Carter Student Advisory
Academic Coaching
Thoughtful, one-on-one coaching that helps students strengthen organization, time management, follow-through, and confidence, using systems designed around how they learn.
A Personalized Approach
What Academic Coaching Looks Like
Academic coaching is a collaborative, student-centered process that helps students develop practical systems for planning, prioritizing, organizing, and following through. Our work is grounded in the student's actual courses, responsibilities, strengths, and learning style, not a standard program applied in the same way to everyone.
Students come to coaching for many reasons. Some are managing ADHD, learning differences, anxiety, overwhelm, or inconsistent performance. Others are high-achieving students who want stronger systems, better balance, or greater confidence as academic demands increase. A student does not need to be in crisis to benefit from coaching.
Setting the Terms Clearly
What Academic Coaching Offers
Coaching Includes
- Individualized support with planning, organization, time management, task initiation, study strategies, and follow-through
- A collaborative, strengths-based process shaped around the student's goals, learning style, and academic environment
- Practical executive functioning strategies that students can use across classes and over time
- A supportive, nonjudgmental space to reflect, problem-solve, and build greater ownership
- Thoughtful communication with parents and collaboration with schools or other professionals when appropriate
Coaching Does Not Replace
- Subject-specific tutoring when a student needs direct instruction in course content
- Therapy, mental health treatment, or medical care
- An IEP, 504 Plan, or school-based learning support
- The student's own responsibility for completing assignments and making decisions
Coaching is individualized, and the pace of progress varies. The goal is to help each student develop useful, sustainable skills.
How It Works
The Coaching Process, Start to Finish
Although coaching is individualized, the work often follows these five steps.
01
Complimentary Consultation
We begin with a conversation about the student's current experience, what is going well, where support may be helpful, and what the family hopes will change. Together, we consider whether coaching is a good fit.
02
Understanding the Student
I take time to understand the student's course load, commitments, strengths, learning style, current habits, and the specific challenges getting in the way.
03
Building a Personalized Plan
Together, we create practical systems for the student's real week, where deadlines will be recorded, how larger assignments will be broken down, and how academic and personal responsibilities can be balanced.
04
Weekly Coaching Sessions
During regular sessions, we reflect on what worked, address what did not, review upcoming responsibilities, and create a realistic plan for the week ahead. Sessions also provide consistency, encouragement, and accountability.
05
Reviewing Progress and Adjusting
As the student's needs, schedule, and independence change, we revisit the plan and adjust the strategies. The long-term goal is for the student to use these systems with increasing confidence and less outside support.
One Approach, Two Stages
How Coaching Adapts by Stage
The skills students are building are often similar, but the level of structure, communication, and independence changes with the student's age, needs, and circumstances.
High School Coaching
- Session Focus
- Building practical systems for organization, planning, study habits, time management, and consistent follow-through.
- Parent Involvement
- Parent communication is tailored to the student and family. The goal is to keep parents appropriately informed while helping the student take increasing ownership of school responsibilities.
- Primary Goal
- Helping the student build confidence and independence gradually, with an appropriate level of support at home.
College Coaching
- Session Focus
- Managing a more independent academic life, including deadlines, study routines, competing commitments, faculty communication, and self-advocacy.
- Parent Involvement
- Coaching is primarily a direct relationship with the college student. Any parent communication is discussed in advance and handled in a way that respects the student's privacy and growing independence.
- Primary Goal
- Helping the student develop the systems, self-awareness, and confidence to manage college responsibilities independently.
What Coaching Can Look Like
One Student's Turnaround
One student's academic turnaround after beginning weekly coaching
From a 1.73 to a 3.85
One USC engineering student began coaching at the start of his sophomore year after earning a 1.73 cumulative GPA during freshman year. He loved USC and was highly motivated to remain there, but he had struggled to balance academics with an active social life and other commitments.
We began by looking honestly at how he had approached freshman year. We reviewed his syllabi and created a semester calendar that included academic deadlines as well as social, activity, and family obligations. During weekly sessions, we discussed what had and had not worked, reviewed the upcoming week, and created a realistic time-blocked plan. We also worked on study strategies, ways to move through procrastination, and techniques for strengthening motivation.
He embraced the process and put the systems into practice, earning a 3.85 semester GPA that fall. We continued working together during his second semester as he refined the strategies, and by junior year he was able to use them independently.
This is one student's experience, not a promise of a particular result. Progress looks different for every student, which is why coaching is tailored to the individual.
Example shared with permission. Identifying details are intentionally omitted.
A clear, manageable weekly plan built around the student's real academic and personal commitments
Practical strategies for studying, getting started, managing time, and following through
Greater ownership, confidence, and independence over time
See What a Plan for Your Student Could Look Like
Schedule a complimentary consultation to share what your student is experiencing, learn more about my approach, and explore whether coaching may be a good fit.
Schedule a Complimentary Consultation
Who You Would Be Working With
Janelle Carter, M.Ed.
I am an academic coach and educational counselor with a Master of Education in Educational Counseling from the University of Southern California. I also completed academic coaching training through USC's Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity, a nationally respected program focused on executive functioning, learning, and student wellbeing.
My professional experience spans academic coaching, executive functioning support, learning services, and university advising. Across each of these roles, my focus has remained the same: building strong relationships, helping students better understand how they learn, and developing practical systems that support greater confidence and independence.
Common Questions
Frequently
Asked
Questions
More detailed questions specific to high school or college are answered on each of those pages.
What is academic coaching, exactly?
Individualized, one-on-one support focused on how a student approaches learning and manages academic responsibilities: planning, organization, time management, task initiation, and follow-through. The goal is practical systems, greater confidence, and increasing independence, not a fixed curriculum applied the same way to everyone.
How is this different from tutoring?
Tutoring helps a student understand a specific subject. Coaching focuses on the systems and executive function skills that support performance across every class at once: planning assignments, getting started, managing time, and following through. Some students benefit from both.
Do you work with both high school and college students?
Yes. The underlying skills are the same, but the approach adjusts by stage, particularly around how much structure a student needs and how much parents are involved. The comparison above outlines the difference, and each stage has its own dedicated page with more detail.
How long does it take to see results?
It varies by student, which is exactly why no fixed timeline is promised here. Some families notice a shift in the first few weeks. Others take a full semester to see it reflected in grades. The consultation is a good place to talk through what a realistic timeline looks like for your student specifically.
Is coaching only for students who are struggling?
No. A student does not need to be failing or in crisis to benefit. Plenty of students in coaching are high achievers who want a stronger system, more balance, or better preparation for what is next, not a rescue plan.
How do I know if coaching is the right fit?
Start with the complimentary consultation. It is a genuine two-way conversation, not a sales call, and if coaching is not the right fit, that gets said directly, along with what might be a better option instead.
Whether your student wants stronger organization, more consistent follow-through, better balance, or greater confidence, coaching begins with understanding the individual student and building from there.
Schedule a complimentary consultation to explore what support could look like.
Start the Conversation