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Private Academic Coach in Toronto

Looking for a private academic coach in Toronto?

I'm Dr. June Starkey, an Ontario-certified teacher (OCT) with 39 years of experience in education, including 20 years in private practice coaching students from Kindergarten through graduate school, in English and French. At Great Brain Learning, academic coaching goes far beyond homework help. I teach students how to plan, study, read, write and think in ways that last. Sessions are one-on-one, in person in Toronto or live online, and grounded in the science of learning and metacognition (learning how to learn).

     What is academic coaching? Academic coaching focuses on skills and habits, while tutoring covers content. From day one, my job as an academic coach is to help students see what they need to do, then build their ability with them to do it on their own. That takes skill, and it also takes awareness. The goal of academic coaching is not to make me indispensable; it's to ensure that I become unnecessary. 

In coaching sessions, I teach learners the specific strategies that decades of learning research have shown to work:
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  • Retrieval practice: how to study in a way that actually builds memory (not re-reading)

  • Spaced practice: how to plan review so that studying two weeks before a test beats studying two nights before

  • Metacognition: how to notice when you don't understand something and know what to do about it

  • Task planning and time management: how to break a big assignment into achievable pieces

  • Focus and attention strategies: how to work in a way that respects how the teenage brain actually functions

  • Self-monitoring: how to know whether you're on track before it's too late

Who I coach

  • Elementary students building reading and learning skills

  • High school students (Ontario curriculum, IB/AP, OSSLT)

  • University and post-secondary students

  • French First Language and French Immersion learners

  • Students with unique learning needs, including ADHD, dyslexia or an IEP

What We Work On

Study skills, executive function (organization, time management, planning), reading comprehension, essay writing, exam preparation, SAT preparation and metacognition (for learning awareness and strategies.

Why Families Choose a Private Academic Coach

One coach, not a rotating roster. Doctorate-level expertise. Bilingual. 1,000+ families since 2006. Measurable results.

Meet Kaitlin, who went from a 1.0 GPA at risk for academic probation to Dean's list in a prestigious Canadian science program in ONE year.
Her reading accuracy improved +40%, and she raised her GPA to 3.8 in one term. Read on...
 

I first met Kaitlin when she was a second-year undergraduate student in a prestigious post-secondary science program, facing academic probation with a 1.0 GPA. Undiagnosed visual and auditory processing challenges, combined with pandemic-disrupted high school learning, had left her behind, scrambling for answers and support.

 

Kaitlin completed high school entirely online during COVID. No live teachers. No real feedback. A Grade 9 Individualized Education Plan (IEP) gave her extra time for writing exams, but no one taught her how to use her skills and the extra time effectively. She wasn't sure how to structure her study time, advocate for herself, or know what learning strategies and accommodations would be helpful. Most critically, she read at a Grade 5 level, slowly and inaccurately. Every assignment left her exhausted.

 

When Kaitlin approached me for assistance, we launched a targeted, skills-based literacy intervention. Daily reading fluency practice, comprehension strategies, and metacognitive skill building became the foundation for her learning and growth. Her parents supported her journey in incredible ways, making sure she had what she needed to do the work.

 

Together, we worked on:

• Understanding her psychological assessment to secure proper accommodations

• Structuring her study time across multiple science courses

• Advocating clearly with professors and disability services

• Reading and understanding university-level texts efficiently

 

Once Kaitlin understood that she could learn the knowledge she needed to do the work, everything became possible. She was excited about seeing the changes in her results and her confidence, and she reflected openly that she felt "alive" about learning in a way that had always eluded her. This "Boot Camp" of sorts required a couple of months of intensive work to transform Kaitlin's learning trajectory. In that time, she improved her reading accuracy by 40%, and her reading speed doubled. This meant that her reading comprehension was off-the-charts great. Kaitlin's grades jumped 28%, and she completed the term with a high B+ average. The following term, Kaitlin made the Dean's List at her university with a 3.8 GPA (84%). Her place in that renowned science program was now secure, and her confidence was restored.

 

Kaitlin's turnaround reveals that pandemic gaps are real and deep. Online learning had hidden her auditory and visual processing challenges, and those gaps became academic cliffs at university. Learning accommodations on an IEP are wasted without learning strategies, because extra time means nothing if a student can't read the exam or the assignment efficiently. A Grade 5 reading level plus her STEM courses equalled exhaustion and failure. University-level reading fluency meant the Dean's List was within reach.

How It Works

Four steps: Free call → Learning Skills Assessment → Personalized plan → Weekly coaching and progress updates.

Academic Coaching Rates

From $150/hour.

In person in Toronto:
Downtown, the Annex, Yorkville, Forest Hill, Rosedale, Midtown,
Yonge & Eglinton, Leaside, Lawrence Park, North York, East York, Scarborough, the Beaches,  Etobicoke.

Online across Ontario and Canada.

Serving Families Across Toronto

Client Reviews

What parents say about Dr. June Starkey's teaching:

"Working with Dr. June completely changed our lives ! Specifically, Dr. June taught my husband and I what learning strategies to deploy with our son to achieve real impact and results. We learned that he needed more critical in the moment feedback to improve his writing and critical reasoning skills. He learned directly from her how to recognize triggers for self improvement. By introducing this method of learning, we were able to better support our son. But, more importantly, he received the tools to self evolve. Within six months he increased his grades by a full level and all of his teachers noticed a meaningful breakthrough in his performance. We simply can’t thank Dr. June enough - for believing in our son but also for showing us how to believe in him."

Vanessa I. , 5 stars on Google

"You gave him everything he needed to succeed."

-Mary J., personal communication

"Dr. June has been an exponential part of my son’s learning journey, and I truly don’t have enough words to express our gratitude. He flew under the radar at school and never received the 1:1 support he genuinely needed. As a parent, it was heartbreaking to watch him struggle without the right tools or guidance especially after we learned he had a learning impairment. From the moment he began working with Dr. June, everything changed. She saw him, really saw him. She understood his learning disability, met him exactly where he was, and built a plan that allowed him to grow with confidence and hope. The patience, expertise, and compassion she brings to her work have had a profound impact not only on him, but on our entire family. My son now believes in himself in a way I hadn’t seen before. He feels capable, supported, and proud of the progress he’s making. That is a gift we will never forget. Thank you, Dr. June, for transforming what once felt like an uphill battle into a journey filled with possibility. We are endlessly grateful for everything you’ve done."

Penelope B., 5 stars on Google

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