Take a Fresh Look at Supplemental Education

With today’s demand on our children’s education it is hard to know where to turn to when he or she needs help. Today’s students are preparing to enter a world in which colleges and businesses are demanding more than ever before. The United States needed to raise the bar on what students are learning, to keep up with other countries. We also needed to ensure a consistent curriculum no matter where your child may go to school. In doing so, the Common Core State Standards was born. Today, 42 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards, including New Jersey since 2010. There has been controversy on the Common Core, many of which may be contributed to lack of knowledge, however if you reside in one of the 42 states your child will be exposed to it in school. Whether you agree with the Common Core State Standards or not, the bottom line is we need to ensure our children are prepared and stay prepared throughout their whole K-12 education. Many students will struggle with the Common Core content and with many schools overcrowded, teachers are not able to address each child’s academic need, until it is too late. Take it from me, my daughter has been struggling with reading since Pre-Kindergarten and once she entered First grade, her reading and math level was well below where she needed to be. We wanted additional assistance and once we were told the extensive qualification process that is required for an IEP, Individualized Educational Plan, in NJ we decided to take things into our own hands. We did research on Supplemental Education Providers and of course all the top marketing paying providers came up. I knew each one because I seen commercials, mailers, emails, etc. sent to me. So I called a few and each one stated they can help my daughter and, oh by the way you need to pay us to assess her. I was outraged. Why should I have to pay for an assessment of my child’s needs, when I already know where she is struggling. Their response was, “We need to ensure what you are telling us is in line to what our program offers, and it is corporate policy.” Ok, if you need to assess her to ensure what I am telling you is in line, then why should I have to pay for it? They stated, “It is company policy, however if you sign up with us then we may wave the fees.” I was upset as I felt I was being sucked into their Marketing BS, however I was desperate and wanted her to get the help that she so desperately needed. So I made the appointment and paid their assessment fees. After the assessment was completed, they sat down with me and came up with this ridiculous plan of 3-4 times per week and after I asked how much it was, I almost fell off my seat. I asked them if my daughter was taught 1 on 1, and they stated, “She will be part of a group of 3-4 kids in the same grade level.” I then asked if the teacher held a State Certified Educational Certificate, and they stated, “Some of our teachers are certified, but it is not a guarantee.” I then asked does the curriculum follow Common Core State Standards as that is what is taught in the schools, and they stated, “We have a rigorous technique of worksheets and our own content, but it is not directly aligned with what is taught in school.” Finally, I asked if there were any benchmarks that will show my daughters progress in her reading and math after your program, and they stated, “Based on our trend reports of other students from a national level she should progress.” So, you are charging me this enormous amount of money, requiring me to drive here 3-4 times per week, not have her get 1 on 1 tutoring that is customized to her needs, use a curriculum that doesn’t correlate to her school curriculum, and not provide any benchmarks on her progress? They said, “Yes, and I am sorry but I have 3 other parents that I have to meet with so I need to end our meeting.” I was flabbergasted on my experience and decided that if I am going through this experience, I am sure other parents are as well. That is when I found Athena Learning Center and decided to open an Athena In Home Tutoring Center 3 months later. Our offering is completely unique as we address all the concerns that other providers fall short on:

• Provide your child with a FREE thorough educational assessment, backed by Pearson Education, and develop a learning plan aligned to meet the standards of your child’s grade.
• Custom tailor an Individualized Education Plan for your child based on your availability and budget.
• Our programs are taught 1 on 1, so our content is customized to your child’s learning style in the comfort of your home.
• We partner with Pearson Education, and follow the Common Core State Standard, so our programs are directly aligned to what your child is taught in school.
• We only hire Certified Teachers, so you can ensure you are receiving the highest quality instruction.
• We provide ongoing benchmarks and assessments to ensure your child is progressing and modify the content if he or she is not progressing to the levels we agreed upon during the initial assessment meeting.
• We provide an online portal for teachers, parents and student’s teachers to collaboratively be engaged on each session’s progress with a full report that is required at the end of each session.
• In addition to our ELA and Math Pre K-12th grade curriculum, we also offer Enrichment programs which include; On-Line Writing course, e-book reading club with over 6,000 online books, SAT/ACT Prep, STEM Robotics Enrichment Courses, from LEGO® Education, Cognitive Cross-Training based on the ACTIVATE™ program, which targets and improves the critical areas of executive function — such as sustained attention and working memory, and much more!
• Now offer 1 on 1 Private In-Home Schooling

Don’t become victim of the Big Company Supplemental Education nonsense, take a fresh look at Supplemental Education and click or call Athena In Home Tutoring today! 732-908-1042