“Tutoring center nearing 1st 5-week session finish” plus 3 more |
- Tutoring center nearing 1st 5-week session finish
- SAT Tutoring and ACT Tutoring Company StudyPoint Makes Inc 5000 for 4th Straight Year
- Churches provide summer tutoring to help students retain basic skills
- KnowledgePoints gears up workshops, tutoring in Florham Park
| Tutoring center nearing 1st 5-week session finish Posted: 29 Jul 2010 09:43 AM PDT BY JESSICA GOFF / THE DAILY IBERIAN 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. 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. Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| SAT Tutoring and ACT Tutoring Company StudyPoint Makes Inc 5000 for 4th Straight Year Posted: 29 Jul 2010 06:00 AM PDT StudyPoint, a national leader in private in-home SAT tutoring and ACT tutoring, has been named for the fourth consecutive year to the Inc. 5000 list of "The Fastest Growing Companies in America." (PRWEB) July 29, 2010 -- StudyPoint, a national leader in private in-home SAT tutoring and ACT tutoring, has been named for the fourth consecutive year to the Inc. 5000 list of "The Fastest Growing Companies in America." The tutoring industry in general, and the SAT tutoring and ACT tutoring markets in particular, are experiencing rapid growth as the college admissions process grows increasingly competitive. Given this backdrop, StudyPoint CEO and co-founder Rich Enos has been very happy with his company's progress, "To make the Inc 5000 list four years straight reflects the quality of our programs and the incredible people in our organization. We've worked hard over the last decade to establish ourselves as a leader in one-on-one tutoring, and this recognition from Inc illustrates how that hard work has paid off." The Inc 5000 is a collection of the fastest growing companies in the United States. To be eligible, companies must have earned at least $100,000 in revenue in 2006, and $2,000,000 in revenue in 2009. In addition to achieving an extraordinary rate of growth, award recipients have been an engine for growth during these trying economic times. According to the company's own data, the 2009 Inc 5000 are responsible for creating 1 million jobs since their founding. Having served over 13,000 SAT, ACT and academic tutoring students since its inception, and with revenues from last school year topping $5 million, StudyPoint accomplished the rare feat of making the list for the fourth year in a row. Company President and co-founder Greg Zumas notes that it hasn't been easy, "Every company faces hardships, but few periods in history have posed the unprecedented challenges of the 2008-2009 financial and real estate collapse. We had to tighten our belts, but we've never laid off a single staff person and we emerged from that period healthier and more profitable than ever." He credits the company's success to a focus on highly personalized tutoring, and an emphasis on finding and hiring quality instructors. As for the company's prospects, Enos is optimistic and points to the growing need for effective academic support. After climbing throughout the past decade, the number of college bound students will peak over the next two to three years, and with this increase the number of SAT test takers will also grow. The ACT has also been gaining in popularity on both coasts, all of which adds up to a more competitive college admissions environment and likely continued growth for those companies that assist students with this often trying rite of passage. Says Enos, "Our goal is to get students past the SAT or ACT so that the rest of their application can stand on its own merit. We have a pretty remarkable track record of doing just that." About StudyPoint, Inc Press Contact: ### StudyPoint, Inc Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Churches provide summer tutoring to help students retain basic skills Posted: 28 Jul 2010 11:11 PM PDT
Churches provide summer tutoring to help students retain basic skillsYakima Herald-Republic
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Ra'Vein Jones is already done with her worksheet. Sitting at a back table in the basement of Yakima's Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, she explains the intricacies of the assignment: combining like terms. It's pre-algebra. And the 12-year-old makes it sound easy. "All you have to do is add the numbers," she says, deciphering the first problem on a piece of paper covered with lots of numbers and Xs and Ys. This summer, the incoming seventh-grader is spending three mornings a week brushing up on her math skills. It's the second year she's participated in the free summer tutoring program, which aims to keep kids current with not only math, but reading and writing. The Kirkland Academy for Excellence at Bethel AME is one of at least two free tutoring programs offered by local churches in response to limited summer offerings in the Yakima School District this summer. Both churches are located in east Yakima, a predominantly Latino neighborhood where school supplies are often hard to come by and most students -- more than 90 percent at Washington Middle School and Barge-Lincoln, Garfield and Adams elementary schools -- qualify for free or reduced lunch. The programs serve about 40 students each. Bethel's program started last summer as a small pilot project, serving 10 to 20 students with the help of volunteer tutors, most of whom were members of the church. It now serves at least twice that number. It's also more organized this year and based on a new movement within the Fifth Episcopal District of the AME Church, which includes 15 Western states, as well as Alaska and India. About six blocks away, on the corner of East Yakima Avenue and North Sixth Street, First Baptist Church/Iglesia Comunidad Cristiana put together its program in just two months, hiring five YSD teachers to tutor children at the church during their summer vacation. "We really had two goals in mind when we started," says the pastor, the