The PA System

At VHS, we want to see you maximize your success in the courses you take with us, which is why we created our online tutoring service! In addition to the feedback provided by your teacher, the online tutoring service is designed to offer personalized, prompt answers to questions you may have about topics in your course content. Did we mention that it’s entirely FREE for VHS students??

How does the online tutoring service work?

Our online tutoring service is available in two different formats to provide extra flexibility for your learning needs:

Live Chat

Use our secure live chat feature to message back and forth with a tutoring coach during the hours of operation. This is a great way to get help with quick, straightforward questions while you’re working on your course.

Virtual Classroom Meetings

Schedule a 20-minute virtual conference meeting with a tutoring coach. These lengthier sessions give you more time in which to deal with more in-depth questions. You can also use the digital whiteboard feature with the tutoring coach when referencing visual aids, like charts, diagrams, and equations.

Who provides the tutoring?

All tutoring coaches at Virtual High School are subject matter experts who work for our in-house academic team. As a result, they have exclusive access to our course materials so that they can jump into any unit or assessment to see exactly where you need help. They’ll even be able to view your previous assessments and feedback from your teacher so that they can help pinpoint your areas for improvement to tailor their responses to your questions.

Remember, however, that a tutoring coach is meant to be someone who helps you sharpen your skills and deepen your understanding, so they will not provide you with answers for your assessments. Like athletic coaches, tutoring coaches do not do your work for you; they enable you to improve your own performance. It is still your teacher’s responsibility to assess and evaluate your work, so tutoring coaches will not grade your assessments.

How do I access the online tutoring?

1. From the home page of your course, select the Tutoring tab on the far right of your navigation bar at the top.
2. Determine which type of session would work best for your situation: Chat or Virtual Classroom.

Option 1: Chat

• Be sure to note the hours of operation.
• To message a tutoring coach, click the “Start a Chat” button.

Option 2: Virtual Classroom

• Select your course code from the dropdown menu.
• Select an available tutoring coach.
• An interactive calendar will open in a new window so that you can view the available time slots. Sessions are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Select a date and time for your session.
• You will receive a confirmation email once our team has successfully scheduled your session. The email will contain instructions outlining how to join your Virtual Classroom meeting on your selected date.
• Be sure to have your microphone enabled during your session as you will be speaking directly with the tutoring coach.
• Come prepared with the questions that you’d like to focus on.

What questions can I ask the tutoring coach?

You can ask your tutoring coach any questions that help to give you a better understanding of the concepts taught within your course(s). For example, “I’m having difficulty understanding which values to substitute into a, b, and c, in the quadratic formula. Can you please help me?”

For more examples of questions that are frequently asked, refer to the “Getting Help” lesson in the Online Tutoring unit of your course.

Questions about Virtual High School’s policies and procedures, regarding topics like admissions, exams, and report cards, should still be directed to our administrative team.

Feedback from VHS Students

Students from courses in every grade have found their experiences with our online tutoring service to be extremely helpful! Check out what some of them had to say about their interactions with our tutoring coaches:

“Excellent! Quick replies. Detailed explanations.” – Joud, ENG3U student

“I had a lot of issues with the topic because I have never coded before. Coach Andre explained the instructions in a simpler way for me to understand, and I really appreciate his help.” – Tifeoluwa, MTH1W student

“My teacher, Ms. Bains, and the SAS coaches are really helpful in clearing all of my doubts and at the same time, I am encouraged to do my own research to further understand topics I find difficult.” – Priyanka, MHF4U student

“The teacher feedback and tutoring were very helpful, and I found the tutoring useful for both general questions and specific questions! For those who learn better visually, the live tutoring sessions are great! The tutor goes into an online meeting with you and walks you through example questions with visuals until you understand the concept. I found this very helpful specifically with courses such as chemistry and physics where visual aids are useful.” – Laura, SCH4U & SPH4U student