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ARMONK, N.Y. - College entrance exam preparation is in full swing around Westchester County, which means the Tutoring Club in Armonk is filled with high school students every weekend.
Weekends are the only chance students have to dedicate four hours to taking a practice test, said Neal Schwartz, owner and president of the Armonk franchise.
Schwartz said he finds parents more open to tutoring their kids for test-taking preparation than they are for general tutoring. Many parents, he said, expect schools to help their children handle the academic subjects and don't always seek out extra support until their students are really struggling.
He encourages parents to think of the Tutoring Club as an extension of the classroom. "My tutors look at each student as a whole person rather than as someone learning one academic subject at a time."
This approach, he said, often results in tutors working on broadly applicable skills, such as time management and problem solving, that can enhance student performance across many academic areas.
We are able to do what the schools cant do," Schwartz said. "We slow down or speed up to meet whatever that student needs.
He said Tutoring Club provides experts in all subjects and at all grade levels, kindergarten through 12th grade. Sessions are often semi-private.
Schwartz said that one quality that distinguishes his company from many other tutoring companies is the mentoring relationship that develops between his tutors and students. He gave as an example a college student who regularly visited the tutor club while in high school.
Schwartz said, "The young man trusted the Tutoring Club and wanted help with organic chemistry. I am glad to know our students have such trust in us."
Schwartz has forged a number of relationships with the Westchester Community as president of the Armonk Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Board of the Northern Westchester Business Network.
A Chappaqua resident and father of three, he said he and his wife, Arlene, have experienced different learning styles and needs first hand. "I have children ranging from high school through college graduate. I feel like I have seen it all."
It was part of the reason he left the corporate world to create the Tutoring Club: he saw a need for more individualized student assistance on every academic level.
Schwartz encourages parents to take a look at those first-quarter report cards. "Consider solving problems while they are still small," he said.
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