Live online coaching, one to one, for neurodivergent students and student-athletes in grades 6 to 12. Real teachers, certified, matched to your student. Most families here were sent by another family.
I put out academic fires and bring peace to households.
I've been teaching for twenty years, and Peak Academics started with a simple idea: some kids need a different kind of teacher.
I work with student-athletes and neurodivergent learners. Kids carrying demanding training schedules, missed classes, ADHD, learning differences, anxiety and very high expectations. I've taught skiers who lose weeks of school to training, athletes travelling for competition and students who simply haven't found their place in a traditional classroom. No two of them arrive the same way.
I teach the curriculum, but that's only part of the job. We start with the student, and the organization, the executive functioning, the study strategies, and the confidence get built on top of that. It's why families find us through other families, and why they stay. My goal is a space where a student can breathe, regroup and get moving again. I'm a coach, not just a tutor.
Kira Spence
Founder, Peak Academics
“The trust Kira developed with my son was truly amazing.”
“With Kira you get a bit of everything. Kira is not just a tutor.”
Jenn GilesParent
Who we help
Two kinds of students find us.
Most families come to us after trying something else first. That is normal, and it is useful. It tells us what not to repeat.
Neurodivergent students
ADHD and twice exceptional learners who are far more capable than their report card suggests.
Executive functioning and study systems
IPPs, assessments and teacher advocacy
Homework stops being a nightly battle
Student-athletes
Serious competitors whose training schedule is eating their academics, and their plan B.
Sessions around practices, games and travel
PAT and Diploma Exam prep
A weekly check in on what is due and when
Jake Bean · WHL → NHLBalletCollegiate hockey
Rinks, studios, fairways and fields across Alberta. This is where our students are when they are not in a lesson, and it is why the schedule has to bend.
The Peak approach
Beyond tutoring.
Our sessions begin with connection, not direction. A tutoring centre teaches the hour in front of it. We teach the student.
Connection first
A lifeline for students who feel like they are sinking. We build trust first, and a learning space students actually want to show up to each week.
Educators, not tutors
Trained educators with double degrees: an undergraduate specialisation in their subject, plus an education degree. Real teachers, really qualified.
One on one, always
Sessions built entirely around your student. Never a group, never a drop-in centre, never an hour they have to share.
Family partnership
We go through what is due together in the session, and check in weekly. We don't log into your student's accounts behind their back. We help them bring it to you.
Results that hold
We ask why the assignment was missed, then build systems so it doesn't happen again. Learning carries forward, well beyond this school year.
Inside a session
What a session looks like.
In the lessonLive and one to one, worked through with your student rather than handed over finished.
Your endA laptop at the kitchen table, or a hotel room between games.
Between sessionsQuestions don't wait for the next appointment. Kira answers through the week, and every study note and practice exam lives in a shared Drive your student can open any time.
The team
Matched to the right educator.
Your student isn't assigned to whoever is free. Every educator holds an undergraduate degree in their subject area plus an education degree, and every match is made deliberately. Tap any face to read about them.
Kira Spence
Founder
Neurodivergent specialty
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Kira founded Peak. Social Studies is her specialty, and she teaches every junior high subject alongside it. Most of her work is with neurodivergent students and student-athletes, and she is the person you speak to first.
Rob
Junior high math and science
BSc Kinesiology
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Rob teaches junior high math and science, with a BSc in Kinesiology behind him. He works one on one, at whatever pace the student actually needs.
Calie
Junior and senior high humanities
BA History
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Calie teaches humanities across junior and senior high and holds a BA in History. Essays, sources and exam writing are where she spends most of her time.
Tess
Senior math and physics
Mathematics
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Tess teaches senior high math and physics, with a background in mathematics. She takes the courses students most often get stuck in.
Alison
Math and chemistry
Sciences
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Alison teaches math and chemistry, with a background in the sciences. She is often the one a student sees when a subject has stopped making sense.
Shaamir
STEM, maths and sciences
Chemical Engineering
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Shaamir teaches across STEM, junior and senior high maths and sciences. His degree is in Chemical Engineering.
Sophia
French Immersion
Late French Immersion
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Sophia teaches French Immersion, specializing in language acquisition through the Neurolinguistic Approach. Nineteen years in, she has led curriculum work for Late French Immersion and taken students to France and Québec.
Gina
Elementary specialist
Education
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Gina is our elementary specialist. Her degree is in Education, and she works with our youngest learners.
Eden
Performance coach
Team Canada gold medallist
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Eden is Peak's performance coach and a Team Canada gold medallist. She works with student-athletes on the parts of school that a competitive schedule makes hard.
Yvonne
Office manager · family support
Operations
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Yvonne runs the office. Scheduling, billing and the day to day, so no family is ever left chasing an answer.
Fees and how it works
Simple to start. Everything included.
Connect
We learn about your child, their needs and what's going on right now. No cost.
Match
We pair them with a teacher who fits, both academically and personally.
Support
A consistent weekly routine. One to three sessions, scheduled around training and family life, with teacher and parent communication in between.
Adjust
We adapt as your child grows and their needs change. The goal isn't just better grades. It's helping students feel capable again.
First conversationMeet us before anything starts
Free
Sessions with KiraFounder · neurodivergent specialty
$140/hr
Sessions with Peak educatorsDegree holding subject specialists
$110–130/hr
Fees include session prep, a weekly check in and communication with teachers and parents between sessions. Study notes, practice exams and every resource we build are shared with your student in a Google Drive. Staying in touch is part of the work, not an extra.
“More than any other teacher she had, Ms. Spence prepared my daughter for high school and more independent learning.”
Nola PeacockParent
“Awesome, energetic, committed, caring, passionate. What more could a parent want for their child?”
Shelley KeaneParent
“She has a gift for making a connection with her students, becoming not only an academic teacher but a life coach to them.”
J. RaptisParent
And the students, years later.
Kira takes a full circle approach. She understands her students have obligations outside the classroom as well as inside.
Jake BeanCalgary Flames · NHL
Kira's class changed my entire mindset about academia, and helped me realize that knowledge is power.
Eden MurrayOxford MBA ’20 · Yale ’18
The most influential role model I had the privilege of learning from. Kira pulled out potential I didn't know I had.
Emily PowerStFX University
Kira always made time to help me balance health, collegiate hockey and strenuous studies. An important mentor in my life.
Stefanie PohlodBioengineering · EPFL Lausanne
I am midway through my PhD in Neuroscience and Kira is still the best educator I have ever had.
Alison WilsonFormer student · Neuroscience PhD
Kira is a rock for her students, and an anchor for anyone who needs guidance when they're at a low point.
Isabella MarsdenPeak student
Kira was definitely a pivotal point in my education. I learned what it meant to keep an open mind and always find a different perspective.
Dr. Mick LeahyFormer student
All the students who have worked with Kira will say she is a teacher they will never forget.
Kirsten ChamberlinPsychology · University of Alberta
Kira asked the right questions, prodded at the right weaknesses, and helped ensure my academic success while I juggled an intense athletic schedule.
Spencer GunningBComm Finance · University of Calgary
The values Kira instilled in me during my junior high years shaped me into the person I am today. She remains a mentor in my life.
Emma PincottInformation Design · Mount Royal University
Common questions
What parents ask first.
Who is Peak for?+
Neurodivergent students, including ADHD and twice exceptional, and serious student-athletes. We cover all subjects in grades 6 to 9, senior high Language Arts, Social Studies, math and sciences, PAT and Diploma Exam prep, post secondary applications and elementary learners too.
How do virtual sessions actually work?+
Think of it as online tutoring, elevated. Live one on one video sessions, up to three per week, built around your student's schedule. We go through what's due together in the session and check in weekly. We don't log into your student's accounts when they aren't there. We help them bring what matters to you.
Do you work with IPPs and assessments?+
Yes. We review psychoeducational assessments, help implement and advocate for IPPs with your student's school, and can refer for assessment if one hasn't been done.
Does virtual work for a student with ADHD?+
Sessions are live, one on one and built around your student. Never a video course, never a group call. We start by building the relationship, because students show up for people, not platforms. The first conversation is free, so you can see how your student responds before committing to anything.
How is Peak different from a tutoring centre?+
Every Peak educator is a trained teacher with double degrees: an undergraduate degree in their subject plus an education degree. Sessions are always one on one, and your fee includes session prep, a weekly check in and communication with your student's teachers between sessions. You're not buying an hour. You're adding another qualified adult to your student's corner.
