Summer is a season filled with relaxation and fun activities, but it’s also a critical time for students. Many students, especially those with ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities, experience significant academic regression without continued learning over the summer. Families in Florida can combat this summer slide by using Step Up for Students funding to cover summer tutoring in Orlando and help their child jump-start the new school year on a positive note.
This article will walk you through how to use your child’s Step Up funds for summer tutoring and help them continue building their reading, writing, math, and executive functioning skills during this important season.
What is Step Up for Students?
Step Up for Students is a nonprofit organization that can help your child thrive through scholarship funding! It manages state-funded scholarships in Florida, including processing student applications, distributing funds to families, and helping families utilize their funds for approved educational services. These services can include summer tutoring, ADHD coaching, dyslexia tutoring, learning disability instruction, and Orton Gillingham tutoring, amongst other services.
Can you Use Step Up funds for summer tutoring?
Yes, you can absolutely use Step Up funds for summer tutoring, and it’s a great way to use these scholarship funds for your child.
You can use Step Up funds for:
- One-on-one tutoring
- Reading intervention
- ADHD coaching
- Specialized writing tutoring
- Multi-sensory math tutoring
- Executive functioning coaching
- Academic summer tutoring
When seeking a summer tutor for your child, make sure the tutoring program you choose is a Step Up approved provider.
Why summer tutoring is important for students with learning challenges
Students with learning and attentional challenges often experience regression over the summer, when their academic skills can dramatically decrease. Research tells us the following statistics about summer learning loss:
- Students lose an average of two to three months of math skills over the summer.
- Students can lose up to one to two months of reading gains.
- Cumulative summer learning loss from multiple summers without continued learning can lead to students being 2.5 to 3 years behind their peers by the 5th grade.
Students with ADHD and learning challenges likely experience even greater losses without continued instruction over the summer. Specifically, those with dyslexia, ADHD, and other learning disabilities can:
- Lose academic progress they made during the school year
- Struggle to retain reading, writing, and math concepts
- Become more frustrated and less confident when the new school year starts
Summer tutoring can help prevent these academic challenges and learning losses. By hiring a tutor over the summer, you can help your child:
- Maintain the skills they learned during the school year
- Learn new concepts and preview content that will be covered at the start of the new year
- Improve their executive functioning skills, including planning, time management, and organization
- Prevent academic regression
- Start the new school year feeling confident and prepared
How to use Step Up funds for tutoring in Orlando
Summer tutoring is a great way to use your child’s Step Up funds in Orlando. It’s well worth allocating funds for this purpose to help your child take advantage of summer: Here’s a step-by-step process for how to use your child’s Step Up funds for summer tutoring in Orlando:
- Log into your EMA account
Access your child’s funds through the Step Up Education Marketplace Assistant (EMA) portal.
- Check your available funds balance to use for tutoring.
- Review the service categories your child is approved for.
- Choose an approved tutoring provider
The next step is to choose an approved tutoring provider that you feel is best for your child. When doing so, look for providers in Orlando who:
- Accept Step Up funding
- Specialize in your child’s needs, including academic skills development using evidence-based approaches
- Offer one-on-one tutoring
- Provide specialized tutoring that your child needs, such as Orton Gillingham tutoring, executive functioning coaching, structured writing tutoring, or multi-sensory math instruction
- Specialize in helping neurodiverse students, including those with learning disabilities or ADHD if that applies to your child
At Knowledge Plus Tutoring, we specialize in helping students who have:
- ADHD
- Dyslexia
- Autism
- Other diagnosed learning disabilities
- Students with academic skills challenges, including reading, writing, math, and study skills
- Students with IEPs and 504 plans
- Submit payment through EMA
From there, you’ll need to submit payment through the EMA. Depending on the provider’s process, you will either:
- Pay the provider directly for the tutoring through the EMA; or
- Pay upfront for the tutoring services and request reimbursement
- Schedule Regular Summer Sessions
Finally, make sure you schedule regular summer tutoring sessions for your child. Having a consistent schedule is key to maximizing progress. Speak to the tutoring program you choose to see if they can evaluate your child first to determine their specific needs and come up with a suggested summer tutoring program to help them effectively build their academic skills.
What should you look for in a summer tutor in Orlando?
If your child has specialized learning needs, general tutoring likely isn’t the best choice for them. Students with ADHD and other academic challenges typically respond best to evidence-based, multi-sensory tutoring that catered to their unique needs.
Learn more about special education tutoring in Orlando at Special Education Tutoring in Orlando: How to Find the Right Tutor
When using your Step Up funds for summer tutoring, look for:
Specialized instruction
If your child has a learning or attentional challenge, when seeking a summer tutor for your child, look for a tutoring program that specializes in:
- ADHD coaching
- Multi-sensory reading instruction using a method like Orton Gillingham
- Executive functioning instruction
- Specialized writing tutoring
- Hands-on math techniques
Individualized tutoring plans
Make sure you avoid general tutors that don’t have a systematic plan targeting your child’s academic skills. General homework help, including help with summer homework, won’t be enough. Your child should ideally receive:
- Academic skills building targeted to their needs
- Multi-sensory instruction
- Evidence-based techniques
- Progress updates
Multi-sensory, engaging approach
During the summer, many children would prefer to play outside than receive tutoring. To make the tutoring more appealing to them, the tutor should use an engaging, multi-sensory approach. Specifically, your child’s summer tutoring should be:
- Interactive
- Multi-sensory, with tools such as magnetic tiles, colored sand, shaving cream, math manipulatives, and multi-colored highlighters
- Positive and uplifting to help improve their self-confidence
- Encouraging, where any growth is shown to them to help empower them
Why Orlando families use Step Up funds for summer tutoring
Many parents in Orlando use Step Up funds to help their child:
- Continue building their academic skills over the summer
- Prevent academic regression
- Avoid back-to-school frustration
- Remediate skills for students with learning challenges
- Help students with ADHD build their executive functioning skills
- Use scholarship funds for tutoring before deadlines approach
Read more about the importance of summer tutoring at Why Summer Tutoring Is Important for Students with ADHD and Learning Disabilities
Frequently Asked Questions About Step Up Summer Tutoring in Orlando
How do I know if a tutoring company is approved through Step Up?
If you’re not sure if the tutoring program you choose for your child is Step Up approved, ask them if they are approved to accept Step Up funding. You can also check the EMA marketplace to see if they are approved.
How much tutoring should my child receive over the summer?
The frequency of summer tutoring varies based on your child’s needs. Some students, including those with learning disabilities and ADHD, benefit from multiple sessions per week. Other students with milder challenges may need less tutoring, depending on their needs.
Can summer tutoring help my child with ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning challenges?
Yes, absolutely! Students with ADHD, dyslexia, and learning challenges benefit immensely from one-on-one summer tutoring. Many of these students show regression during the summer without continued support, so summer tutoring is especially important for these students.
Get started with summer tutoring in Orlando!
If you’re ready to help your child and use their Step Up funds for summer tutoring, start looking for the right tutor for them. Many summer tutors, especially those who specialize in evidence-based, multi-sensory instruction, fill up their schedules quickly.
Using Step Up for Students funds for summer tutoring is one of the best ways to help your child develop stronger academic skills.
At Knowledge Plus Tutoring, we specialize in providing one-on-one tutoring to students with ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning challenges. This tutoring can help them develop their academic skills over the summer, build their self-confidence, and start the new school year feeling successful.
Dr. Emily Levy, the executive director of Knowledge Plus Tutoring, has been helping neurodiverse students through summer tutoring for over twenty years. She holds her Doctorate Degree in Education and her Master’s Degree in Special Education.
