Academic tutoring that builds real understanding.
Support in Math, Science, English, and Social Studies from elementary through college. Students master concepts, stay organized, and build study habits that last a lifetime.
- Subject mastery and homework support
- Warm, patient, structured instruction
- Learning how to learn, for good
Sound familiar?
Falling behind in one class
A single course has gone sideways and the gap is widening each week. Sessions target the missing pieces before they compound.
Doing fine, could do more
Grades are acceptable but the work is a grind. The goal here is genuine understanding, which is usually what makes it lighter.
Never learned how to study
Bright student, no system. Alongside the content, sessions build the habits school assumes students already have.
What changes, and what we teach.
Struggling in fourth grade and struggling in eleventh are different problems with different fixes. Every course listed here is one we can staff.
Elementary
Grades K to 4
The work is still concrete, so gaps hide easily. A student who is counting on their fingers in third grade is usually fine until the arithmetic gets fast enough that they run out of time, and by then the problem looks like carelessness rather than a missing foundation.
Math
- Number sense
- Operations and fluency
- Fractions
- Early problem solving
Reading and writing
- Decoding and fluency
- Comprehension
- Sentence and paragraph writing
Middle school
Grades 5 to 8
This is where math stops being arithmetic and starts being abstraction, and where a student is first expected to manage several teachers, several deadlines, and their own materials. Both shifts land in the same two years, which is why middle school produces so many sudden drops from students who were fine last year.
Math
- Pre-Algebra
- Algebra I
- Geometry
Science
- Life science
- Earth and space science
- Introductory physical science
English
- Reading comprehension
- Composition
- Grammar and mechanics
Social Studies
- World and US history
- Geography and civics
High school
Grades 9 to 12
Grades start counting toward a transcript, courses stack on each other, and a weak year in Algebra II shows up again in Pre-Calculus. The cost of an unaddressed gap stops being one bad report card and starts being the next three courses.
Math
- Algebra I
- Geometry
- Algebra II
- Pre-Calculus
- Calculus
- Statistics
Science
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
English
- Literature
- Composition
- Essay and writing support
Social Studies
- US and world history
- Government and civics
College
Grades Undergraduate
Nobody checks whether you are keeping up. Office hours are optional, problem sets are weekly, and a student who has never had to build their own study schedule finds out in the first semester. The tutoring is as much about the system as the content.
Math
- Calculus
- Statistics
- Quantitative coursework
Writing
- Composition
- Papers and revision
AP coursework
AP moves faster than the school year makes obvious, and the exam is in May regardless of how far the class has got. These are the AP courses we staff.
Math
- AP Precalculus
- AP Calculus AB
- AP Calculus BC
Physics
- AP Physics 1
- AP Physics 2
- AP Physics C
Built around one student, and written down afterward
No two students arrive with the same gaps, so no two sessions run the same way. A session starts from what a student is actually carrying that week: the unit their class is in, the assignment due Thursday, the thing that stopped making sense on Tuesday.
Then it gets written down. Not a line recording that the session happened, but what was worked on, what finally landed, and the rules worth keeping. A family can read what the hour actually held. A student can revise from it. And the next session opens where the last one closed, instead of spending ten minutes remembering.
A real session note
One session, as the instructor wrote it. The student's name was replaced with a pronoun in the two places it appeared. Nothing else has been edited.
We had a great session today! He was incredibly focused, positive, and had a fantastic attitude—even when hitting tough problems, he never got discouraged and was totally open to fixing his mistakes.
Here is a quick look at what we covered:
Section 1 (Money & Fractions): He did a perfect job explaining why a "quarter" means 25 in money but 15 in time. We wrote out 25/100 and 15/60 to show how they both simplify to 1/4. He hit a small snag adding up the mixed coin pile, trying to do too much math at once and getting $1.15. I showed him how to add up the cents first (104¢) and then convert it to $1.04, which clicked. He sailed right through the daily savings bonus!
