Hoot Reading Review Summary

Hoot Reading hires experienced teachers from North America on $18-20 an hour to provide online reading support 1v1 to Grade K-9 children. You must have a teaching license, B.Ed. degree or be in the 4th year of one, and be available for 12 hours a week, though low student demand restricts hiring and bookings.

Pay (per hour):$18-20
Native / Non-Native Speakers accepted?USA, Canada
TEFL / TESOL / CELTA required?No
Degree / diploma required?Yes
Adult / child students?Children
Class size:1
Minimum hours (per week):12

Hoot Reading Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • Fair pay rate
  • Not required to put on a performance, with TPR unnecessary
  • Paid training

Cons:

  • Must have 2+ years of classroom teaching experience
  • Must be available for 12+ hours a week
  • Low bookings
  • Temporary hiring freezes
  • Unstable website which doesn’t always display when trying to apply

What Is Hoot Reading?

Hoot Reading online tutorials are designed to help young learners boost their reading skills through phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency and comprehension, with teachers providing real-time constructive feedback as the child reads. Guided reading practice is done aloud, one-on-one, with books accessed through the Hoot Reading app.

In addition to their English program, there is also Hoot French and Hoot Spanish, pairing bilingual teachers with students enrolled in immersion programs in those languages.

What Grade Level Is Hoot?

The Hoot Reading level/age ranges from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 9, with struggling to gifted readers, though most students are between Pre-K and Grade 4. A Hoot Reading tutor is expected to work with a variety of children, at different ages and reading levels, though they may acquire regular students if the parents request it.

Is Hoot Reading Legit?

Hoot Reading is a legitimate EdTech company that was launched in 2018 and has a Trustpilot score of 4.7 out of 5.

Where Is Hoot Reading Located?

Hoot Reading has its headquarters in Winnipeg, Canada, though it serves students across North America and is expanding into other countries, such as Mexico.

How Much Does Hoot Reading Pay?

Hoot Reading teacher pay ranges between $18-20, based on education, experience, and communication skills.

Bonuses are available for completing lessons, receiving positive feedback, referring other teachers, and assisting with special projects.

Student no-shows still result in teachers receiving full pay for their lesson.

The Hoot Reading salary is paid twice a month via direct deposit or a third-party merchant account.

Hoot Reading Hours

Hoot Reading teaching hours run from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am-3pm on weekends.

There is a minimum hours commitment of 12 hours a week which you must be available for, and preference is given to teachers who can work over 25 weekly hours. As sessions are pre-scheduled, it is important to be able to maintain a consistent schedule.

Hoot Reading teachers are otherwise free to schedule their own availability.

Most Hoot Reading sessions last 20 minutes, though there are some that are 30 or 40-minutes long. An additional 5 minutes is scheduled afterwards to allow teachers to write-up their notes and provide feedback.

Hoot Reading Requirements

  • Must hold an Education degree (Bachelor’s, Post-Baccalaureate or Master’s), be in the 4th year of a B.Ed. program, or hold a Certified Teacher’s license
  • Have 2+ years of classroom teaching experience, with preference given to K-4 (this has increased from 1+ year)
  • Elementary reading experience
  • Speak English as a first language (Hoot French or Hoot Spanish teachers must be fluent bilingual)
  • Have access to a computer, laptop or tablet, with a built-in microphone, camera, and a fast, stable internet connection (an Apple iPad is preferred, but it is possible to teach on an alternate device through a browser)
  • Possess strong communication skills and a passion for literacy and guided reading
  • Be able to maintain a consistent schedule with 12 hours availability a week (preference given to those able to work 25+ hours)

Hoot Reading Application Process

There are 4 steps to the Hoot Reading hiring process, which can take a month depending on demand:

  1. Application form
  2. Phone interview
  3. Virtual interview and demo lesson
  4. Background and abuse registry check

Open positions are listed on the Hoot Reading careers page (e.g., ‘Online Reading Teacher / Literacy Specialist’), or apply for Hoot Reading jobs directly and click on the ‘Get Started’ button.

(The Hoot Reading website appears to be somewhat unstable, as several times we received an HTTP error when trying to revisit the site. We recommend completing your application in one go once you are able to, as this seems to affect return visits.)

