Toronto Elite Tutorial Services

Ronald Shih established Toronto Elite Tutorial Services in 2003. Not only do I love teaching , but I have a deep passion and commitment for the work I do with my tutors and our clients. Unlike other popular services, none of our tutors are in the midst of an undergraduate program. I believe that the process of obtaining an undergraduate degree allows one to really learn how to learn and teach. All of our tutors have at minimum of an honours undergraduate degree, andbut almost 90% of our tutors have completed or are in the midst of completing a postgraduate degree. All of our tutors are trained using a standardized program that I've developed over the years. The structure and goals of our tutoring sessions are all very similar, and thus our students find it very easy to transition from one tutor to the next as they progress through their high school career.

Our Approach

Our clients are guaranteed that the tutor they start with will be the tutor that works with their child for the school year. Continuity and consistency are important aspects in the learning process and it is something that I strive to achieve when selecting a tutor. If a tutor is unable to make it to a tutoring session, the size of our group allows an alternate tutor to step in if a session is needed. It generally takes me about 1 day from the time a new or existing client calls to place them with a tutor that can travel to their home on a day and time that works for the family. Most often, I spend about 60 minutes with a new client in order to get a sense of what they are looking for and what type of support their child needs. If required, I will do a diagnostic assessment of the student to determine their foundational strengths and weaknesses. This will help me determine the appropriate amount of support required to generate a positive improvement in understanding, confidence and performance. The assessment will also help determine if the tutoring sessions should have a remedial component. When a client is matched with one of our tutors, an ongoing dialogue between the tutor and myself will begin to ensure that a greater base of experience is always used for each student. After our new students work with our tutor for the first time, I debrief with both the tutor and parent within 24 hrs to ensure that the initial match is a positive one. If there is any hesitation, a new tutor is placed with the family. We support over 150 families on a regular basis throughout the school year and only 2 or 3 families each year ask for an alternate match!