Section 2 (Commas & Large Numbers): He started out putting commas in from the left side, but caught himself after rereading the prompt. Reading the giant number aloud was tough for him, so we practiced using the commas as "clue words" to say million or thousand. We made up a few extra examples, and though he still needs some support, he's improving. He aced the missing digit problem. On the subtraction bonus, he aligned the numbers perfectly but accidentally turned a 7 into an 8 while borrowing; once I mentioned a mistake was hidden in there, he found and fixed it himself.
Section 3 (Time Jumps): He solved the flight timeline completely on his own. For the bus ride problem, it helped a lot when I drew a quick circle clock split into 4 quarters to help him see the time bridge. I had him read the bonus problem completely independently without me reading it aloud. He missed the first part initially, but caught his mistake on a reread. He also accidentally wrote "half past 6" at the end, but when I pointed to his previous work, he immediately changed it to the correct time of 2:30 PM.
Section 4 (Patterns & Logic): He nailed the skip-counting, but on the doubling pattern, he accidentally added 20 each time instead of multiplying by 2 (writing 60, 80, 100). We underlined the clue words, and once he saw that 5 + 20 didn't equal 10, he figured it out and fixed it. We ended with a coin logic challenge that he worked on entirely independently. He guessed 55¢ at first, so we wrote out all the options from 51 to 59 and crossed off the ones that didn't fit. We narrowed it down to 51¢ right as time ran out.
A Note on Next Steps:
I let him know that from now on, I want him to do most of the talking during our sessions. Sometimes I jump in to read or explain things too early, which can act as a bit of a crutch. I want to give him the space to safely struggle through a problem first!
Our big goals moving forward are to focus on rereading the directions carefully before starting and double-checking answers before deciding he is finished. He did an awesome job today!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Passing the Keystones is not a graduation requirement
Pennsylvania requires students to take the Keystone Exams, but since the class of 2023 it has not required them to score proficient in order to graduate. There are five routes to meeting the requirement, and proficiency is only one of them.
The state's own numbers make the point. Statewide, fewer than half of eleventh graders reach proficiency in Algebra I, while the four-year graduation rate sits near ninety percent. Those two figures can only coexist because the other routes carry most students who need them.
That said, a district is allowed to set stricter local rules than the state does. Some do. It is worth asking your own school directly rather than assuming either way.
What they are
Three exams: Algebra I, Literature, and Biology. They are end-of-course tests, which means a student takes each one at the end of the relevant course rather than in a set grade. Two students in neighboring districts can take the Biology Keystone a full year apart, depending on when their school schedules Biology.
That is why we do not publish a Keystone calendar here. Your school does, and theirs is the one that applies.
Retakes are unlimited, and narrower than you think
There is no state cap on retaking a Keystone. Better still, the exams are modular, so a student who missed the mark on one module retakes only that module rather than the whole exam. Scores are held until senior year for graduation purposes, so there is time.
Five ways to meet the graduation requirement
A student needs only one of them. Your school counselor tracks which route a student is on.
Keystone proficiency
Score proficient or advanced on all three exams.
Keystone composite
Take all three, score proficient or advanced on at least one, no lower than basic on the others, and clear a combined score threshold set by the state.
Career and technical
Pass the relevant course and complete a CTE program with an industry credential or an equivalent demonstration of readiness.
Alternative assessment
Pass the relevant course and meet a benchmark on another test such as the SAT, ACT, PSAT, or ASVAB, or an AP or IB score, or hold an acceptance to a four-year college.
Evidence-based
Pass the relevant course and provide three pieces of evidence from a state-defined list, such as a credential, a college course, a service-learning project, or an internship.
Worth noticing what three of those five have in common: they start with passing the course. For most students the course grade is the real gate, and the Keystone is the part that gets the attention.
