Just days before the pandemic hit, Angela (whose name has been changed to protect her identity) was already facing a huge challenge. Angela did not know how to read and was in jeopardy of repeating first grade.
Determined to lead her daughter to a better path, Angela’s mom and grandmother took her to Huntington Learning Center in Lewis Center, where certified instructors thoroughly evaluated her reading skills, including phonics, sight words, fluency and reading readiness. They developed a comprehensive plan that, if followed closely, could change her course. Mom and grandma knew they were facing a challenge that required time and commitment, so they reached out to extended family to help steer Angela toward a new path. Seven family members, including aunts, uncles, cousins and even the boyfriend of Angela’s mother, met Lewis Center Huntington Learning Center’s executive director, Maureen Wagner, on a Saturday afternoon to map out a plan.
Angela’s family brought her in for one-on-one tutoring four times a week. Within months, Angela was reading at grade level and promoted to second grade.
“I was so excited for her," Maureen says.
Angela is just one of many students facing learning challenges. According to the National Recovery Scorecard, a collaboration between researchers from Harvard and Stanford, students in grades 3-8 lost, on average, a half-year of learning in math and a quarter year of learning in reading since the pandemic hit in 2020.
Maureen, who has spent more than 15 years teaching both math and language arts, calls the drop in learning the “Covid slide," stating many parents call her at their breaking point.
If you think your child might be struggling academically, Maureen offers the following tips to help parents identify whether their child needs additional help in learning:
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Personality changes: The first identifiable sign is a change in personality. Children who are missing skills will start to struggle. As a result, they no longer enjoy learning and don't want to be in school.
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Drop in grades: Next, children’s grades will start to drop.
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Pay attention to the kids in the middle: Wagner says the top-performing students do well on their own while lower-performing students tend to get extra attention in school, but warns that the middle-performing students are often overlooked.
“This is the most worrisome group because they tend to fly under the radar,” Maureen says. “Teachers are rock stars, but they only have 45 minutes to teach students. The students must also learn at home, but parents are busy and don’t have time for extra tutoring.”
At Huntington Learning Centers, professional, certified teachers perform thorough evaluations to first identify what skills a child is lacking and develop a comprehensive plan designed to fill the missing gaps in math, reading, writing and study skills.
“We meet the child where they are and build the foundational skills,” Maureen says. “It’s not a sprint, but a marathon. First we build the skills, which boosts their confidence and then their motivation.”
The plan addresses not only the child's academic needs, but also their social and emotional needs. Through repetition and consistency, students can show an improvement of two or more grade levels in reading and math.
“You can [visibly] see the results,” Maureen says. “It’s like a switch turns on."
Tutors at Huntington Learning Centers also help students prep for the ACT and SAT by offering test-taking strategies, time-management skills and individualized academic instruction.