OVERVIEW

• After school private tutoring continues to be the fastest-growing segment of Canadian K-12 education as this has become a common trend for urban families of Canada.
• As per a survey done on major metropolitan cities of Canada such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal, it was found that one in three city parents hire private tutors for their kids.
• Key franchises in the Canadian market such as Kumon, Oxford Learning, and Sylvan learning, have evolved into private learning centers that offer after-school tutoring programs mostly in affluent cities.

KUMON

• Since 2002, Kumon has achieved the title of “Tutoring Services Franchise” every year in Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual Franchise 500, which is the world’s most comprehensive franchise ranking.
• Kumon’s Canadian operations reached an all-time high of over 350 franchises across the country with the majority of those learning centers in densely-populated metropolitan areas.
• Kumon offers Math and Reading tutoring programs, which start from the ages of 3 to 13 years old.
• Kumon and Oxford Learning provide after-school toddler tutoring programs for 3 to 6 year old children that help them get an early start on math and reading skills.
• Costs vary around the country, but the average is $150 per subject. Additional Fees include a registration fee of $50, and initial material fees of $15.

SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER

• For over 35 years Sylvan Learning has been one of the leading providers of supplemental education across North America with numerous franchises in Canada. As listed by "Our kids", it is the #1 publication among the after-school programs in Canada.
• Sylvan Learning center offers personal tutoring as well as group tutoring, aided with "IPad" technology tools. They both have online and offline tutoring options.
• Group learning classes are usually no larger than 3 to 4 participants.
• They match the learning goals of the public-school system for math, language arts, and science at all grade levels from kindergarten to 12th grade.
• The center also offers a tutoring program for homework support for elementary and middle-school students. It also has programs that cover test preparation, such as ACT and SAT.
• Initially, the student will take up a Sylvan Insight Assessment priced at $95, that will help to understand the child's strengths and skill gaps.
• The Sylvan Learning Center costs for different programs are the following:
• Personalized tutoring — $48/hour and up
• Academic coaching — $290/month and up
• College test prep — $1,199 and up
•  $90 — $180/month per subject

OXFORD LEARNING C

• The Oxford Learning Program offers tutoring programs from age groups of 3 to 13 year olds.
• The R.E.A.D. ELITE is a reading program for 3 to 6 year olds.
•  BEYOND TUTORING program is for Grades 1 to 8 and offers homework support and help in key subject areas.
• The ADVANTAGE tutoring program is for Grades 9 to 12 that helps teens to tackle high school studies in aspects of doing homework, tests, assignments, and projects.
• The TEST PREP tutoring program, for University and College, help students to get the highest scores on post-secondary entrance exams. This program requires more than regular studying.
• They also offer French tutoring programs for all grades and ages in reading and writing.
• They have ESL programs for all grades and ages.
• Oxford Learning's prices "vary from one franchise to another". However, locations near Toronto reported prices between $385 and $420 monthly for two hours a week.

SPIRIT OF MATH

• Spirit of Math is a company that specializes in coaching high-achieving students to greater academic height. It has been recognized by PROFIT 500 magazine for five consecutive years (2014 – 2018) as one of "Canada’s fastest-growing companies".
• Their after-school tutoring programs are a good choice to push and challenge gifted students to reach their full potential.
• The company is an innovative leader in mathematics education, offering a system of after-school math classes for high-performing and gifted students.
• It also offers math enrichment by teaching DRILLS, CORE CURRICULUM and PROBLEM SOLVING while promoting cooperation, strategical thinking and inspiring confidence.
• Spirit of Math classes culminate with mental math equations presented to all the class by the teacher or a student. To answer the questions, students to use what they’ve learned in the math program, along with their sharpened listening skills.
• Spirit of Math charges an annual fee of approximately $2,200, entitling students to an hour and a half of instruction per week.

