Academic Support
Reading and Writing Support
Help for struggling readers, and for students who need support getting their ideas onto the page.
Reading support
Reading is the foundation for success in every subject, from math word problems to primary sources in history to the reading sections of the SAT, ACT, and PSAT. Our instructors help students build decoding, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling, meeting each student where they are while teaching the strategies and executive function skills that make them confident, independent readers.
Where students get stuck
3 reasons students struggle with reading
Attention and working memory
Attention and working memory interact with executive function skills to shape the way we read. Word retrieval relies heavily on memory, and difficulty accessing the meaning of a familiar word can make it hard to read fluently. Trouble attending to text or remembering details can dramatically affect comprehension. We help students build reading fluency, comprehension, attention and focus, and working memory.
Matching sounds to letters
When we read, we take a visual cue from the letters on a page and “speak” them in our minds using channels normally used for auditory processing. With dyslexia, this visual-auditory process, called the phonological loop, is harder to synchronize. Targeted exercises help the brain, eyes, and auditory processing channels coordinate accurately and efficiently, building fluency, comprehension, and focus.
Comprehension and executive function
Even students who decode well and read fluently can struggle to understand what they read. Comprehension takes explicit teaching of the skills that connect what a student reads to what they already know, while making predictions and inferences along the way. We support comprehension by strengthening the underlying executive function skills, including understanding the intent of a text, how it is organized, and flexible thinking.
Writing support
Writing skills reach far beyond English class. History, literature, public speaking, and the SAT, ACT, and PSAT all call for strong writing. Our instructors teach the whole writing process, from brainstorming and outlining to drafting and editing, along with the organizational and executive function skills that make students independent writers.
Where students get stuck
4 reasons students struggle with writing
Trouble putting thoughts into words
Even students brimming with ideas can struggle to get them onto the page, whether that means finding the main idea of a description or retrieving the right word. We help students strengthen language processing and working memory, so it is easier to express themselves, hold a train of thought, and keep key ideas in mind until they can write them down.
Organizational challenges
Writing is a complex, multi-step process, and many students feel overwhelmed about where to begin. We help students understand instructions, break an assignment into approachable steps, and carry out each stage (idea generation, outlining, drafting, and editing), so that sitting down to start feels less daunting.
Writing is exhausting
The physical act of writing, producing neat handwriting while sitting still and keeping energy up, wears many students out. We help students build stamina by supporting the underlying skills that make writing so tiring, so they can write for longer with less fatigue.
Writing takes time
The quality of a written assignment often tracks the time spent on it, and that time is harder for some students to invest. Challenges with attention and emotions can lead students to rush and skip crucial steps. We help students sustain attention, manage their feelings so they can focus, and build study habits for revising and editing.
Families tell it best
Check out our 5-star reviews
“A wonderful place with great tutors that really help you based on your individual need. In all of the years I have been going here on and off, I learned a lot from each and every session. I have seen significant development of my writing skills, far beyond what I have ever imagined–going from an ESL student to excelling in my english classes. I recommend it for anyone who needs a bit more of personalized help, or anyone who would like to go above and beyond in any subject.”
“Both our boys have been going to the learning center for almost 2 years. Our older son gets tutoring in both math and writing…[with the team] helping him learn how to study and organize his work and thought processes. This is even more valuable because it will help our son in the long run throughout his education. The staff also created a science enrichment program for our younger son and he thoroughly enjoyed the projects… Over the years our boys have built a relationship with the staff and as a result are becoming more confident academically. They truly do love going to learn!”
“Working with the teachers here really helped me. They made me more confident in the answers I produced, and taught me how to come up with an answer to a question even if I was stuck. They use multiple teaching styles to guarantee I learn to the best to my ability, at convenient times.”