Dear Tutor,

In an effort to form a collaborative educational team, we would like to introduce ourselves and some of our educational policies.

CompuHigh-Whitmore School is a non-traditional school. Not only have we been entirely online since we began in 1994, but also in our unique approach to education. We call our system “Mastery Online Education.” The main difference is that instead of taking a test, getting a grade, and moving on, students stay with each lesson assignment, making revisions until the teacher determines that the student has mastered the content or skill covered in that lesson. We have found that when students take the time to truly master a concept, their retention is better, they have a stronger foundation for additional knowledge/skills, and they begin to feel more confident about their abilities.

Since we do not give tests, it is vital that the student submits assignments that reflect his or her own independent work. It is these assignments that tell us whether or not the student is learning. In many of our math and science classes, there are “review lessons.” Think of these review lessons as tests, even though the student will be able to revise the work. These will be a good place to measure not only how much the student is learning, but also the effectiveness of the tutoring sessions. Therefore, please do not help the student in anyway whatsoever with the review lessons or any revisions of them.

Each course in Whitmore School is led by a teacher who is trained in Mastery Online Education. It is important that the student and teacher be able to build a relationship through dialogue. This dialogue mainly occurs through revisions of the student’s work. We do not consider the need to revise work a bad thing; instead, it is how we reinforce learning and deepen critical thinking. Please allow the student-teacher relationship to develop freely by refraining from walking the student through each assignment question to make sure he/ she has them all right before the first submission. Allow the student’s submissions to be a genuine reflection of their own abilities. Do not interfere between the student and the teacher.

There are still plenty of ways you can help the student become a strong, independent learner. Here are a few things we find particularly helpful:

• Help the student articulate what specifically he or she doesn’t understand. Many students have trouble getting from “Huh, I don’t get it” to a more specific question that the CompuHigh teacher can answer. This is a very important communication skill you can help the student build.

• There are many types of learners. Some students look at text on a screen and feel overwhelmed. Help the student identify how he or she is most comfortable learning. There might be tools within the lesson such as images or links to videos that a student can go straight to. Or perhaps you know some learning tools you can teach the student to access. Or maybe the student just needs to engage in face to face conversation with you about the lesson concepts.

• Remind the student to proofread his or her work before submitting it. Proper grammar is expected in all CompuHigh classes. Teach the student proofreading skills rather than proofreading for him/her. In order to be approved by CompuHigh to tutor the student, please contact Jeannette at CompuHigh between 9am and 2pm, EST 1-844-409-0521. A signed statement of understanding (attached) must be returned to the office before approval will be granted.

Thank you for working together with us to build independent and confident learners!

--CompuHigh Administration

  Clck here for Statement of Understanding - Print, Sign and Return to CompuHigh