In 2027, Sylvan Learning of Augusta will celebrate forty years of assisting local students! Last summer, ownership of the center passed to Eric Lynn and this month, he shares what he loves about Sylvan’s programs and exciting new opportunities coming to CSRA families.
What do you love about Sylvan's programs?
I love that all our tutors are state certified teachers and that we have very small student-to-teacher ratios, with a maximum of four students to one teacher.
I also love that unlike tutoring often offered at schools that focus on what is currently being taught in the classroom, we can tutor on baseline skills like reading and math concepts. For example, if our initial skills test indicates a student is weak in certain subjects, we focus on the root causes of that weakness instead of constantly pushing them forward to new concepts like they do in school.
What programs does Sylvan offer?
Our tutoring program primarily focuses on reading and math. The first thing a student does is take a comprehensive test to let us know where they are in different subjects in their grade level. Then we formulate a personalized tutoring plan based on those results. With our homework program, students bring their homework and the tutors are able to help them understand the concepts in their homework. Test prep helps students prepare for taking the SAT, ACT, and other tests. Students come for multiple one-hour sessions each week as well as having access to our online learning resources.
What ages do you serve?
We assist students from kindergarten through high school, but most of our tutoring students generally range from first to eighth grade. We usually see high schoolers in our test prep programs.
How do students benefit from Sylvan's programs?
Students improve their baseline skills which helps across the board with school. They also develop important study skills. Students learn how to study on their own because instead of just telling them the answers, the tutor teaches them the skills to find answers so that they can replicate the process on their own.
Students also grow in confidence. Some come to us ambivalent about school but after a few months of gaining skills and practical knowledge, especially in subjects where they were discouraged, it really increases their self-confidence.
Is there anything new and exciting on the horizon for Sylvan?
One of the biggest obstacles parents have getting their kids to tutoring multiple days a week is the drive to and from the center. So, although we still have our permanent location in Martinez off Columbia Road, we have satellite tutoring out of the Kroc Center downtown. Students will still need to come to our main location for assessments, but we hope this will be the first of several satellite tutoring locations.
What opportunities does Sylvan have for homeschooling families?
We recently became a provider for the Georgia Promise Scholarship, which is a state funded scholarship for homeschool students in select school districts. Richmond County is one of those school districts. The scholarship provides homeschooling families in those school districts money for supplies, tutoring, and things like that. Sylvan Augusta is a provider of tutoring services through that program. We also offer middle of the day sessions specifically for homeschool families.
What else would you like readers to know?
Our goal isn't to keep the kids in tutoring forever, it's really to catch them up to the rest of their peers and ensure they walk away with study skills that they'll be able to use for the rest of their life.
Sylvan Learning Center is located at 4115 Columbia Road, Suite 7, in Martinez next to Kroger. For more information, visit www.sylvanlearning.com or call 706-955-0522. Also follow @sylvanofaugusta on Facebook.
Our goal is to catch students up to the rest of their peers and ensure they walk away with study skills that they'll be able to use for the rest of their life.