Sylvan's New In-Home Tutoring Prepares Middle Schoolers for ISEE

Sylvan Learning LLC has debuted Sylvan In-Home, a new one-on-one tutoring service, in the Boston area. Along with offering individualized instruction for K-12 students of all abilities in homework support, college admission test prep, and subject support, Sylvan In-Home tutors also offer a specialized study regimen for sixth, eighth, and ninth graders who will be taking Boston’s ISEE (Independent School Entrance Examination) tests in the fall of 2018.

“Sylvan matched Athena, my 12 year old daughter, with her tutor based on Athena’s specific needs and circumstances,” says Neathery Brenzel, a mother of three children who lives in Jamaica Plain. “Sylvan’s filtering process was excellent, and they introduced us to a well-qualified tutor who’s affordable, really clicks with Athena, and is helping to bring her ISEE-related stress levels down and confidence up. After trying recommendations of other tutoring services, Sylvan In-Home is working out perfectly for us.”

The ISEE test is an entrance exam that’s used by Boston’s independent schools as well as its three public examination schools (Boston Latin Academy, Boston Latin School, and John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science). The test takes about three hours to complete, and consists of multiple choice questions in Verbal Aptitude, Reading Comprehension, Math Aptitude, and Math Achievement. Sylvan In-Home’s ISEE curriculum combines personalized, in-person instruction with Sylvan's custom educational software, which runs on an iPad.

“Athena is very active in local sports: her Boston Curtis Hall League basketball team just won the championship, and she’s also a USA Gymnastics Xcel Gold-level gymnast,” says Brenzel. “We were concerned that tutoring would prevent her from being a part of her teams, but Sylvan In-Home allowed us to plan Athena’s sessions based on her sports schedule. The fact that she didn’t have to choose one over the other was great, and she’s able to maintain both activities - along with her school and homework schedule - pretty easily.”

Boston's independent schools and its three exam schools will administer the ISEE in November 2018.