A local after-school tutoring center saw increased demand from students who struggled with hybrid and remote learning during the pandemic.
Sylvan Learning Center’s in-person individualized method of learning helped students who were struggling get back on track during the past year, when many schools closed their doors for days or weeks at a time due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With the exception of Edinburgh schools, which remained mostly in person, middle and high school students in Johnson County attended school in person two days a week on hybrid schedules until late February or early March.
Before the pandemic, about 40 students attended Sylvan in Franklin. Since then, enrollment has more than doubled, growing to about 100 students, said Greg Moore, owner of the Franklin center.
“We’ve seen a lot of demand at the high-school level, where (students had) eLearning and hybrid,” Moore said. “Everything is individualized. It’s not classes; every student has his or her own customized learning plan that starts with a skills assessment.”
A small group of Sylvan Learning Center students attend the supplemental learning center online, but about 90% of students get help at the Franklin center.
To accommodate in-person learning, students are spaced apart and must wear a mask. They are also separated by partitions, and Sylvan staff clean iPads and tables and other surfaces. The staff take students’ temperatures and students are required to wash their hands each time they enter the building, Moore said.
Debbie Dillard, of Franklin, removed her granddaughter from a Franklin school, choosing to homeschool her once the pandemic started. She had fallen behind, but Sylvan helped her granddaughter catch up. A skills assessment placed her in the kindergarten to first-grade level, though she was entering second grade, she said.
“It made it easier on me when I started the homeschooling process,” Dillard said. “I liked the assessment, the way they broke down all the reading comprehension, phonics and different categories and how she improved. She’s not just improving in reading; she improved in phonics.”
Her granddaughter, now in third grade, is at a slightly higher than third-grade level, she said.
To keep up with the demand, Sylvan doubled its teaching staff to 12 from 6. The additional teachers and staggered time slots have helped Sylvan keep the student-to-teacher ratio low, with teachers typically only serving one or two students at a time, Moore said.
Amanda Woodward’s daughter, a freshman at Franklin Community High School, started struggling in geometry once hybrid learning started. Sylvan helped her get back on track, she said.
“Math is one of the hardest things to learn virtually. Within weeks of school starting, my freshman said, ‘This is way too hard. I need help.’” Woodward said. “She goes all school year. She runs track, she goes to Sylvan on Wednesdays once a week, does review and gets ready for a test, typically on Thursdays. She has an A in the class.”
Sylvan does charge for tutoring, but there are scholarships available, Moore said.
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Sylvan Learning Center Franklin
What: Personalized tutoring, advancement and test-prep program available in person and online.
When: Open 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday; and by appointment on Sunday.
Where: 735 Commerce Drive, Franklin.
Registration: Parents interested in registering their child for tutoring at the Sylvan Learning Center can contact Greg Moore at [email protected] or visit locations.sylvanlearning.com/us/franklin-center-in.
Cost: Starting at $40 to $50 per hour.
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