Читать книгу Start & Run an ESL Teaching Business - T. Nicole Pankratz - Bodner - Страница 40

Regardless of the size and complexity of your operation, you (and your team of tutors and staff, if applicable) are going to need an organizational system to ensure that you have all your ducks in a row at all times. Both large and small operations are wise to have a central booking person who is responsible for matching students with tutors and distributing new-student orientation packages that contain some of the following information about your organization:

• Programs and services

• Expectations of students and tutors

• Maps

• Local transportation system

• Landmarks of interest

• Any other “welcome” documents you choose to include

Your booking person may also keep track of start and end times of lessons, schedule changes, and fee arrangements.

In order to match a student with a tutor, your booking person needs the following information about the student:

• English level

• Study interests

• Hours of availability

• Desired number of tutorial hours per week

• Preferred study style and method

The easiest way to collect this information is to create a contract that acts as both an interview and an assessment form. Through the process of providing information about program and fee options, and getting to know the student’s background and study interests, the booking person will get a general sense of the student’s speaking and listening skills. However, a more precise level assessment should be done in order to measure the student’s reading comprehension and writing skills (see the section on assessment earlier in this chapter).

Once the booking person locates a tutor who fulfills the requirements of the student, all three parties — the booking person, the tutor, and the student — sign an agreement, or contract, outlining the following:

• Student’s contact information

• Tutor’s contact information

• Lesson start and end dates

• Lesson location and times

• Student’s level, study interests, and goals

• Payment schedule

• Late penalties and cancellation policy if applicable

Many tutors also find it useful to give a lesson summary to the parents of children in public school. This detailed form serves two purposes: it acts as a log of the activities done with the student, as well as an invoice for the parents.

Since most tutors work with more than one student in a given month, they, too, need to stay organized. An easy way to keep track of students and work hours is for the tutor to map out his or her schedule on a calendar in pencil. After each session is completed, the tutor retraces the student’s name and hours worked with a felt pen, making it easy to calculate how many hours he or she worked in a given week or month.