Part-Time Upper Elementary Tutor (Grades 3-5)

Teacher Tutors is hiring certified elementary teachers to join our team as part-time tutors, working one-on-one with students in grades 3 through 5. This role is ideal for current or former elementary classroom teachers who want to keep teaching the age group they love — without the grading stacks, the staff meetings, or the lesson planning for thirty kids at once.

Upper elementary is the stretch where school starts to get real. Reading shifts from decoding to comprehension. Math leaves the comfort zone of whole numbers and lands in fractions, decimals, and multi-step word problems. Writing expands from sentences to paragraphs to actual essays. For a lot of kids, this is where the gaps first show up — and where the right tutor can make a year-shaping difference. That's the work.

You'll meet with students in their homes, online, or at our Livingston, NJ office. We match families to tutors based on your preferred travel radius — you tell us how far you're willing to drive, and we work within that.

Responsibilities

• Deliver one-on-one tutoring sessions in core elementary subjects: reading comprehension, writing, math, and study skills. Most students need help in one or two of these; some need broad support across all of them.
• Plan sessions around each student's specific gaps — pacing, materials, and approach tailored to the individual, not a packaged curriculum.
• Build confidence alongside skills. Many upper elementary students arrive convinced they're "bad at math" or "bad at reading." Part of the work is changing that story.
• Coordinate with parents on what to focus on, and with classroom teachers when invited, so tutoring reinforces what's happening at school rather than running parallel to it.
• Track progress across sessions and adjust when something isn't working.
• Submit a short session note after each tutoring session so families and our Director know what was covered and what's next.

Requirements

• Valid New Jersey Elementary K–6 teaching certification, or equivalent elementary certification from another state with NJ reciprocity. (Endorsements in reading, math, or ESL are a plus.)
• Classroom teaching experience at the elementary level — ideally including grades 3, 4, or 5.
• Working knowledge of the upper-elementary curriculum: reading comprehension strategies, writing process instruction, fractions and multi-step problem solving, and the study-skills foundations that middle school will demand.
• Strong communication skills with both kids and parents. Many of our families are anxious about their child falling behind — clear, calm communication matters as much as instructional skill.
• Ability to adapt in real time when a planned approach isn't landing.
• Availability for after-school, evening, or weekend hours during the school year, with some flexibility during the summer.
• Comfort with educational technology — Zoom or Google Meet for online sessions, plus standard tools for sharing materials and tracking progress.
• Reliable transportation for in-home sessions.

Compensation & employment status

• Pay range: $40–$50/hour, based on certification, experience, and subject area.
• W-2 (default): Most part-time tutors join as W-2 employees. Teacher Tutors handles payroll, taxes, and carries professional liability insurance covering W-2 tutors during scheduled sessions.
• 1099 (optional): Tutors who prefer 1099 contractor status are welcome, provided they carry their own professional liability insurance and operate through a registered LLC. Documentation will be requested during onboarding.

Coverage area

We serve families across northern New Jersey, with most in-home sessions concentrated in Essex, Morris, Union, and Bergen counties. When you join, you'll let us know your preferred travel radius from home, and we'll match you with students within that range. Online sessions are available statewide.

Nice to have

• Reading specialist certification or training in a structured-literacy method (Wilson, Orton-Gillingham, Lindamood-Bell)
• Experience teaching in Livingston, Millburn, West Orange, South Orange/Maplewood, or other Essex County districts
• Experience working with students on IEPs or 504 plans (we have demand for tutors who can support both general-education and learning-difference students)
• Bilingual (Spanish, Mandarin, or other languages common in the communities we serve)