Photo: Contributed
A Grade 5 boy was having reading and writing struggles recently, so his parents enrolled him in Sylvan Learning Kelowna.
The improvement has been nothing short of substantial.
“His struggles with reading and writing were so challenging and frustrating that he would often need to take breaks during classroom learning in order to manage these negative emotions,” Sylvan Learning Kelowna education director Stefani Goodfellow says. “He has worked diligently through his program at Sylvan and has made tremendous progress.
“He says that he used to have to try really hard to read and now he ‘just does it.’ He doesn’t really have to think about it anymore. He no longer needs to take behaviour breaks in class.”
Sylvan Learning has helped transform the lives of millions of families over its 40 years with proven teaching experience and leading-edge technology. Sylvan helps students of all ages catch up, keep up or even get ahead.
They can also help students learn other skills like organization, time management and test-taking skills. Sylvan teachers are well versed in local curriculum.
“A young lady who joined us during her tenth grade never asked questions in her mathematics classes, fearing that other students in the class might judge her,” Goodfellow says. “After building important foundational skills and learning and practicing how to ask questions, she blossomed in her abilities and confidence and says that she no longer finds math scary, and she is not afraid to ask questions in class anymore.”
Those who enrol take the Sylvan Insight Assessment, a combination of standardized tests, diagnostic tools and personal interviews that determines a personalized learning plan in areas including mathematics, reading, writing and study skills. The children receive individual instruction in a small group setting—no more than three students—from qualified instructors.
There are after-school, evening and Saturday morning lessons during the school year, and morning and afternoon classes in the summer months. Lessons, which are flexible and affordable, can take place in person or online.
One adult learner, who enrolled at Sylvan to improve her math skills, says the passion from the instructors is what stood out to her.
“I noticed that while not all of the children are excited to be there all of the time, certainly all of the staff are consistently bright and eager and very encouraging,” she says.
“From what I observed, the staff really make an effort to connect with their students. This facilitates trust, and students in turn feel comfortable being vulnerable and asking for help.”
For more information about Sylvan Learning Kelowna, visit its website here.
This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Okanagan Edge.
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