Math

It might sound surprising to you, but many students fail in advanced math subjects like Algebra and Trigonometry not because of the complexity of those subjects, but rather because of a lack of fluency in basic math skills.  In learning to factor an equation, a student must memorize just four major steps.  However, they are expected to have already memorized at least 324 basic multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction math facts, such as 7 X 8 = 56 and 8 + 3 = 11.  If they are not fluent in all of these facts, and have to stop and count on their fingers, draw a diagram, or use a calculator, it interrupts the flow of their thinking and makes room for mistakes.  Further, it makes the task laborious and dreadful, something to be avoided.  We provide a precision placement to ensure all key skills are in place and fluent, setting learners up for success.

Reading

You might have read recent news articles about the failure of reading instruction in schools. We ensure that students not only learn the phonics that are at the root of good reading instruction, but that their reading remains fluent as they progress into the higher levels.  If a person was speaking to you in a slow and choppy way, you would have a hard time understanding him.  Similarly, when students read in a slow and choppy way, they have a hard time understanding what they are reading.  Children understand what they are reading best when they are able to read at a conversational rate of speed.  We focus on building a learner's reading rate, while ensuring that comprehension is not lost because the learner is rushing. 

Writing

Writing has always been a difficult subject for students, so much so that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has controversially not released writing test scores since 2011, when only 27% of eighth to twelfth graders scored "Proficient".  Building writing fluency along with personalized instruction in sentence building and grammar launches our learners ahead of their classmates in writing proficiency.  Our founder has coauthored seven books on writing instruction, and in one of his consulting projects with a California high school, helped that school move its English Language Arts ranking from 85th to 10th among 100 schools with similar demographics.