The Tutoring Center of Lansdale Specializes in The Three Rs

When it comes to “The Three Rs,” puts them to the test to focus struggling students on academic success.

Center directors Prakash and Sheetal Patel opened the first center in Pennsylvania at The Pavilion Shopping Center two weeks ago to start diagnostic testing.

“I think this is really needed in the community,” said Sheetal Patel. “It’s something that parents can turn to; they have somewhere to go if their kids are struggling.”

The two colorful rooms at The Tutoring Center are structured around rotational growth, based on the need of the student.

A diagnostic test given prior to enrollment pinpoints one of three subjects for tutoring help: math, reading or writing.

The center is split into two rooms. Each room has three stations, with a tutor at each station. Students spend about 15 to 30 minutes at each station, working on math, reading or writing skills.

“We work one-on-one,” said Patel. “We focus on what their need is.”

The Tutoring Center has three tutors right now: two certified teachers from area school districts and one intern high school student.

Tutoring is structured for an hour per student, spaced out between Monday and Thursday. Fridays are specifically for diagnostic assessments of new students.

“We don’t want tutored kids in here while we are doing testing,” Patel said. “If enough parents request Saturday tutoring, we will do that.”

The red and yellow classroom is for homework help for students from kindergarten to grade 12, offered four times a week. This room is also the site for study skills help, Patel said.

“We also have online homework help, with a live tutor online,” said Patel.

The cost for online homework help is $26 an hour.

Science is an additional tutored subject, only available online.

The adjacent blue and green room is the spot for tutoring of The Three Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic.

“It’s very orderly, very quiet,” said Patel. “The kids know exactly what they are doing.”

The center also offers incentives for students for academic success. Students get stickers for things such as following rules and completing work. Each student receives a binder where this progress is filed.

Stickers are placed along a “path” in their binder, and once students reach a certain point, they collect Tutoring Center dollars. These dollars can be redeemed for items in the center’s toy and candy shelf.

“If they see something they like,” Patel said, “they can save it for that. Even when they come for tests, students don’t leave without a little prize.”

There is no direct correlation between the success at The Tutoring Center and area schools.

“When a student takes a diagnostic test and enrolls, the school gets a copy of the results,” Patel said.

The diagnostic test is an hour long, and it is free. It focuses mainly on reading and math.

“We’ve done seven or eight tests so far,” said Patel. “The kids are not stressed, and they are not nervous about them. These students are here because they are willing to get tutoring.”

She said math is the hardest subject for students.

“Parents always come in with a concern over math and reading,” she said. “The tests narrow it down to one subject for us to focus on, the one where we see the most struggle.”

The youngest enrolled student at The Tutoring Center is in kindergarten, and the oldest participant is in grade 11.

 The Tutoring Center charges a monthly fee for tutoring.

“There’s no contract, no obligation,” Patel said.

The fee is $309 a month, which covers two sessions a week.

Three sessions a week cost $339 a month.

“If students are behind a grade level, we recommend three sessions a week,” Patel said. “If they are in sixth grade and are performing at a fourth-grade math level, some parents ask for three times a week.”

The Tutoring Center also helps with pre-SAT preparation for sixth- and eighth-graders.

After 40 sessions at The Tutoring Center, the student is retested to mark progress. Patel said once that occurs, the student should have improved one grade level in the problem subject.

“This is a guaranteed program after 40 sessions,” said Patel. “If students are not guaranteed to move up a full grade level, then we will offer extra sessions at no charge.”

She said parents should know the progress of their student in six months.

“It hasn’t gone wrong anywhere yet,” Patel said, referencing a corporate statement that only two families nationwide had to go further than six months for tutoring.

While the students get incentives for doing work, parents also receive an incentive at the center.

VIP cards are distributed to parents, who can then give the cards to another family looking to enroll a student in tutoring.

If someone else enrolls using the VIP card, the original cardholder gets a month free at the center.

“You can refer as many families as you want,” Patel said.

The Tutoring Center is open Monday to Thursday, 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. It is located at 575 S. Broad St., Lansdale, in The Pavilion.

Contact The Tutoring Center at 215-855-6744, or visit www.tutoringcenter.com.