We are so excited to formally announce a new offering to our high school clients starting this spring - academic coaching! Shannon is an experienced academic coach and looks forward to working with our clients in this capacity.

Many of our students struggle with executive functioning challenges, and we have been so grateful for the opportunity to support them throughout the college application process. Families have seen what a difference it makes for their students to have us acting in the role of “project manager” and breaking daunting tasks down into manageable and accessible chunks.

Over the years, families have noticed how effective our method has been for their students and asked for our assistance outside of the active stage of the application process - helping students to develop their skills so they are more successful in high school with much less stress.

With so much interest, we decided to transition from offering this service upon request to including it among of our formal service offerings!

Think your student could be a good fit for academic coaching? Keep reading to learn more!

What is academic coaching?

Academic coaching is offered to help high school students who struggle with time management, organization, study skills, or academic anxiety. Our process gets to the root of a student’s difficulties and equips them with the practical tools they need to be successful in managing their workload, in their current academic stage and beyond! 

What isn’t academic coaching?

Academic coaching is not a replacement for psychotherapy! Coaching focuses on helping students implement actionable skills to achieve specific academic and personal goals. A coach is not a teacher or tutor - instead, a coach is a partner in helping your student be successful. Coaching can work in tandem with psychotherapy, medication, and other strategies as part of a treatment plan - or just by itself.

Academic coaching is also not subject tutoring. We will not work with your student on a paper, or teach them math skills - instead, students will learn organizational and time management skills that can be applicable across any academic or professional discipline. We can also work with an existing tutor or academic support professional to provide the best possible coaching for your student. 

Who could benefit from academic coaching?

Academic coaching is helpful for a range of students. Students with executive functioning difficulties, including those caused by ADD/ADHD or ASD, are great candidates for coaching. High-flyers who struggle with test-taking or other forms of academic anxiety can also learn coping skills from working with a coach.

Some students only need an hour or two of coaching on a periodic basis, to get them on track during busy weeks like finals, or through a recovery period from an illness or injury that led to missed schoolwork! Our flexible options let you choose what works best for your family. 

DOES THE STUDENT HAVE TO BE A CLIENT OF DC COLLEGE COUNSELING TO PURSUE ACADEMIC COACHING?

While academic coaching is open to current, past, and future clients, it’s also open to students who have no affiliation with us. The services are completely separate.

What does a typical academic coaching session look like?

This is a hard question to answer, because we hope that our sessions look like help to your student - and every student’s needs are different! Here are some things that might happen in an academic coaching session:

1. We work with your student to plan out their schedule for the next week - when and how they will complete their homework, as well as any upcoming major tests, projects, or papers 

2. We work with your student during a busy time of year, like finals, or after they are injured and are struggling to catch up with work. We help them to plan out a schedule to get through their busy season, and look ahead to what is coming up next! 

3. We help your student come up with a plan to tackle a particular project, like studying for a major exam or writing a paper. We break the project down into manageable steps, then build a schedule to guarantee that it is completed on time. (Does this sound familiar? Yes - we can teach students to approach ALL projects just like they approach the college admissions process!)

4. We work on study skills, test-taking strategies, or suggestions for note-taking in class or while reading. Working on these skills now will leave your student ahead of the game in college, where many students will arrive without ever really learning how to study. 

5. Anything you need it to look like! Is your student having trouble sending an email to a professor or signing up for a time to meet with their academic advisor? Stop nagging and let us step in. We can provide support for a variety of executive functioning challenges as well as academic anxiety - feel free to reach out to us to learn more about how we can support your family.

Packages and Fees:

Our flexible packages let you choose the best fit for the needs of your student and family. 

HOURLY COACHING - Introductory Rate of $200/session on an as-needed basis

WHAT YOU GET: 

• One-hour student coaching session to discover and address particular needs and challenges. 

• Follow-up email including any materials or strategies covered during the session, along with tips and instructions for implementing them at home. 

• One fifteen-minute follow-up phone call to check in on student progress and make changes to strategies if necessary. 

MONTHLY COACHING - Introductory Rate of $600/month with minimum commitment of three months

WHAT YOU GET:

• Monthly parent meeting to talk about student needs and parental concerns. 

• Weekly one-hour student coaching sessions to discover and address particular needs and challenges. 

• Follow-up emails after each session including any materials or strategies covered during the session, along with tips and instructions for implementing them at home. 

• One check-in text message each week to remind student of important tasks and deadlines. 

• One check-in parent text message each week to further discuss student’s progress.

We are so excited to introduce this additional way to provide support for our students, and help prepare them to take the next step in their education.

Questions about academic coaching? Reach out to Shannon for more information.

Ready to get started? Let us know you’re ready for monthly coaching and we’ll send a contract your way, or sign up for a one-time coaching session here.