Frequently Asked Questions

I specialize in early childhood and elementary aged student. However, I also work with middle schoolers and even high schoolers in writing and reading, Spanish, and math.

• Reading
• Writing
• Spanish
• Math
• Executive Functioning
• Social Emotional Growth

This really depends on the level of need for your child. I recommend...

• 1x a week if you are looking to just keep up with current skills
• 1-2x a week if you and/or your child's teacher is concerned about academic progress
• 3x a week if your child is scoring one or more years below grade level

Each session is 60 minutes. However, I am a big believer in breaks so if that sounds daunting, rest assured that I tailor plans based on each child's ability to be successful before needing a pause.

I encourage you to separate online tutoring with any experiences you had or heard of during any time your school transitioned to virtual school. I taught kindergarten to 60 students that year and it was a very different experience than what I have with my tutees now. That being said, you know your child best and the best decisions for them.

Online is recommended if 

• you are not in Washington, DC but you'd like to work with me
• you do not want to think about travel time and other logistics

In person is recommended if

• your child has a diagnosis (or you suspect they may soon receive one) of ADHD

This is, of course, determined on a case-by-case basis. 

A couple of months:

• Your child typically grasps concepts well, but needs a boost in one area due to a lack of quality instruction or prolonged absences from school

More than a year:

• There are some significant gaps in learning to fill, perhaps over many content areas

Many years:

• Your child has special needs that require additional academic supports
• You want ongoing support for whatever reason
• You feel your child isn't being challenged enough from school alone and want additional enrichment

Children benefit from working with a tutor for a variety of reasons! Here are some scenarios I see often:

• Your child is academically advanced and it's hard to have that additional challenge in the classroom
• You hear from your classroom teacher that your child is not making expected academic progress
• Your child is feeling frustrated with learning and needs better tools
• You don't have the capacity to support learning at home but want your child to receive more
• You need someone who is not "mom or dad" (or whoever!) to help your child

I use a wide variety of resources to design a customized plan for your child and to inform the work we do together. I pull the most effective and most-appropriate-for-your child concepts from renowned tools to create something for them that offers the best of all worlds. I am trained in the Science of Reading. Some of the tools I use are: Explode the Code, FUNdations, Heggerty, decodable texts, Epic!, UFLI, Really Great Reading, Project Zero Thinking Routines, GOLD, Conscious Discipline, GOMath, and Engage NY/Eureka.

Another one that is up to you.

Group tutoring if:

• your child is looking for social emotional support alongside academics
• you are looking for a more discounted rate for your child
• your child thrives in social situations (or doesn't and you'd like them to!)
• your child would benefit from seeing how other kids grapple and struggle with content, making similar mistakes as they do

1-1 tutoring if:

• Your child gets distracted easily
• You'd like your child to have my full attention

• Payment is required in full before individually purchased sessions or prepaid monthly.
• Aside from illness or emergencies, you should cancel no less than 24 hours before a session. A cancellation outside of this window will incur a forfeiture of the session.
• Late payments will incur a $10 fee
• Payments can be sent through Zelle with the email address liz@rootsandbranchesdc.com or by check made out to Roots and Branches Education.

I accept Zelle payments sent to liz@rootsandbranchesdc.com or check. I will send you an invoice for either your 10 pack or single session to be paid before the first session held. 

I have a number of sessions set aside for a significantly reduced sliding scale. If meeting with me would be a true financial hardship for your family, please reach out and we can talk about your options. 

Most families I work with prefer to have a set schedule planned out ahead of time, though I am flexible if you prefer to schedule sessions one at a time. I text or email with my clients to find a time that works for us both. Once we decide to move forward, I use TutorBird to  handle all the logistics so we can spend all of our time and energy on the fun stuff!

We can set up a free 15-minute Connection Call to see if we're a good fit.