By Mary L. Grady

A new Eastside in-home tutoring service has set up shop this summer.

The Bellevue-based service, called ClubZ!, is part of a national chain of locally-based tutoring businesses that finds tutors for clients. The tutors work with individuals at their homes.

Jessica Patterson of Bellevue opened a Club Z! franchise from her home. The tutoring company matches tutors to clients for a variety of educational needs using a database of local educators.

Patterson, who began her firm this past July, already has several clients and 59 tutors in her database. She said that a few of her tutors live on the Island and so far she has one client here.

She said that parents like the idea of tutoring in the home. It means less driving. It is more convenient for them. Clients are matched with tutors who are carefully screened, she said.

“Most of the tutors are certified teachers and tutors who are not are experienced professionals, many with advanced degrees,” she said.

Patterson is charging $39 per hour, a summer rate that she said will continue through September.

Tutoring services are not just for students who need extra help. The services and topics include SAT test prep for students who are already high achievers and want to get a higher score, for example.

A single parent of an elementary school child with ADHD, Patterson began to realize how important it was to have quality tutors available to work with her child at their home. She initially wanted to start a business with tutors that specialize in working with kids with learning disabilities. But she has expanded well beyond that initial idea.

The firm is ready to work with all ages and grades.

It can be a young adult who wants to pass a placement test, go back to college, re-enter the work force or brush up on job skills after a promotion, she explained.

ClubZ! has 350 locations in the United States, six in Washington state. The company has been in business for 10 years, Patterson said.

The firm does full criminal and background checks. The national firm is an approved provider of supplemental education services through the federal “No Child Left Behind” laws.

As for the tutors themselves, it is a way that some who are already tutoring can expand their client base, Patterson said.

The tutors she has talked with get personal enjoyment from tutoring, she said. “These people like their job.”

Other private firms offering tutoring services and classes for public school credit on the Island include Educational Tutoring and Consulting (ETC), Privett Academy and American Education Academy. Tutoring is also available through the Boys & Girls Club and other individuals.