our fee is not just for the time we spend with their child. Sometimes I wish I were back to using my home as an office, teaching solo, and teaching 5 students max. I used to feel so bad turning parents away that I thought, if I became larger, I could help more students. Does anyone have any advice?

Oh, someone mentioned that the tutoring fee in Arkansas shouldn’t be as high as other places. I am in Arkansas. Northwest Arkansas is actually one of the most expensive places to live. No, it is not New York but money magazine keeps rating us as a great place to live so we continue to have a steady flow of Californians escaping to our hills, thus driving up housing costs, etc.

Our OG tutor sends you the bill for the months 15 days in advance. you have to pay it all up front and must be there before you show up for the 1st day of tutoring. She does this out of her home.

Eileen, I think Leah has a great suggestion…charge up front. I don’t think that is unreasonable at all.

Would you mind posting some thoughts about fluency? I am a special ed. teacher and an learning Phono-Graphix and LMB programs and I think there is less help out there for specifically remediating fluency. Repeated oral reading is about the only thing you hear recommended. Any other insights? (I have a student currently wiht terrible fluency and my own child has high word attack scores but very low fluency). Thanks!

Janis

Hey, I just got my first victim (um I mean student) or will if we all get along, I am doing a free session with them to just talk and learn as much about them as possible.

I pretty much decided to charge $25 if it is here and $30 if I have to go out. Since there is a sales tax on services here I may add that on to the fee.

I decided I was going to be very reasonable so that people here in NM can afford me. (Poor state and all.)

—des

That’s great, Des! Hope all goes well with your first NM client!

Janis