Tutor Guidelines and Procedures

Welcome! We hope that you find this to be a rewarding experience. Patience and dedication will be key in a successful tutor/student relationship. It is common to be nervous during the first few meetings with your student; be assured that your student is grateful to have your help. Remember, we are ready to help you at all times. Do not hesitate to contact us or the tutor mentor team.

Tutoring is only allowed in public places. Please do not tutor in homes or private locations. Students receive services free of charge. They may not offer any payment or services in exchange for your time.

Confidentiality is critical –Please keep your student’s information confidential. This includes: their name/contact info, their work/progress, and their stories.

We recommend to tutor your student for at least 90 minutes, twice a week. If you plan to take off more than four consecutive weeks, please call the office to let us know.

We welcome seasonal tutors! If you are a seasonal tutor, please keep us informed if you would like to return.

The Literacy Services office will call you with the name of a prospective student, within approximately two weeks. At this time, we will provide you some background on your student. You will then make two phone calls:

1. The first call is to contact the student directly and coordinate a mutually agreeable time and place to meet.
2. The second call is to the office to let us know you have scheduled with your student. At that time, the office will arrange for you to receive the materials you will need.

The first meeting between the student and tutor is usually a friendly orientation. Introduce yourself as a volunteer and let them know your expectations (schedules/times, contact information, etc.) Discuss the plan and goals with your student. Most importantly, get to know each other. Remember, the pace and goals are set by the student.

If a student does not show three times or is consistently late, please let the office know.

By the 15th of each month, please complete a Monthly Progress Report for the previous month. We depend on these reports for funding and program review. You may email the monthly report to us at reports@literacyservicesirc.org, drop it off at our office, or mail it in. It is CRITICAL to know: the number of hours you tutored your student, if the student met any goals, and if you are done tutoring your student or taking a break.

Please call us immediately if you end your relationship with your student for any reason and lets us know if your student wants a replacement tutor or you would like another student. Please specify on your last monthly progress report what materials you were using in your last tutoring session.