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Sylvan Learning Centre has new owner, new program

Nov 25, 2012 | 11:09 AM

The Sylvan Learning Centre in Prince Albert not only has a new owner, but a new program to help kids continue learning in a technological age.

On Nov. 1 David Fannon became the new owner of Sylvan Learning Centre.

“We started looking at taking it over in the summer. Sylvan Corporate has quite a stringent process they put you through to make sure that the right person is coming in, and the right person has the background and experience to do what you need to do,” Fannon said.

After four or five months, Fannon and his wife got the approval from corporate to purchase the centre.

As for why Fannon wanted to take it over?

Fannon and his wife began sending their daughter to Sylvan about three years ago. She was entering Grade 3 and was struggling with reading and math.

“Over the three years that we’ve been here now, we were just so amazed at the transformation its created in her academically, but even just in her confidence level and her ability to enjoy school to the point that even now she’s gone from in Grade 3 from crying and not wanting to go to school. If you ask her today what her goal in life is, it’s to one day be a Sylvan teacher,” Fannon said.

He said this transformation has been so amazing that when the opportunity came to take on a more active role they jumped at the opportunity.

They are looking forward to helping other families who are in the same situation.

“We’ve been there. We know what the feeling is like when you find out that your kid is struggling and just to be able to now help other parents in the same situation, to us, it’s a dream come true.”

He said it’s an amazing feeling when parents make that initial phone call and he wants parents to know they are talking to people who’ve been in their situation and they aren’t just talking to the owner.

They know the feelings of hopelessness parents go through when they learn their kids need help and Fannon said through hard work and sacrifice it’s doable and his daughter is proof.

Reading is the fundamental skill in life and Fannon wants to continue to give this gift to other kids.
This is where the new SylvanSync comes in.

The SylvanSync program was introduced for math and reading, moving both to a digital platform on the iPad, on Nov. 19.

Fannon said this doesn’t mean there will be no teacher because teachers will still be involved delivering their lessons using the iPad as a primary learning tool.

He said it has many benefits.

“They’ve been using it for about a year down in the States, doing trials with it, and all of the centres that have used it have said that the children are more engaged. That means they’re more active in what’s going on, they’re learning quicker, so our programs are speeding up. Students are actually learning faster and catching up faster,” Fannon said.

“Ultimately what it’s going to allow us to do is actually go and have mobile satellite stations. Currently over 40-50 per cent of our clientele come from outside of the city and they have to drive in. Our goal and a part of what we want to see happen is to be able to take and put satellite centres in other communities so the parents no longer have to shoulder the burden of driving to us, we can bring it to them.”

He hopes that within three to four months they will have a satellite up and running in the Melfort area.

“We’ve been having rave reviews from the children that have been on it, they’ve really enjoyed it.”

The teachers have found it very interactive and have enjoyed it as well, and it gets them even more involved with the kids with showing them how to use it.

With any technology there are usually little bugs to be worked out and Fannon expects that within a week they will have most of those bugs worked out.

Fannon said with new information coming out books can sometimes get behind and with this new program, Sylvan is able to update information on the fly.

“Say there’s a lesson that all the kids seem to struggle with and it might just be that that lesson isn’t a good lesson. They can pull it, slid in a new one overnight and by the next day we’re up and using something else in that one area.”

Sylvan corporate is constantly evaluating data from all of their centres and constantly looking at the lessons being used and making tweaks to them.

SylvanSync also helps to keep kids on par when it comes to the newest technology that’s out there.

Sylvan offers a wide variety of programs and for more information on their programs and SylvanSync visit their website.

You can also call the centre 763-1050.

swallace@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahthesquid.