There are so many options for educating gifted students—both traditional and nontraditional. Many of these options have been discussed in blog entries at this site. There are neighborhood schools, special schools for the gifted, and homeschooling; online classes; mentoring; and early college entrance and dual enrollment. There is yet another option that is gaining popularity—hiring full time private tutors.

 

This is a throwback to the time when children were educated by a governess or tutor and curricula were customized to meet the needs of the individual students. Parents who hire full time tutors are often not displeased with public education. It just doesn’t fit their lifestyles. Some families do it for short stints, others for years at a time.

 

Full time tutors are used by families who:

Although many of the families who pursue this type of education are wealthy, increasing numbers of middle class families who are more sociologically and racially diverse have begun to school their children at home using tutors.

 

This method of schooling is different from homeschooling, because the parents are either not comfortable or able to teach the children themselves.

 

Some families combine full time tutors with online learning and local enrichment classes to add variety.

 

A few organizations that provide full time tutors are: