She has since been taking lessons with a private tutor.

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Tiffany Pratt, who is shopping for a scarce one-bedroom apartment for her son, a private tutor, on the far Upper East Side or in East Harlem, begs to differ.

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She chose to enroll in the local school and is trying again for first grade, signing up for the TestingMom.com site, enrolling in a popular prep school in Flushing on weekends and hoping to use a private tutor toward the end.

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Tutor.com, for example, expands the range of students that can benefit from private instruction by cutting out travel and scheduling.

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