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Susan McCullough's daughter Julie had aced 7th grade math, but the following year, as she was preparing for an 8th grade algebra exam, Susan noticed that Julie was having trouble understanding even the basics. "That's when I decided to find a tutor for her," says Susan.

It wasn't the first time Susan had hired a tutor for her daughter. When she was a fourth-grader, Julie dropped from an A to a C in math without any warning. Both times, Julie was tutored by a teacher in her school. In both cases, Julie's grades improved dramatically in just a few months.

There was a time when tutors carried a certain stigma, like going to summer school--both were considered remedial aids for children who were somehow lacking the ability of their peers. Today most educators and parents realize that every child learns at his own rate. He may be way ahead of his peers in some subjects and on par in others. But there may come a day when a student needs more one-on-one with a teacher than he can expect from chronically overcrowded public school systems. Often, this happens when a child reaches a plateau in his academic development. A tutor can provide individualized strategies to help him get off that plateau.

To get the most from a tutoring session, parents first need to do a little homework to find the best tutor for their child's academic needs. Even more important, parents need to help kids understand why they need tutoring.

LEARNING, TUTOR STYLE

Academic difficulties aren't the only reason to consider getting a tutor for your child. Lack of attentiveness in class, absenteeism, trouble organizing time and assignments, and expressing feelings of frustration, anger, sadness, or shame about school are all signs that your child might benefit from tutoring. In addition to helping students who are having difficulty in a particular subject, tutors can also help students develop study skills, such as preparing for tests and organizing time and assignments. Tutoring offers students the opportunity to ask questions, practice skills, and explore interests that they might not be able to do in the classroom setting.

If your child is having trouble in school, you may have some ideas about which difficulties apply. Before you look for a tutor to address your child's specific issues, follow these strategies.

SEEK A SECOND OPINION FROM THE TEACHER. It may seem like an obvious consideration, but parents may forget to keep teachers in the loop from the beginning. Consulting your child's teachers can confirm your own suspicions about what your child needs, and may shed light on other factors you may not have considered.

"Teachers are absolutely the first line of defense," says MaryEllen Vogt, professor in the College of Education at California State University at Long Beach and president of the International Reading Association. "The vast majority of teachers know their stuff when it comes to their students. Certainly there needs to be communication to determine what kind of tutoring is needed."

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Once you know what you need from a tutor, Vogt suggests starting with your child's school office. Many teachers do private tutoring during nonschool hours. "If you can find a tutor at your child's school, it will help enormously," says Susan McCullough, adding that such a tutor is more likely to be familiar with a colleague's teaching methods.

You can also pursue the usual leads, such as asking for recommendations from other parents at school, or checking with a local university's college of education. Once you've identified possible tutors, treat them like potential employees. Don't just look at resumes and call references. Check with your state's department of education for details on doing a background check and verifying that the tutor has a valid teaching certificate. Tutoring can cost from $35 to $50 per hour, depending on the type of tutor and the subject. Make sure you know what you're getting for the money.

SET A GAME PLAN. Be sure to ask how the tutor will assess your child, develop instructional plans, and determine how your child is progressing. Ask whether you can watch the tutor working with a student to help you judge whether the tutor's approach and personality will be compatible with your child's.

HELPING KIDS UNDERSTAND

Although teachers and schools have largely accepted tutoring as a normal part of the educational process, kids may have a hard time adjusting to the idea, especially if it's the first time a student has hit a roadblock in her schoolwork. "No matter how much time you spend researching and interviewing tutors, no matter how good the tutor is, if the student doesn't support the idea, tutoring won't help," says Brandi Roth, a psychologist in Beverly Hills, California, and author of Secrets to School Success. These suggestions can help kids understand, accept, and even enjoy tutoring.

EXPLAIN EVERYTHING. Too often, the decision to hire a tutor is made only by the parent and the child's teacher. Once you've determined you need a tutor, sit down with your child and explain exactly why you feel a tutor is necessary. Don't just say, "You've hit a little bump in your studies, so having a tutor will help put you back on track." Be as specific as possible: "Your teacher says you're having a harder time since you started geometry, so we think getting a math tutor who specializes in that area will help you on the next couple of tests."

ASK ABOUT THEIR NEEDS TOO. Remember, your child needs to be an active partner in this arrangement, so make sure you get his input. Ask him what he would like to get out of the experience, then discuss ways that the tutor might be able to help. When it comes to academic concerns, kids may not be able to articulate exactly what they need, but giving them the opportunity to talk about it is the first step to getting them committed to the process.

SET A SCHEDULE. "Kids need to know that this tutoring experience isn't open-ended, that it won't be forever," says Roth. Set a timeline so that kids know exactly how long they will be tutored. As part of the timeline, include regular meetings, weekly or monthly, between you, the tutor, and your child so you can all discuss the progress and deal with potential problems. But also be sure to have regular private talks, just you and your child, so he can feel open to express concerns he might not want to discuss in front of the tutor.

EMPHASIZE THE GOOD. If you're considering a tutor, chances are your child has already been struggling with a specific problem and may feel sensitive about it. Getting a tutor to help may ultimately be a good thing, but at first it may be hard for your child to shake the notion that she is failing herself and you (otherwise, she reasons, why would she need extra help?).

"I tell children, 'Every brain is different. How you learn may not be the way school is teaching you to learn. A tutor can help you learn a different way, the way your unique brain likes to learn,'" says Roth.

How you present the topic of tutoring to your child depends on you and her personality. One of the most important goals is to reassure her that there's nothing wrong with getting a tutor. In fact, it's a great opportunity to learn at her own speed, to ask questions she might not want to ask in class.

TUTORING OPTIONS

Depending on their attitude and the type of material they need help with, a traditional tutor may not work for every student. Don't fret: there are other options.

STUDENT TUTORS. While they may not have professional credentials, kids who tutor younger students offer numerous advantages: they're nonthreatening figures that kids can relate to, and they often bring recent and firsthand knowledge to the subjects your child needs help in, especially if they went to the same school. Plus, at rates as affordable as $10 per hour, student tutors offer an incredible value.

TUTORING CENTER. Learning centers offer another option for parents. "Each student gets individualized attention from the teacher during a particular instructional period," says Richard Bavaria, vice president of education for the Baltimore-based Sylvan Learning Centers. "Then, as the teacher goes to the next student, the student who has just been taught has time to do applied practice and independent practice," he says. Sylvan and similar places offer a variety of programs in reading, writing, math and study skills.

Typically, a center will evaluate your child, assessing his skills and trying to determine trouble spots. Cost varies depending on time and subject matter an individual student needs, but it can average anywhere from $40 to $50 an hour.