Wednesday, July 28, 2010

“Tutoring center nearing 1st 5-week session finish” plus 3 more

“Tutoring center nearing 1st 5-week session finish” plus 3 more

Tutoring center nearing 1st 5-week session finish

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 09:14 AM PDT

BY JESSICA GOFF / THE DAILY IBERIAN
Published/Last Modified on Thursday, July 15, 2010 2:07 PM CDT

A fledgling tutoring center is gearing up to service Iberia Parish high school students during the coming school year.

The West End Tutoring and Skill Center, at 524 Hopkins St., will finish up its first five-week tutoring session with seven high school students and three students in a GED program.

Center executive director Will Berry said the center is preparing to take in "as many students as it can" when the facility reopens on Sept. 7.

"We will not turn away a single student," Berry said.

Berry began working on a blueprint for the tutoring program in January, which is housed in the Com-munity Outreach Center owned by the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office.

The program works with local high schools to help improve reading, writing and math skills. Keyboarding skills and basics to a foreign language are also taught during sessions, Berry said. The center's schedule will run parallel with the Iberia Parish school district's calendar.

Iberia Parish Superin-tendent of Schools Dale Henderson encouraged students to take advantage of the program.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for our students who need a little extra help," Henderson said. "As a school system, we want to do everything we can to support the efforts of this program. They have a very noble cause."

Cornell Nezzet, a 17-year-old Westgate High School football player, has been studying in the program throughout the summer. He said language arts is his favorite subject, next to physical education, he added jokingly.

His day at the center begins at 4 p.m. with journal writing. Then he's on to Spanish class, which is followed by a math lesson taught by 25-year teaching veteran Michael Daye. The days ends at 7:30 p.m.

Berry said he was a teacher for 35 years and dubs himself the "biggest cheerleader for education."

He said the tutoring center is meant for high school students who are either behind in school or just want to enhance their learning skills. He calls it "catching up, getting even or getting ahead."

He said constant support is the key to inspiring teens to be open to education. He hopes the center will curb the parish's high school drop-out rate.

"I think students respond when they see that there is a genuine interest on part of the instructor and there is a perception that teachers really care," Berry said.

The center is funded through United Way and federal grants. The sessions are free to students, and Berry anticipates expanding the teaching staff for the fall tutoring session.

Part of the West End Tutoring and Skill Center's mission statement is not only to "provide each student with the skills to learn," but to "recognize value in self and others."

The center plans to provide mentors to advise students along with enhancing curriculum skills.

The center will hold a "Welcome Back to School" night, which will include a hot dog cookout on Sept. 7. All parish students and their families are invited to attend. For more information on the tutoring center, call 577-6275.

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Library changes to boost tutoring

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 06:08 AM PDT

The Fraser Valley Regional Library has switched its online tutoring service to Tutorworld BC, and will save $75,000 by doing so.

FVRL was the first organization to offer Live Homework Help, which is an American based service through Tutor.com that gives students from grades 4 to 12 and first year college students a way to be tutored online by certified teachers, college professors and graduate students.

The service had been offered since 2005 for free through FVRL, but the price for another year would have cost the library $105,000.

Pitt Meadows Councillor Doug Bing said that the program was receiving high praise from the students who had used it, although there were still some drawbacks.

"There is little appreciation for Canadian history or culture," said Bing. "It was prudent to look into other options."

FVRL then found Tutorworld BC, which is run by a company called the Interactive Learning Corporation which is based in Surrey.

ILC also offers the Learn Now BC website, which helps students in grades 10-12.

The cost of switching to Tutorworld BC is $30,000 for the ten-month school year

Some of the drawbacks of switching to Tutorworld BC are that the hours of online operation are cut to 6-9 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday, and that it doesn't offer service during the summer months.

Live Homework Help was run seven days a week, all year long between 4 and 9 p.m.

Tutorworld BC is also only available to students in grades six to nine, whereas Live Homework Help was available for students in grades four to 12 and first year college.

However, according to FVRL CEO Rob O'Brennan's report, just five per cent of Live Homework Help's students were in grades four or five, and 11 per cent of their students were in their first year of college.

And for the students in grades 10 to 12 who won't be able to be tutored by Tutorworld BC, they still have access to Learn Now BC.

Tutorworld BC's program also does not offer English help, but the report also shows that just 15 per cent of Live Homework Help's questions were related to English, and that the majority of the questions were related to math and science.

Interactive Learning Corpration employs well-screened high school and university students, pays more than minimum wage, and high school students receive school credit for their work.

Although Tutorworld BC's services are more limited than that of Live Homework Help's, Tutorworld BC's tutoring and online lesson aids are geared towards British Columbia's curriculum.

Bing said that "the change from a successful American-based tutoring program to a Canadian program for grades six to nine coordinated with a provincial tutoring program for grades 10 to 12 represents a win-win for all BC students."

"It also demonstrates how the public library continues to be progressive and relevant to its users in a digital age," said Bing.

The best part about the new program is that it is available at libraries and at home, so that students don't have to be embarrassed by asking for help.

Because Tutorworld BC only costs the FVRL $30,000 for ten months, the $75,000 saved will benefit the library and its users.

"The trade-offs are outweighed by the $75,000 per year cost savings, and there is value aligning FVRL with the province-supported Learn Now BC website," said O'Brennan in his report.

About $20,000 of the money saved will be used to market FVRL's online tutoring service, and the other $55,000 will be invested in enhancing FVRL's collection.

Interactive Learning Corporation is looking to expand Tutorworld BC, as it is actively researching and developing its content, such as reading tutoring for students in grades four and five, and tutoring for core French.

© Copyright (c) Lower Mainland Publishing

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KnowledgePoints gears up workshops, tutoring in Florham Park

Posted: 28 Jul 2010 07:21 AM PDT

FLORHAM PARK – The KnowledgePoints Learning Center, with locations in Regency Plaza, 186 Columbia Turnpike, next to Trader Joe's, and at Lifetime Fitness, 14 Fernwood Road, both in Florham Park, is now enrolling students for its summer tutoring programs and workshops.

In addition to its regular tutoring programs in math, reading, language arts, and "SAT/ACT Prep," KnowledgePoints is offering a series of noontime workshops that combine education, skills development, and fun.

July is featuring two separate writing workshops, for grades 3-5 and grades 6-8, that will help students develop writing competencies and styles.

In August, a study skills workshop and a "Getting Ready for Algebra Tune-Up" will prepare students for a smooth transition into the new school year.

 The summer tutoring hours are 10 a.m. to noon and 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Noontime workshops run to 2 p.m.

For information about KnowledgePoints summer programs, call (973) 593-0050 or visit www.knowledgepointslearning.com.

 

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Students benefit from summer tutoring help

Posted: 27 Jul 2010 12:56 PM PDT

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