Posted: 16 May 2010 10:44 PM PDT

MAGNOLIA – Seeing first-hand the difference Club Z! Tutoring made in their child's life, John and Sandra Marquis have opened a local office.

Based in Magnolia and serving Magnolia, Montgomery, Pinehurst and Lake Conroe, Club Z! Tutoring is an in-home tutoring service for pre-kindergartners to adults covering all subjects.

"Club Z is a very unique service," John Marquis said. "All the tutors I hire go to the student's home for a one-on-one type of setting that they typically can't get in school."

John Marquis III was having trouble in kindergarten, prompting his parents to call Club Z. Later, he was diagnosed as dyslexic but is now ready to advance into second grade, John Marquis said.

"If he didn't get the help he needed from Club Z, he probably would have failed," he said.

Saving parents time and offering one-on-one tutoring, Club Z provides a variety of tutoring services. The most average time spent with tutors is one-hour sessions twice a week. If a student is failing with a short timeframe to pass, tutors may work with the student in two-hour sessions three times a week.

"Each student is different on their abilities," John Marquis said.

The cost is $35 an hour for elementary students, $37 an hour for middle school/junior high students and $39 an hour for high school students.

Club Z also offers an SAT program for $50 an hour and its "Learning Built to Last" study skills session for $60 an hour.

"It basically teaches the kids how to be organized, how to study," John Marquis said. "It's basically everything a kid needs to be successful and doesn't know to do."

Both the SAT and study skills programs are 18- to 25-hour courses, John Marquis said.

To learn more, call (281) 251-2086 or (936) 232-0832 or visit www.clubztutoring.com/Montgmery.

Kassia Micek can be reached at kmicek@hcnonline.com.

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Bill calls for student-athlete tutoring

Posted: 16 May 2010 04:12 AM PDT

Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, said he came up with the idea as a former middle school coach when he required his student-athletes to be tutored for an hour before each practice.

"I might not have had the best team on the football field or basketball court, but I took a lot of pride in knowing our students passed," Harrison told the committee. "All of my athletes passed."

Harrison's House Bill 257 calls for each local school board to spend no less than 5 percent of the money that's raised annually through athletic programs and activities on tutoring programs.

"The bills takes part of the proceeds that are there for the events and puts it toward year-round tutoring," he said. "You'll find out that if a kid is a football player, it's an incentive for that kid to stay involved and do well in school."

Some lawmakers expressed concern since the money being generated in the school systems doesn't just come from athletes.

"They're also paying to see the band and cheerleaders and pep squad," Rep. Hollis Downs, R-Ruston, said.

Harrison responded with a question that went unanswered: "Is there a failure problem with the bands and cheerleaders and pep squad?"

Still, it was a tough sell for many members with small districts back home.

"I think 5 percent could mean a lot in a small rural district like mine," said Rep. Major Thibaut, D-New Roads. "It could be the difference in having shoulder pads and some kids not playing."

Most lawmakers on the committee, however, cheered the proposed program.

"I think 5 percent is a minimal amount," said Rep. Elton Aubert, D-Vacherie.

The bill now heads to the House floor for further debate.

The committee also approved House Bill 486 by Harrison this week, which would require public-school guidance counselors to complete academic profiles for each ninth-grade student.

Harrison said the bill could be a way to get students on a career path earlier and involve parents more in the process.

The bill provides that the profile shall include but not be limited to the student's academic and personal goals, planning for college, exploring careers, participation in extracurricular activities and other skills and interests.

It likewise requires "student and parental involvement in completing the profile and in the annual review and revision of the profile."

HB 486 is also pending action on the House floor.

Jeremy Alford can be reached at jeremy@jeremyalford.com.

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Free tutoring help in Weldon

Posted: 17 May 2010 04:34 AM PDT

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Tutoring a student

Posted: 16 May 2010 10:30 PM PDT

Published May 16 2010

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