Where a student can fall through
State regulation says districts may provide supplemental instruction to students who do not reach proficiency. May, not must. Many districts do it well. Some do not, and a student who needs a second pass at Algebra I concepts can end up waiting for support that never quite arrives.
That gap is where tutoring earns its place here: rebuilding the specific concepts a module flagged, in time for the next window. We do not run a Keystone cram course, because the exams follow the coursework and the coursework is the thing worth fixing.
And the PSSA is a different thing entirely
PSSAs run in grades three through eight for English and math, and in grades five and eight for science. They are not a graduation requirement and carry no consequence for an individual student. They measure schools, not children. The one exception worth knowing: a student who scores advanced can be allowed to take a Keystone early.
Ask your school
Every district publishes its own graduation requirements, and state law requires them to be on the school's website. For your student's actual pathway, course sequence, and testing dates, that page and your school counselor are the authority. What we can do is help with the coursework underneath it.
Pennsylvania Department of Education on graduation requirements
What a session includes.
In a session
- Homework support
- Quiz and test preparation
- Remediating gaps
- Previewing upcoming material
Alongside the content
- Study habits that hold up
- Organization and materials
- Learning how to learn
- Confidence in the subject
How academic tutoring works
Goals and starting point
We start with a conversation about the student's classes, goals, and where they are getting stuck. An English and Math assessment is available on request to pinpoint gaps.
A plan with purpose
Telos means purpose. Every student gets a personalized plan tied to their courses and goals, tracked in TestTracker so progress is never a mystery.
Weekly maintenance
Sessions are the venue for checking in, homework support, quiz and test preparation, remediating gaps, and previewing upcoming material.
Mastery that transforms
Real understanding, not just a better grade. Students learn how to learn, gaining skills and confidence they carry into every class.
What it costs.
1:1 hourly and pay-as-you-go, with no minimum commitment. Your rate is locked when you enroll and stays unchanged for as long as you keep the service.
| Service | Associate Instructor | Lead Instructor |
|---|---|---|
| K–4 Academic Tutoring | $100 | $120 |
| 5–8 Academic Tutoring | $110 | $140 |
| 9–12 Academic Tutoring | $120 | $160 |
| College Academic Tutoring | $130 | $180 |
Common questions.
Do you offer an assessment first?
We start with a consultation about the student's classes, goals, and where they're getting stuck. An English and Math assessment is available on request when it would help pinpoint gaps. Assessments aren't standard practice for academic tutoring intake, so we offer them by request rather than by default.
Is this homework help, or actual teaching?
Both, and the balance shifts with the student. Sessions are the venue for checking in, homework support, quiz and test preparation, remediating gaps, and previewing upcoming material. The aim is mastery that transforms, not just a finished assignment.
Does my child have to pass the Keystone Exams to graduate?
Not on the state's rules. Pennsylvania requires students to take the Keystones, but since the class of 2023 proficiency has been one of five routes to meeting the graduation requirement rather than the only one. Three of the five start with passing the course itself, which is usually the real gate. A district may set stricter local rules than the state does, so check with your own school. We help with the coursework underneath it.
How are students matched with a tutor?
By subject, level, and fit. Instructors work at two tiers, Associate and Lead, and every student is matched with the right one for their goals rather than whoever is free.
What does tutoring cost?
Rates run from $100/hour for K–4 up to $180/hour for college with a Lead Instructor, by grade band and instructor tier. Sessions are pay-as-you-go with no minimum commitment.
What are your affiliations and credentials?
AffiliateTutor Program
ACT's own program and directory for tutoring providers, which ACT runs in partnership with the National Test Prep Association, licensing us to use official ACT test questions in our test prep materials.
The professional association for test prep. Every member subscribes to its code of ethics, and Telos belongs as an organizational member.
Performance Specialist certification in leading performance psychologist Dr. Ben Bernstein's model for overcoming self-doubt, overwhelm, and distraction.
Start with a free consultation.
No obligation, no pressure. You leave understanding where the student stands and what a plan would look like.