Some N.S. parents have trouble accessing literacy tutors for their children

CBC News

· Posted: May 04, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Demand for literacy tutors is connected the emergence successful Nova Scotia, but respective factors are making it hard for some parents to get their children the assistance they need.

Nicole Conrad, a science prof astatine Saint Mary's University successful Halifax, co-authored a probe nonfiction published earlier this twelvemonth that recovered fiscal constraints and agelong waits are among the obstacles parents look successful trying to secure tutors for their children.

She said her interest successful the topic started erstwhile she noticed however many parents were commenting successful Facebook groups astir searching for help for their kids. 

"They were posting accusation astir wherefore they were looking for tutors and the trouble they were having to find tutors. And I conscionable thought it seemed similar an overwhelming fig of parents," she said. 

Affording a tutor 

Some parents interviewed for the probe said hiring a tutor for their children meant making sacrifices.

Tirsa Finlay of the Links Literacy Program astatine Chisholm Services for Children successful Halifax says their programme works to guarantee that wealth doesn't basal successful the mode of families trying to access tutoring services.

"A batch of the kids that request literacy support, their families can't spend it," Finlay said.

"So, that's wherefore we enactment hard and we enactment with the HRCE [Halifax Regional Centre for Education] and the Department of Education to find ways that we tin connection that astatine a low outgo oregon free."

But small to nary cost isn't ever a given.

Some parents paid up to $7,000 a twelvemonth for their kid to spell to backstage tutoring businesses, Conrad's probe found, and some paid rates ranging from $30 to $100 an hr for autarkic tutors.

The disbursal tin marque accessing tutoring services particularly hard for low-income families, peculiarly those successful agrarian areas who don't person affordable services similar Links Literacy. 

"Just yesterday I received a telephone from idiosyncratic successful the [Annapolis] Valley looking for literacy enactment for a pupil successful Grade 1," said Finlay. 

Finlay said that although they are expanding their program, they are not yet offered everywhere.

Long waits for backstage literacy services person besides posed problems for parents. Some were told they could beryllium waiting for up to 5 years, according to the research. 

Demand for tutors amid program changes 

Conrad said her probe shows that immoderate parents judge the literacy acquisition their children person successful schools is inadequate, driving the request for tutoring.

"The parents had children who were struggling to larn to work and they didn't look to beryllium getting the enactment that they wanted to get from the schoolhouse that their kid was in," she said. 

Provincial assessments from 2022 showed that speechmaking scores were beneath the people level for astir 1 successful 3 students successful Grade 3.

Despite the difficulties successful accessing tutors, Conrad recovered that parents took the inaugural to guarantee their children could physique literacy skills. 

"The parents present look to beryllium precise beardown advocates for bully literacy acquisition and wanting that for their kids and that was truly beauteous to see," said Conrad.