Balanced Literacy Explained

With a catchy logo that includes the words “Unique Solutions for Unique Learners,” one might wonder if in a city like New York, there could possibly be  anything innovative, exciting or different in tutoring services.   Where it would seem like there is a plethora of academic possibilities, and everything cerebral has already been invented and reinvented over and over, what could be really special in the world of educational services?

Well, it just might be that something unique and fabulous in private tutoring has, in fact, been invented, and served up in a complete, one-stop website called My Learning Springboard. Both with both Ivy League undergraduate and graduate degrees in Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Brad Hoffman and his wife Faya, have become true icons of the elite educational scene here in New York City. With a mutual passion for teaching and serving students of all ages in the metropolitan New York area (as well as Chicago, Maryland, Southeast Florida, and Washington, D.C.) the Hoffmans have forged a path and a resource that is hard-pressed to match.

Meeting the Hoffmans, a dynamic young couple who could easily still pass as a college students themselves, is a delight.  Their razor-sharp intelligence and obvious in-depth knowledge of the world of education are clear.  Engaging and well-spoken, it is no surprise that together, the two have been able to interest parents who are clearly invested in finding the best private tutoring services for their children.

So, what makes My Learning Springboard different? Essentially, most tutoring services are often little more than a resource for names of teachers in different disciplines. Some background checks are done, to be sure, but few, if any, tutoring companies offer the comprehensive services offered by My Learning Springboard. Tutoring companies rarely screen their referrals and sign-up online is often all that is required of interested clients whose names are then exchanged with tutors in the subject areas for which there is need. Matches are quickly made, and most often there is little follow-up. For large tutoring services, where parents go to nationwide franchises or privately-owned educational centers, there is a “volume” mentality; the places often tout themselves as differentiating educational support as needed, but few offer the excellent analytical and in-depth and personalized services of My Learning Springboard.

To be sure, the services offered at My Learning Springboard come at a premium; the Hoffman’s services are not cheap. They are top-top premium, and expensive especially as compared to the cost of nationwide centers. My Learning Springboard, however, is extremely selective in its teacher roster, where most of their educators are graduates of the best schools across our nation and abroad. The company revenue is earned by the cost added to the salaries paid to their staff for their services. But their money is well-earned. Their website offers a tremendous amount of information and direction to both potential clients as well as to teachers on staff, who can reach out to the Hoffmans anytime, even when they are abroad (which they frequently are, in pursuit, oftentimes of continued and growing educational collaborations and connections) for support both personal and in terms of material for students as needed,  and they are constantly on the edge of what is new in educational practices. Their staff includes top level administrators, principals, specialists,  and people with myriad experience in a plethora of varying areas, ostensibly offering every type of educational support one could imagine. An advanced degree is a requirement for staffers, and ongoing commitment by teachers to development and accountability is mandatory. A log of plans and reflections is required of all subsequent to private tutoring sessions, and continued interaction amongst their staff and themselves and supervising management is de rigeur.

So just what does My Learning Springboard offer? In summary, this company specializes not just in providing tutors. They are specialists in educational problem solving, catering to students of wide and varied needs. Their support runs the gamut from remedial to enrichment, and the possibilities for educational enrichment seems endless. Their leadership team is comprised of the Hoffmans, as well as Senior Director, Laurie Gross, and Directors Nicole De Martino, and Yael Kahn Pinto, who collaborate in an on-going fashion to assess student need, maintain relationships and respond and listen to parents in their quest for educational support for their children, and continue to reassess as educational services are rendered. Services include admissions consulting and school planning, academic coaching including enrichment, remediation, and specialized learning areas, test preparation, executive function coaching, and advocacy in special education. Service are offered for children from nursery age through graduate school (Yes! An ambitious span!), and with an extremely wide and well-honed skill set, My Learning Springboard approaches each client and his/her individual needs with  top-notch professionalism and wealth of knowledge, along with the potential for a unique network of paths for appropriate education for each child.

My Learning Springboard has teachers in so many areas, one would be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive organization for the task of educational support. Tutors in the typical subject areas like reading, writing, and math are just those one would most readily expect; My Learning Springboard includes on its roster of services support –in addition to the areas previously mentioned– support in summer program and camp consultation and summer tutoring at these facilities, Bar and Bat Mitzvah and Judaic lessons, kindergarten readiness preparation, coding instruction, e-tutoring, foreign languages, home-schooling, digital coaching, and a unique concept, the Learning Concierge Service, which is a trademark label, that refers to the consultation services offered by a team of collaborative educators that sit down and brainstorm a multi-level directional path that seeks to cater to specific and more complex learning challenges. In addition, test preparation is an extremely broad area of expertise, and includes specialists in the following test areas: AABL, ACT, AP, CYP, ECAA (ERB), GMAT, GRE, ISEE, NY TESTING PROGRAM, REGENTS, SAT, SAT SUBJECT TESTS, SCAT, SHSAT, and THE SSAT.

For parents interested in the gold standard in a comprehensive and professional educational resource, there is likely no place further to look than My Learning Springboard. The company headquarters are located in downtown New York at 132 Duane Street, and administration can be reached online at www.mylearningspringboard.com, at 1- 646-478-8692, or by direct email to Brad Hoffman, CEO, at [email protected], or Faya Hoffman, COO, at [email protected].

 

The Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School is a prestigious NYC Jewish Day School in the heart of New York City.  Located in the Upper East Side, this Jewish Day School promotes academic growth through community and collaboration.