Policies & Procedures

Attendance, Cancellation, Make-Up Sessions, and Parking

Promptness and Attendance

Students are expected to arrive on time and prepared for each scheduled session. Sessions begin and end at the scheduled time. If a student arrives late, the session will still conclude at the originally scheduled end time.

Cancellation Policy

If a student needs to cancel a session, at least 24 hours’ notice is required. Notice may be given by text (preferred), email or other agreed-upon communication.
Sessions canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice will be considered used and will not be rescheduled or refunded.
If a student is sick but would still like to attend the session, an online session via Google Meet can be arranged.

Make-Up Sessions

Sessions canceled with at least 24 hours’ notice may be rescheduled as a make-up session.
All make-up sessions must be completed within two weeks of the end of the coaching package or by the end of the calendar month in which the sessions occur, whichever comes first. Unused sessions after this time will expire.

Coach Cancellation

If I need to cancel a session for any reason, the session will be rescheduled at a mutually convenient time, and the student will not lose the session.

Large Package Cancellation

If a student decides to cancel any number of sessions part-way through a coaching package, it is understood that the remaining sessions will not be refunded. Coaching packages are designed to reserve dedicated time for all students interested in coaching sessions.

Parking

If a student is driving themselves to a session, please park on the driveway, directly in front of one of the garage doors.
If you are dropping off a student, please pull into any empty slot on our driveway and then leave promptly. If you are opting to wait in your vehicle, please remain on the driveway.
Do not park on the street. The terms of my development permit state there will be no street parking by clients as I have provided off-street parking on the driveway.

Payment

All payments will be made via eTransfer to: AcademicEssayCoaching@gmail.com
- Please note your invoice number in the notes of the eTransfer
Invoices for weekly sessions (billed one month at a time) or coaching packages will be sent via email
Electronic receipts for all payments will be sent via email
Payments for weekly coaching sessions are to be made on or before the first of the month
Coaching packages must be paid in full before commencement of the first session
- Families are reminded that unused package sessions will not be refunded. Coaching packages are designed to reserve dedicated time for all students interested in coaching sessions.
In all cases, cancelled or unused sessions are not refundable.

Government of Alberta Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers and Teacher Leaders

On January 1, 2023, the Government of Alberta developed a new code of conduct for teachers and teacher leaders. This replaced the previous Alberta Teachers Association Code of Conduct.

Section 1(g) of the new code states:

The teacher or teacher leader shall not
- (i) take advantage of a professional position to profit from the sale of goods or services to or for students in the teacher’s or teacher leader’s charge, or
- (ii) while in a position of authority, teach or lead in a manner that exploits the teacher’s or teacher leader’s relationship with students for ideological advantage, material advantage or other advantage.
- (iii) accept pay for tutoring a student in any subjects in which the teacher or teacher leader is responsible for giving classroom instruction to that student, but may provide tutoring to other students not in the teacher’s or teacher leader’s charge, subject to local school policy.

The "letter of the law" would indicate that I cannot coach any student in the specific classes I teach at my school. I have made the decision, however, to exclude any student attending Winston Churchill High School in Lethbridge from my coaching practice.

Session Location and Structure

Coaching sessions take place at my home. For privacy and safety reasons, my address is not publicly listed on the website; it will be provided to families once a student has been accepted into the coaching program. All sessions are conducted in a structured and supervised learning environment. In the event of illness, virtual meetings via Google Meet can be arranged.

For safety and liability purposes, all sessions are video recorded. Recordings are used solely for safety documentation and are not available for viewing, distribution, or review by students, parents, or caregivers. Recordings will never be used for training/diagnostic purposes and will not be shared on any digital platform.

Any parents/caregivers who wish to be present for coaching sessions are welcome to take a seat in the adjacent living room. If you choose to observe the session, please be sure to have a conversation with your child prior to arriving so as not to surprise them at the last minute.

What Academic Essay Coaching is NOT

Academic Essay Coaching is designed to help students develop the skills and habits of strong academic writing. The focus of each session is on learning the principles of effective writing -- sentence composition and variety, paragraph structure, thesis development, reading comprehension, and clear analytical thinking. Students then apply these skills across subjects and throughout their academic careers. Academic Essay Coaching is not an editing or proofreading service.

Students are welcome to bring assignments or examples of their work for discussion and learning purposes; however, sessions will not be used to correct, rewrite, or mark essays and assignments for submission. The goal is to help students understand how to improve their writing, not to complete or polish assignments on their behalf.

Academic Essay Coaching is also not intended to artificially increase grades by providing last-minute corrections before assignments are submitted. Instead, the purpose of coaching is to build the underlying skills that allow students to produce stronger work independently.

Students who participate in coaching should expect to actively engage in the learning process. This may include practicing writing techniques, revising their own work, analyzing examples of writing, and developing strategies they can use in future assignments.

The long-term goal of Academic Essay Coaching is to help students become confident, independent writers who can apply the principles of good writing in multiple subjects and throughout their academic and professional lives.