Looking for recommendations for a critical reading/writing course or teacher for my rising 9th grader who due to COVID and family health issues will need to take a leave from school this spring. Would like to find someone that really pushes his skills to build confidence and speed. Any recommendations?

You can sign up directly for courses with Michael Clay Thompson, via Royal Fireworks Press. Might that suit?

Looks like I have missed the deadline for spring semester. Do you know of another way to take those courses?

Have you considered CTY courses? At least some of their writing courses can be done self paced. One of my children has done a variety of CTY courses and I have been most impressed by the writing courses, which they did as self paced.

Thanks for your reply. Which course did your child do? Was there a good deal of feedback on the writing so that the student can re-draft and improve?

My child is younger, so has started from the beginning of the series of writing courses, they've completed the first two, we would continue but in person schooling interferes at the moment:

The Process of Writing
Writing for an Audience
Crafting the Essay - https://cty.jhu.edu/online/courses/arts_humanities/crafting_the_essay.html
Writing Analysis and persuasion - https://cty.jhu.edu/online/courses/arts_humanities/writing_and_persuasion.html

The first two courses are designed such that there are around 4 actual projects across 10 lessons, you submit one, and while it is being marked you start the next project. Then in a latter lesson you start another pass over a previously marked work, and use new instructions and teacher feedback to refine the work. So feedback, how to use feedback, explicit teaching on revisioning, etc are the whole point of the course.

I was not impressed by the grammar course my child did. And the reading courses were fun but not super challenging. The writing course has been really excellent.

This sounds wonderful!
Thanks for sharing this.