How and why you should access the $200-250 tutoring subsidy from the Ontario government.

Has your child been struggling in school and you are wondering if a private tutor may be a good option for them? Or, have they been excelling at school and could use more of a challenge or enrichment? If you’ve been on the fence about hiring a tutor for your child, it just became much easier to try it out risk-free.

In an effort to help students catch up with all of the learning that had been disrupted over the pandemic, the Ontario government is committed to helping students get back on track with financial support towards tutoring. You can receive a ‘catch-up’ payment of $200 - $250 to use toward tutoring support for your child.

Here’s more information and how you can access it.

How much money am I entitled to?

• Parents of students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 will receive a one-time payment of $200 to use toward tutoring support for each student.

• Parents of students from Kindergarten to 21 years old with special education needs are entitled to $250 toward tutoring support for each student.

Am I eligible?

Likely, yes!

You are eligible to apply if you are a resident in Ontario and:

• You have a child in Kindergarten to Grade 12.

• You are a secondary student 18 years of age.

• You have a child in Kindergarten up to age 21 with special education needs.

How do I access this one-time payment?

It’s quite simple, really.

By clicking here, or going to https://www.ontario.ca/page/catch-up-payments, you will be asked to follow a series of instructions including:

• Creating a profile for each student registering.

• Providing general information about the student (note: you will need separate applications for each student who is requesting tutoring support)

• Providing your preferred method for accepting payment (cheque, e-transfer, direct deposit)

Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation number and be able to check the status of your application. They do note that it may take a few weeks to receive your payment.

When is the deadline to apply?

The deadline to apply for these catch-up payments is March 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm EST. You don’t want to miss out on this opportunity, so make sure you get your application in soon!

Here's why this is important and why every parent should apply for the tutoring support.

It has become clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Ontario students and the government is finally aware of it. There is still much more to be done in terms of funding of our public schools and hiring more staff and support, but we'll save that for another post.

The transition to online (remote) learning made it extremely difficult for students to stay on track with course material, be held accountable, and engage in learning as they normally would. Teachers simply weren’t ready to teach a class of 20-30 students online, expecting that things would run as smoothly as they did in the classroom. As an elementary teacher during the pandemic, I witnessed the trickle down effects that COVID had on our students first-hand.

Understandably so, students were emotionally and physically exhausted, burnt out, missing their friends, and facing extraordinary challenges that were unprecedented. How can we expect our students to find the energy to perform academically at the same level they would in a traditional setting pre-COVID?

While we all tried our best given the circumstances, students simply aren’t meant to learn in an online classroom. The two years of transitioning back and forth between online and in-school instruction has resulted in so many of our students struggling to meet grade level expectations. This rings true especially for elementary students, who are at a critical age for building key learning skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. This is where I see many students struggling and why I believe additional support in these areas is necessary.

When students struggle at an early age, many parents believe they will eventually just ‘pick it up’ naturally and figure it out along the way. While that may be true for some students, for most it is not.

For most students who struggle and are below grade level, the most common result is that they end up on an IEP (individualized education plan) and have modified expectations. I do believe that IEPs are great and help students achieve reachable goals, but I also argue that too many students have them. In some classrooms, more than half of the students are working on IEPs with modified expectations below grade level. Since the pandemic, more and more students are struggling in school and will continue to have a difficult time catching up as they move through the grades.

This is why I believe having a tutor can be a critical factor in helping students get back on track. Improving at school is no different than learning a sport or an instrument. The more deliberate practice we get, the more progress we will make toward mastery.

Working with a private tutor helps to facilitate the practice and structure needed to improve in whatever facet of learning a student is struggling in. They can isolate areas for improvement, provide professional advice and instruction, and create individual goals for their students that will help bridge the gap in their learning at a much faster pace.

Whether your student is struggling, meeting expectations, or excelling, it’s certainly worth giving tutoring a shot by applying for the $200-$250 catch-up payment. It’ll give you a ‘free trial’ to see whether tutoring is right for your child and perhaps it’s something you’d like to continue with moving forward.