Let’s clear up what a Navigator is — by starting with what they’re not.
Teachers move the class forward. A Navigator moves your child — from exactly where they are.
Tutors fix tonight’s homework. A Navigator tracks your child’s specific gaps across 16 weeks.
Instructors deliver content. A Navigator knows when your child goes quiet — and why.
Four phases. One Navigator. Every session.
Selects the day’s text at precisely the right Lexile — above comfort, below frustration.
Lexile-calibrated text selection
Holds space for the student’s own thinking. Does not fill the silence. Waits for the idea.
Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking routines anchor the process
Draws out the student’s position through Socratic dialogue. Then challenges it.
Spoken argument — defended, not performed
Assesses the written response live against 6+1 Traits. Scores are specific. Feedback is precise.
6+1 Trait framework — named scores
How we choose a Navigator.
Every Navigator clears a teaching demonstration, Lexile certification, and a 6+1 Trait calibration before they ever meet a DODO student. Three minutes inside the process.
The same Navigator. Every session. Sixteen weeks.
Credentialed: Every Navigator holds a graduate degree from a world top-50 university — Oxford, U of T, Queen’s, LSE and others — with a specialist background in English literature or composition. They are certified Lexile assessment practitioners and trained in the 6+1 Trait writing framework. Native English speakers, longitudinal experience with bilingual learners in North American academic contexts.
Matching: Navigators are matched to students — not assigned. Before the first session, DODO assesses your child’s Lexile baseline, their 6+1 Trait writing profile, and their communication style. The match is intentional.
Longitudinal: Your child’s Navigator carries their full history. Every Lexile score. Every session note. Every moment where a concept clicked or didn’t. There is no starting over. There is no new face.
Gap tracking: A Navigator does not prepare a lesson plan. They prepare for your specific child — where they are this week, what the gap is, and which part of The Loop will close it.
Ms. Kimberly.
A practicing professor of English Literature and Communication, Ms. Kimberly holds an education degree from Queen's University and brings seven years of guiding students through the kind of close reading and structured composition North American universities expect. Her sessions are grounded in the MCT tradition of author mirroring — students study the moves of a published author until those moves become available in their own writing. Inside The Loop, she is sharpest at the Speak → Write transition, where a student's spoken position has to land as a precise sentence on the page.
- Years teaching
- 7
- Lexile certified
- Yes
- 6+1 Trait calibrated
- Yes
More Navigators on the team.
Background in composition and academic writing — taught at secondary and post-secondary level.
“I’m most interested in the moment before the student writes — the thinking they haven’t found words for yet.”
Student, Grade 6 · Vancouver
Lexile 660 → 810 · 16 weeks
Specialized in critical reading and argumentation — extensive work with multilingual learners.
“The Loop is where the student discovers they already know how to think — they just needed structure to see it.”
Student, Grade 8 · Toronto
Lexile 720 → 920 · 16 weeks
What happens in a real session
Navigator reviews last session’s notes and the student’s written work since the previous session. They know where the student struggled, what clicked, and what needs reinforcement today.
Student reads a Lexile-calibrated text. Navigator asks one open question. Then waits. The silence is intentional — this is where thinking happens.
Student articulates their position. Navigator listens, then challenges with a Socratic follow-up. The goal isn’t agreement — it’s precision.
Student writes their argument. Navigator scores live using 6+1 Traits — Ideas: 4/6, Organization: 5/6. Feedback is specific, not generic. The score names the gap.
Navigator assigns targeted work — specific to the gap identified today. Parent receives session notes with Lexile progress and specific next-session focus.
What families say
“We tried three tutors before DODO. Every time, it was the same: homework help, then back to square one next week. With her Navigator, my daughter finally has someone who remembers her — what she struggles with, what she’s good at, where she needs to go next. It’s the first time I’ve seen actual progress.”
“The difference is specificity. Before DODO, teachers would say ‘needs improvement in writing.’ His Navigator told us exactly where the gap was — sentence structure, supporting evidence — and we watched those scores go up week by week. Numbers don’t lie.”
“My son doesn’t like talking in class. But with his Navigator, he talks. She knows when to wait, when to push, when to let him think. I’ve never seen him engage like this. It’s not magic — it’s the relationship.”
“Between sessions, my daughter’s Navigator leaves her targeted work — not busywork. She actually does it because it’s connected to what they talked about. The learning doesn’t stop at 60 minutes.”
Your child deserves a Navigator who knows exactly where they are — and exactly where they’re going.
Sixteen weeks. One Navigator. Measurable progress in reading, thinking, speaking, and writing.
Book Your ConsultationNo long-term commitment. See results in 16 weeks.