Business may be just what the doctor ordered
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Tutor Doctor helps all ages in all subjects in the comfort of home
Rade Gratton, Tutor Doctor Franchisee
Rade Gratton's Tutor Doctor franchise is for more than just help with reading, writing and arithmetic. The home-based business, which is headquartered in her home, caters for all in a variety of subjects.
"We tutor adults; we don't just tutor younger students. We have elderly people who want to learn about Skype, to communicate with their children and grandchildren. We've had someone who was interested in Photoshop and someone who wants to have their family learn to speak Italian before a trip to Italy," she said. "And if someone comes to me and asks if I have 'this' and I don't, I'll say no, but give me a week."
Rade bought her Tutor Doctor franchise after her daughter, now a sixth-grader, was struggling in school. "She was halfway through her first year at Cushing and I was told she couldn't read," this news was shocking to her. To remedy the problem, she spent five years taking her daughter to several different tutors, spending hours driving to different locations after a full day at school.
"She would cry because she was so tired, and I remember wishing someone would come to my house," says Rade. As if by fate the Tutor Doctor franchise "came across her path." And everything changed!
"The students are in an environment where they are comfortable. To me, it was great to be able to cook dinner and oversee the tutoring, and being able to be part of it," she said.
When Tutor Doctor tutor works with a school-age student, their goal is to work as closely with the school's own curriculum as possible. "We will work hand-in-hand with the teacher to match what's going on in the classroom. We are trying to keep the student where they should be in the classroom and fill in the gaps," she said.
Rade believes that the Tutor Doctor is a fantastic resource for today's economy. Rade says “There are women who want to re-enter the workforce because of a need for more income. So if they want to go back to work and maybe just do temp jobs and don't even know Excel," we can help them with that too!” Beyond that, the Tutor Doctor even provides extended tutoring for parents who want to home-school their children but have to work. "If both parents want to go back to work, they can still home-school," she adds.
Rade also wants to connect with the community by offering them a way to give back through her business. "Given the economy, and watching stuff in our community like divorces, job loss, etc., I am going to start a sponsorship program; if a business wants to pay for a child's tutoring,"
“The business would buy a tutoring gift certificate and give it to the school district who would then decide which child could best benefit from it. The child becomes accountable to the company for the gift by earning better grades.
I think if a business does it the right way, they could not only sponsor a child, but give them a job on the weekends. It's a way to connect the community,"
