FAQs

What is Hoot Reading?

Hoot Reading is an online literacy service that connects kids with experienced, hand selected teachers, to practice reading over video chat. We keep our lessons short and fun, making it easier for busy parents to make reading a consistent daily habit.

How is Hoot different than other learning services?

We are online!
- All you need is wifi and an iPad to use Hoot. No commuting neccesary.
We keep it short
- We only require 20 minutes from your child, which is the ideal time to keep focus and read out loud.
Our instructors are experienced teachers
- All of our instructors are hand selected and are teachers just like you would have in your child’s classroom.

How does Hoot work?

1. Sign up

2. Select your plan based on number of lessons per week

3. Schedule your first lesson and ongoing time and day of week

4. Download our App

5. Log into the App 5 minutes before your first lesson

6. Your teacher will call you for every lesson

7. Have your lesson

9. Repeat 2 – 3 times a week

Why should my child read out loud every day?

Research shows that reading out loud with an adult who can correct in real-time builds fluency and comprehension. Many parents are surprised to learn that by Grade 4, 65% of children are reading below grade level. This is a critical time as schools make the shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”. The most proven way to stay out of that 65% is through daily practice!

What reading level does my child need to be?

Children at all levels – struggling, average and advanced – should be practicing reading out loud to an adult at least five times a week. Hoot Reading has real teachers on the other side of the call to work with your child and challenge them, no matter what their level is.

My child is an advanced reader. Why do I need Hoot?

Even advanced readers need to build fluency and comprehension. Many children know how to read, but do they truly understand the context of the book they read? Literacy experts encourage reading out loud at all grades even up to high school.

Do I always get the same teacher?

If you request to have the same teacher, we will do our best to schedule you with them. The best way to get the same teacher is to have the same time each week that works with their open time spots.

Remember, all teachers will have the same process, but might have different strategies for your child. It is often great to switch things up once in a while and keep your child engaged.

What if we cannot make a lesson?

While we ask you to do your best to keep your schedule, we do understand that things come up. To reschedule your lesson, please contact our team at least 24 hours before your lesson.

To review our Attendance and Cancellation Policies.

Are there contracts? What if I want to cancel?

Our plans recur on a 30 day basis and are charged at the start of your monthly billing period. We do ask you to sign our Terms and Conditions when you sign up.

You may cancel your subscription at any time. We ask that you finish the current week of your scheduled lessons and we will refund you for future lessons. For example if your lessons are on Mondays and Wednesdays and you cancel after Monday’s lesson, you will still be asked to complete Wednesday’s lesson.

How much does it cost?

We offer the following plans:

FIXED PLAN ($180): Our 2 lesson/week plan; contact us for more information about other fixed plans!
BOOTCAMP ($110): Daily 20-min lessons, 5 days in a row (Monday to Friday)

How do you select your teachers?

All of our teachers are hand selected by our team. We go through a four step application process in which we conduct two interviews and complete a up-to-date criminal record check and abuse registry check before we make final offers.

What background do your teachers have?

Teachers must meet our standard qualifications:

Bachelor degree in Education or equivalent

Minimum one year classroom experience

Strong communication skills

Passion for reading and working with young children

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