Research Strategy:

SYLVAN

• Sylvan offers STEM programs with fun experiences for kids such as building race cars, bridges, video games and robots through their coding, robotics and science, engineering, math and STEM programs, camps and workshops. Their website shows that many of their STEM programs start at $99, and their workshops and camps cost less.

VISIONS OF SCIENCE NETWORK FOR LEARNING (VoSNL)

• VoSNL is a program designed to provide weekly, community-based STEM programming to low-income and marginalized youth after school.
• The program is free of charge for all youth to counter barriers that normally keep these youths from getting STEM experiences such as physical and financial accessibility.
• It is stated that such out-of-school time STEM learning can provide more contextually relevant, relaxed, and experiential learning environments with activities that are more hands-on, student-directed, and provide opportunities for collaborative learning. It is also documented that out-of-school programming such as this STEM learning can produce favorable outcomes in academic achievements, school engagements, and graduation risks, especially among those least from low-income communities.
• One of their program streams, Community Science Clubs (CSC), operate directly within common spaces and recreational areas of communities during out-of-school and free for all youth. In 2016, this stream increased to 14 communities in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area, each CSC is said to reach 15 to 20 children for a total of 300 youth a year.
• In their 2018 annual report, Visions of Science report that their initiatives engaged over 700 youth each year from 25 communities. To date, they have engaged over 11,000 youth in STEM activities with a growing impact across communities and age groups. Their Elevate initiative reaches grades three to eight, and their Empower initiative is for STEM community leaders in grades eight to 12.
• In their STEM off-season, they offer events such as a Lay-Up Youth Basketball camp.

ENGINEERING 4 KIDS

• The after-school activities and classes are created for children between the ages of 4 and 14 years old.
• The junior engineering programs are for children from pre-K to 2nd grade and teach basic science, technology, engineering, and math skills with both self- and teacher-led projects. The apprentice engineering program is for children in grades 3 through 5 and offers activities that allow them to build, test, and improve their own creations.

BRICKS 4 KIDZ (CREATIVE LEARNING CORPORATION)

• Creative Learning Corporation operates under the names of Bricks 4 Kidz and Sew Fun Studios to offer educational and enrichment programs for children from 3 to 13-plus through franchisees.
• Bricks 4 KidZ are student enrichment classes that are held in one-hour sessions for six to eight weeks after school, where students learn how to explore, construct, and design models using Lego bricks. Themes include space, inventions, famous buildings, various weather conditions, and more with instructional concepts including friction, gravity, torque, scale, gears, axles, and beams.
• According to their annual reports, their after-school classes are held one hour, one day a week after school for $10 to $15 per class, per child with a usual commitment of 4 classes. For home-schooled children, the fee is $5 to $7.
• They report their program to be the number 1 enrichment program, and they have over 750-plus locations worldwide making them a key player.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

I. SUMMER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING

TYPES OF PROGRAMS:

1. Science based programs:

• The summer programs are offered by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, including LEGO Robotics, Makerspace, coding, Minecraft where children aged 5 to 7 years can learn all about science.
• Price of the program ranges from $195/week to $300/week.

2. Educational Programs for Weaker Students:

• These programs provide a supportive and therapeutic environment for struggling students. In these programs, children within the age group of 11 to 18 years are regularly assessed and educationally supported through real life examples and outdoor activities.
• The cost of such a program varies from student to student, depending on the level of difficulty faced by the children.
• The program is offered by Venture Academy Summer Program for Troubled Teens.

3. STEM-based Programs:

• The STEM-based summer programs are specifically designed for kids between 6 and 18 years, where the kids learn to use the latest tools and technologies like 3D printing and laser cutting.
• Prices can be per session ($200 per session) or on a weekly basis ($195 per week). The programs are offered by York University, Science Engagement and STEAMlabs.

The popularity of these programs:

• The summer camps are popular across many regions including Toronto, the city of Quebec, and Montreal.
• The camps are popular across all age groups.
• These camps help to strengthen the social and leadership skills of the children and improve their self-confidence.

