How to select a tutoring center

​ You may expect quality tutoring from tutoring companies that employs college graduates, or current college students. A rational mixture of graduates and current students is good. This is because, besides tutoring, they serve as a role model to your child. Tutors who are fresh graduates or current college students are contemporaries to the current education system. Therefore, they are familiar with the current trends and fads. In our experience they connect well with their tutees. In fact, tutees find these tutors cool and are eager to learn from them.

​ At FPLA, we believe that quality tutors are key to providing quality education. Therefore, we only hire candidates with high academic credentials and have prior tutoring experience. All the FPLA certified tutors have an overall GPA of ‘B’ or above. They are experts in their subject areas, and have prior tutoring experience. On our roster, we have a healthy mix of educators with a doctorate, masters, bachelor, associate, and HS diploma.

Ask specific qualifications of the tutors for help with honors, AP, or college test prep courses (SAT, ACT). You may want a qualified tutor who recently took advanced level courses and have a degree in related subjects.

Being a student is not a disqualification. Rather, it is an asset because, college students are highly enthusiastic. They are eager to share their knowledge and connect well with their tutees. For the test prep tutors, the experience, and the record of receiving top scores in SAT/ACT/PERT are a plus.

FPLA-Certified Tutors are young, energetic, and driven by passion to teach. Besides being excellent tutors, they serve as a role model for the tutees. We believe that a good tutor makes a good student and vice versa.

Screened and trained tutors = Quality education.

Many tutoring companies self-certify tutors. It is better than untrained, randomly selected tutors. It is natural to expect a state certified tutors, however, they are hard to come by and sure to be expensive.

At FPLA, we certify our tutors. To earn the coveted “FPLA Certified Tutor” certification, all the tutors must undergo a detailed program-based training, the best tutoring practices, and pledge to uphold tutoring code of ethics as outlined by the National Tutoring Association. We retrain the tutors and certify them annually. All the FPLA certified tutors are passionate educators. They are sincere, dedicated, patient, enthusiastic, subject matter experts and have a positive attitude.

Tutoring companies collect personal, professional, and criminal background of their tutors. As in the financial world, past performance is an indicator, but do NOT guarantee the future. However, it should not stop us from learning the tutor antecedents and risk mitigation policies and procedures that are put in place by the tutoring companies.

FPLA-Certified Tutors had their background checks performed by a local law enforcement agency. The director quality controls the entire recruitment and subsequent daily operations.

Interpersonal and tutoring skills form the other two sides of a tutoring triangle. An articulate tutor with lesser qualification is preferable to a over qualified tutor without distinct teaching abilities.

Hiring a private tutor may appear cheaper at first. But eventually it might prove to be prohibitively expensive. The major challenge of hiring a private tutor is in finding a knowledgeable tutor who also has a good teaching aptitude. The very purpose of seeking tutoring is to get better grades, and if the student does not earn good grades you would have wasted all your time and money.

At FPLA, we consider student’s need, availability, personality, and extra-curricular commitments such as sports, dance, music etc., and match with appropriate tutors.

A tutoring center that offers evening and weekend programs have more flexibility and options. FPLA is open six days a week and late in the evening. We offer online live one-on-one tutoring as well .

Stable environment = Children need a safe, comfortable, and secure place to learn.

Learning does not happen in isolation or straight from the student’s books. All mothers will understand that a lot of planning and preparation go behind putting a cooked meal on the table. A prepared meal does not magically appear on the table. Teaching is no different. It needs trained, experienced tutors, well laid out lesson plan, goals, resources such as teaching aids, teaching guides, additional books, pens, pencils, etc., and supervision. At FPLA we meticulously screen, select, train, certify, guide our tutors and work as a team, whereas an Independent tutor may not provide such a package. We provide stability, continuity, and accountability to all the work we do.

Quality, goal-oriented tutoring, and stability in your child’s life does not come neither fast nor cheap. Some private tutors may come cheap, but you cannot expect quality tutoring and stability. If you want cheap and fast, you do not expect quality education. If you want quality education, it will not be neither fast nor cheap.

Over the past 20 plus years we have accumulated many teaching resources, that include books, teaching aids, props, proven teaching methodologies, diagnostic tests, etc. We have also put in place tutor training, teaching manual, evaluation procedures, policies, and procedures. For the reading pleasure of the students, parents, and visitors, in the reception area we have well stocked library of books, contemporary magazines, etc. Besides tutoring, our service includes all the stationery supplies.