Hikmah Tutoring+
Tutoring in Ottawa + readiness for tomorrow.
If your child is falling behind or struggling, we find the real gap, often a skill from an earlier grade, and close it with one mentor who knows them. The + makes it last: clear thinking, using AI well and real projects.
- Grades 1 to 12
- Math, reading and writing
- English and French
- Coming soon to Ottawa
Is it time for tutoring?
Struggling rarely means behind in everything. Usually one skill is missing.
Signs parents often notice first. One on its own is normal; a few together are worth a closer look.
Homework that used to take 20 minutes now ends in tears.
Often one missing skill is making every question feel hard.
“I’m just not a math person.”
Children decide this after enough confusing nights. It’s almost never the whole story.
Reads every word aloud, then can’t tell you what happened.
Sounding out may be taking all their attention, leaving none for meaning.
Gets it in class, loses it by the test.
The idea made sense once, but it was never practised until it stuck.
Writing stops after two sentences.
The ideas are there. A plan for getting them onto the page often isn’t.
Hours of studying, and the marks don’t move.
Rereading notes feels productive. Practice questions and spaced review work better.
Seeing a few of these? A diagnostic assessment shows exactly where the gap began, in plain words. See how Hikmah tutoring works
How Hikmah tutoring works
Find the gap, close it, and check it’s closed.
Six steps, the same for every child, from the first diagnostic to the update you read each month.
A diagnostic assessment
Where your child really is in math, reading and writing, and where the trouble began.
The root gap
Each missed question is traced back to the skill underneath it, often from an earlier grade.
A written learning plan
The root first, then the work of their grade, mapped to the Ontario curriculum. You get a copy.
Mastery practice
Short, focused practice on one skill at a time, built from your child’s own mistakes.
Mastery checks
A short check before moving on, and again weeks later, so we know it stuck.
A monthly progress update
What your child mastered, what’s next and one thing to try at home, in plain words.
One mentor, the whole way. The same person runs every step and knows your child by name. More than a tutor: a mentor. How we choose and train mentors
Illustrative example.
The +
Tutoring for today. Readiness for tomorrow.
Catching up is the start. While the gaps close, your child builds what AI can’t replace, so they’re ready for school and for the world after it.
Thinking and leadership
Think critically, create, solve problems, decide, communicate and lead: practised in every session, at every age.
See Thinking and leadershipUsing AI well
Children learn to direct AI: ask it good questions, check it against sources and know when not to use it. They do the thinking first.
Read about a world with AIReal projects
Skills put to work for a real audience: a family recipe book, a debate, a lab report someone reads.
See project-based learning
Subjects and grades
Math, reading and writing, from Grade 1 to Grade 12.
Every learning plan is mapped to the Ontario curriculum. In high school, sciences, academic writing and test preparation join in.
Math tutoring
Grades 1 to 12
Every gap traced to the skill underneath, from counting to calculus.
- Number sense, facts and fractions
- Integers, ratios and algebra
- Functions and calculus readiness
Reading and writing tutoring
Grades 1 to 12
From the first sounds to the essay, with reading for meaning at the centre.
- Phonics, fluency and spelling
- Reading for meaning, with evidence
- Sentences, paragraphs and essays
High school tutoring
Grades 9 to 12
Planned around your teen’s courses and exams, with the root of each struggle fixed.
- Math and sciences, course by course
- Academic writing and lab reports
- Test preparation and exam planning
Tutoring+ runs inside every program
More ways Tutoring+ helps
The same method, for what your child needs now.
Catching up, homework, study skills, a test, a child ready for more, or the road to university or college: each starts with the diagnostic and runs on one plan, one mentor and mastery checks.
- Catching upFor a child who has fallen behind: the root of the gap, found and closed.→
- Homework helpTonight’s homework, used to find and fix what makes it hard.→
- Study skillsHow to study, plan and remember: the habits that make the rest easier.→
- Test prepEQAO, the OSSLT, unit tests and exams, the SAT and more, prepared from mastery, not cramming.→
- EnrichmentFor a child who is ready for more: depth, contests and real projects.→
- University and college admissionsFrom Grade 9 course choices to applications, essays and interviews.→
How it’s different
Homework help asks what’s due. Tutoring+ asks what’s missing.
Homework help has its place. Here is how a typical session compares with an hour at Hikmah.
| Typical | Tutoring+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts with | Tonight’s homework | A diagnostic assessment and a written learning plan |
| Works on | The question in front of them | The skill underneath it |
| It worked when | The worksheet is done | A mastery check says so, and again weeks later |
| You hear | Little, unless you ask | A progress update every month |
| Beyond this week | Next week’s homework | Thinking, AI literacy and real projects |
Illustrative example. Session plans and lengths will be shared with founding families before we open.
English and French, in Ottawa
Tutoring in English and in French. Here in Ottawa.
Hikmah is bilingual from day one, for families in English programs, French immersion and French-language schools.
- In both languages
- Sessions will be in English or French, and your child’s diagnostic, learning plan and progress updates can be in either. How sessions in French will run will be shared with founding families before we open.
- In Ottawa
- Our first centre is coming to Ottawa. Its address and opening date will go to founding families first.
Why it works
Built on the research. Measured from day one.
Hikmah hasn’t opened, so we have no results of our own yet. Here is what the research says about each part of our tutoring.
Tutoring
A review of randomized studies from preschool to Grade 12 found that tutoring produced consistent, substantial gains in reading and math. Effects were larger when tutors were teachers or trained paraprofessionals.
At Hikmah: Every mentor is chosen and trained before working with a child.
Mastery
Across 108 controlled evaluations, mastery learning programs improved exam performance, and the effects appeared stronger for students who had been struggling.
At Hikmah: Your child moves on after a mastery check, not when the calendar says.
Feedback
Feedback helps most when it answers three questions for the learner: where am I going, how am I going and where to next.
At Hikmah: Every progress update says what changed, why and what comes next.
Source: Hattie and Timperley (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112.
Parents in the loop
In a high school credit-recovery program, a short weekly message from teachers to parents cut the share of students who failed to earn credit from 15.8% to 9.3%. Messages about what to improve helped most.
At Hikmah: You hear from your child’s mentor every month, including what to work on.
From the day we open, we’ll measure where each child starts, how mastery grows and whether it lasts, and publish what we find.
Dive inSee what we’ll measureQuestions from parents
What parents ask about tutoring.
How much does tutoring cost?
Tuition will be published before we open, and founding families will see it first. Founding families also get the diagnostic assessment free.
How often would my child come?
It depends on what the diagnostic finds and what your family can manage, and the learning plan sets it. Schedules and hours will be shared with founding families before we open.
What grades do you tutor?
Grades 1 to 12. Math, reading and writing at every age; in high school, sciences, academic writing and test preparation too.
Can my child be tutored in French?
Yes. Hikmah is bilingual from day one, and sessions will be in English or French. How sessions in French will run will be shared with founding families before we open.
How fast will my child catch up?
Honestly, it depends on the gap, the child and how often they come. One missing skill can close quickly; a gap that runs back several grades takes longer. We measure it from the first diagnostic and show you in every progress update.
Do you help with homework?
Yes, when it helps. Homework shows the mentor what’s coming at school, and it can become practice. A session is never only homework, though: we fix the skill underneath, so the next assignment is easier on their own.
Do you offer test preparation?
Yes. When a test is coming, the learning plan makes room for it, at any age. In high school, test preparation is part of the program: exam planning, practice questions and pacing.
Is it online or in person?
Hikmah is a learning centre in Ottawa, and tutoring is built around time at the centre with your child’s mentor. Whether any part will be offered online will be shared with founding families before we open.