Rev. Dave Roberts. "One was the whole academic thing. ... The other was to let the community know we care about what's going on in the community." The program at his church includes swimming lessons twice a week at the Yakima Family YMCA next door. It also includes chapel time. But at Bethel, volunteer tutor Willette Cheatom stresses Kirkland Academy is not Vacation Bible School. Volunteers aim to foster a respectful environment, but "We don't teach them religion; that's not part of it," she says. "It's basically to keep kids up to speed so they don't have to start all over again in the fall. It's tutoring and teaching." Kirkland Academy for Excellence, or KAE, is the brainchild of Mary Kirkland, supervisor of the Fifth Episcopal District and wife of Bishop Larry T. Kirkland. Its mission, according to its website at kirklandacademy.com, is to "enhance and augment the education of young people within the AME churches and surrounding communities." And Yakima's Bethel AME Church is on the forefront. So far, it's the only AME church in Washington state -- as well as the AME Church's entire Pacific Northwest Conference -- to have officially started a Kirkland Academy. One other -- Ebenezer AME Church in Bremerton, Wash. -- is piloting the program, according to Kirkland, who lives in southern California, where there are four official academies. "We're starting with pilot programs, then moving on from that," says Kirkland, who started the initiative about a year ago. "We're very excited about it, and we're hoping it will be of help to anybody who needs it." Private tutoring programs for students who need extra help or want to get ahead can be expensive, she says, stressing she wants to make extra help or enrichment accessible to young people whose families might not otherwise be able to afford it. Many of the students who live near both churches are students of color. Most come from low-income families. "It's trying to give them a push forward," says Donna Janovitch, a retired Yakima and Union Gap teacher and principal. She's worked as a reading specialist as well as with migrant education and bilingual programs. "I think this is exciting, what we're trying to do." This is her second summer volunteering with Bethel's program. This year, she's teaching reading and language arts to third-graders through high schoolers. The session started June 15 and runs through today. Classes ran Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and were open to all Yakima-area students. Many who attend are Bethel members. But some go to other churches. And church membership isn't a requirement. Any preschool through twelfth-grade Yakima students can participate. At the beginning of the summer, "I was just praying for 25," says volunteer tutor Brenda Bone, a Bethel member and former teacher's aide. Now, she says, "The basement is getting too small." Organizers say they made more of an effort to recruit students this year when they learned summer school in the Yakima School District -- the region's largest, with about 14,600 students -- would be limited. The district is relying heavily on federal dollars earmarked specifically for migrant students to provide summer sessions. And, with additional shortfalls predicted in state revenue, next year's state education budget could be even more bleak. That, in turn, could mean more cutbacks at the local level. Grassroots community efforts, like these two church programs, might be able to help bridge the gap. At least, that's Roberts' hope. The first-year tutoring program at his church at 515 E. Yakima Ave. wraps up Friday. Forty students in kinder- First Baptist is paying five YSD teachers. And the YMCA has partnered with the program, offering a price break on swimming lessons. "We really put it together in less than two months. If we do it again, we need to get organized sooner," Roberts says, adding, "We will also need to find some financial partners." Eventually, organizers of Bethel's program are hoping to become a nonprofit organization, apply for grants, and increase the number of children, volunteers and donors. And that's something Roberts also says he's interested in pursuing. Meanwhile, at Bethel, the tutoring program is relying on donations -- in-kind and cash -- for supplies and services from breakfast foods to computer maintenance. The program is staffed by eight to 10 regular volunteers, about half of whom are church members, like Bone. "I did not want our children to lose their skills," she says. "Usually, when they go back to school they spend the first quarter just reviewing. I'm hoping they retain some of their skills and be further along once school starts." These days, students arrive at the church at 515 S. Sixth St. around 8:30 a.m. for breakfast. Lessons begin at 9 and run until noon, when lunch -- part of the Yakima School District's Summer Food Service Program -- is served. Classes are divided by age. There's a preschool program, a session for students in kindergarten through second-grade, an elementary school program, and a class for middle and high schoolers. Cheatom and her husband, Leone, both tutor students. And their granddaughter, 12-year-old Lyric, an incoming seventh-grader, is one of them. "It gave me something to do in the summer," Lyric says. "It's just better than sitting around the house." She says the work is "medium hard, but not too hard. It's challenging. It just helps kids who don't want to forget all the stuff they learned in the school year." Johnathan Dowe, a 14-year-old incoming eighth-grader, says, "I think it's pretty cool coming here. Mostly, it keeps me off the streets. "It's been helping out a lot. I hope to come back next year." * Adriana Janovich can be reached at 509-577-7653 or ajanovich@yakimaherald.com. Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| KnowledgePoints gears up workshops, tutoring in Florham Park Posted: 29 Jul 2010 05:25 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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