II. SPRING BREAK EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING

• Spring break educational programs are conducted during March Break.

TYPES OF PROGRAM:

1. Science based Programs:

• These programs aim to ignite the love of learning among children and teens who are in the age group of 4-14 years.
• It provides STEM-related activities such as robot building, math/science projects and creative writing. Some camps also offer a peek into the water world and aquatic life.
• The camps are operated under the guidance of Focus Learning Academic Centre, Sylvan camp, Ontario Science Centre Camp, and Brain Power.
• The cost of the program ranges from $37 per week to $304 per week.

2. Career-centric Programs

• These programs are generally offered to kids between 14 and 17.
• It is a leadership program, where teens develop civic leadership skills, learn about Canadian institutions, meet famous and accomplished Canadians, and explore exciting career options

3. Computer-focused Programs

• These programs are offered to kids between 6 and 18. The camps offer animation, games, coding, architecture, robotics, UI/UX graphic design, WEB tech, fashion tech, drone engineering, and AR/VR technology exploration.
• Kids learn programming, teamwork, creativity and the use of analytical skills in robotics.
• These programs are offered by Innovation Camp Thinnox, Hatch Coding Camps, and Institute of Robotics & Intelligent Systems. The program starts from $250 — $380 per week.

4. Multi-activity Educational programs:

• These are multi-activity camps that are offered to children between the age of 4 to 15. Activities include science camps, sports camps, and art camps.
• The camp starts from $420 per week.

POPULARITY OF PROGRAMS

• These spring break educational programs are offered for several weeks in March to cover the varying schedules of different public and private schools across Canada.
• These camps are popular across all age groups, from 4 to 17 years of age across all regions in Canada.
• These camps are popular as it gives children the opportunity to understand computer science, mechatronics, robotics, and math.

III. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING AT DROP IN PLAY CENTERS

TYPES OF PROGRAM:

1. Early learning Educational Program:

• Here, the children are asked to go for fun-based activities such as reading, storytelling, singalongs and games. Children are asked to learn through proper actions and story formation.
•  Prices vary from school to school.

2. Parenting and Family Literacy

• Parents can also get advice from professionals trained in early childhood development.
• The drop-in play programs usually charge $5 per child.

POPULARITY OF PROGRAMS

• These programs are popular for families and children who are in the early years of learning.  

IV. EDUCATIONAL CLASSES

Types of programs available:

1. Technology-rich programs and Science Based Classes

• Children are asked to build an app, create an animation, and more. The program includes animation, game creation, coding, architecture, robotics, and UI/UX graphic courses.
• The technology-rich programs are specifically designed for children that over 7 years old.
• Children are born scientists, and STEM learning can start early with the right inspiration and support.

2. Homework and Tutoring

• Here, children get help with their homework in order to help them improve their study skills. The sessions can focus on multiple subjects including math, science, and English.

3. Languages and ESL

• These are special language classes that include improvement in English and other languages including French, Spanish, Mandarin.

4. LEGO classes

• LEGO classes offer playful activities that encourage listening, sharing, singing, building, and creativity.
• The children between 3 and 13 years old learn the concepts of engineering, architecture and mechanics using LEGO bricks. Lessons from math, science, language arts, and social studies are also integrated and discussed.

5. Coding Education

• This is a form of coding education where children are asked to build, play, and learn at their own pace to gain ninja skills. Children get to know about code Senseis or fellow ninjas.

The popularity of these programs

• These programs are popular because the children get a place where gaming is celebrated but also gain skills in coding, math, logic, and problem solving. It enables kids to learn by building video games. It helps the kid to learn in a social setting with like-minded peers.
• Kids like to play and have fun while parents want to see real results, which is why these forms of creative education classes are gaining attention all over Canada.

Price Data:

• Prices are available upon request, as they depend on the age and classes of students.