Here are the details you are required to submit on your Hoot Reading application form:

  • Basic Info
    • First name
    • Last name
    • Email address
    • Phone number
  • Location
    • City
    • State/Province
    • ZIP/Postal code
    • Country
    • Timezone
  • Education
    • Do you have a Bachelor of Education, Post Baccalaureate, or Masters of Education? Yes/No/final year of degree
    • What is your highest level of education?
    • Indicate the name of your completed degree(s)
    • What was your degree specialization?
    • Do any of the following specialties or certifications apply to you?
      • Reading Specialist
      • French Immersion
      • Spanish Immersion
      • Special Education
      • EAL/ESL
      • Reading Recovery
    • Do you have an active teaching license/certificate? Yes/No
  • Experience
    • How much teaching experience do you have? (all learning environments, including classroom teaching and tutoring)
    • Have you taught in a French/Spanish classroom? Yes/No (if applicable)
    • Have you taught in a K-6 classroom in the US or Canada? Yes/No
    • Do you have other classroom experience? Yes/No
      • Indicate the type of experience
    • Do you have online tutoring/teaching experience? Yes/No
      •  Describe your online tutoring experience
    • Tell us a bit about your teaching/literacy experience
    • Upload a resume if you have one
  • References (you can choose to submit references later in the interview process)
    • 1st Reference
      • First and last name
      • Email address
      • Phone number
      • Job/Role
      • Letter to upload? Yes/No
    • 2nd Reference
      • First and last name
      • Email address
      • Phone number
      • Job/Role
      • Letter to upload? Yes/No
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • What do you self identify as your race or ethnic background?
  • What are you looking for?
    • How soon do you want to start teaching?
    • How many hours per week are you looking for?
    • What days of the week do you think you will be generally available?
    • What time(s) of day do you think you will be generally available?
    • Is there any other information you would like to provide about your general availability?
  • Help us learn more
    • Are you bilingual or multilingual?
    • Before conducting Hoot Reading lessons, a successful background check is required
    • You have reviewed and agree to Hoot Reading’s Privacy Policies and Terms of Use
    • You give permission to receive communications from Hoot Reading via email/text

Hoot Reading will temporarily freeze hiring if there is insufficient student demand, in which case your application will be held for consideration at a future date.

Hoot Reading Interview

Should your application be selected to continue the process, the next step is a telephone interview, where Hoot Reading will ask about the information you submitted and your teaching strategies. If you are located outside of Canada, be aware that the call may be labeled as ‘spam’ when it comes through. Be sure to mention at this stage if you wish to use a device other than an Apple iPad for the subsequent demo.

Here are some Hoot Reading Interview Questions that were previously asked of candidates:

  • Describe your experience with guided reading / How many years have you taught reading?
  • What was the last job in which you taught guided reading?
  • What is a guided lesson?
  • How does an online guided lesson compare to one in the classroom?
  • What strategies do you use to teach?
  • What are the best decoding strategies you use in the classroom?
  • What are your go-to strategies other than sounding out words if a child doesn’t know them and becomes frustrated?
  • Describe an incident in which you dealt with student behavioral problems
  • What hours are you available to work? / How many hours per week can you work?

Hoot Reading Demo

The second interview is a demo, lasting 15 minutes plus a 5-minute discussion with the interviewer. Ahead of time you will be told the reading level of the child and have to select two books for them to read from the Hoot Reading program library. The books come with teaching guidelines and suggestions of areas to focus on, such as comprehension questions, synthetic phonics, and predicting what’s next.

If successful, you should be offered a contract within 24 hours of the second interview/demo. You will then have to provide an up-to-date criminal background check plus professional references, and complete orientation, which consists of (paid) online training videos to complete over 2-4 hours.

Working for Hoot Reading Reviews

Being a relatively young startup, there are not many Hoot Reading job reviews available online yet.

The Hoot Reading Glassdoor page gives the company an average rating of 4.6 out of 5, with 100% willing to recommend them to a friend, though this is calculated from just 8 Hoot Reading employee reviews, some of which were written by managers and directors who have a vested interest to be biased. Perhaps more tellingly, the sole Hoot Reading teacher review among them is the only one to award less than the maximum rating (just 2 stars), and while they talk positively about the students and the flexibility of choosing their own hours and working from home, they criticize the rate of pay, the level of communication, and selection of books available:

There is currently only one review (from a ‘Reading Specialist’) on the Hoot Reading Indeed page, though it contradicts the aforementioned claim about communication, instead saying that the company is quick to answer questions professionally and sympathetically, though there isn’t enough work to make this a full-time job:

A teachers’ group thread on Facebook also highlights that Hoot Reading bookings are hard to come by:

Conclusion – Is Hoot Reading Worth It?

Many teachers seem to prefer reading support jobs to ESL ones, enjoying the interaction with Native Speakers and not having to over-perform with TPR. However, Hoot Reading seems limited in the amount of work it can offer, unless you are a bilingual teacher in French or Spanish. If you are happy with just a handful of bookings a month as a side gig, then they might be worth applying to, however, they are not suitable for those wanting full-time work.

You can apply for Hoot Reading jobs here. For a similar role, you may also wish to consider Savvy Reading.

A full list of other online teaching companies can be found here.

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Dr Daniel Spence

Daniel Spence is the founder of Online Teaching Review. He has been an international teacher since 2008, an award-winning academic, author of two books, and holds a PhD, MA, BA (Hons), and TESOL.

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