With more than 10 years of experience as an assistant director, center director and operator of four Huntington Learning Centers, Allyson Bernstein is absolutely certain that one of the best ways to help struggling students is to “begin by discovering each student’s particular learning style.” From there, she notes, instruction should be “specifically tailored to the student’s strengths, so the learning process becomes natural and increasingly rewarding as the student masters more difficult material.” It’s a philosophy that has served her well as Director of the Huntington Learning Center in Turnersville and as operator, with her husband of the center in Cherry Hill, where personalized instruction in reading, writing and mathematics has become a necessity for enabling many area students to meet increasingly difficult standards for academic performance.

“Our schools are doing a great job,” Bernstein said. “But it’s very difficult for teachers, particularly those with large classes, to provide individualized attention to all of the students who fall behind. The best way to get these kids back on track is to provide one-on-one and small group instruction specifically tailored to their needs. With hard work and extra coaching, I’ve found that most kids are able to master the material and pick up valuable confidence along the way.”

While at Huntington, she has seen increasing numbers of students signing up for supplemental education services as standards for grade advancement and graduation have become more stringent.

“I believe that all students can learn and continue to learn throughout their lives,” Bernstein says, “especially when they’re taught in a way that sparks their interest, with positive feedback that helps them learn from their mistakes. Sometimes it takes many different kinds of lessons to effectively reach many different kinds of students, but virtually all kids perform better with personalized attention that focuses on their specific learning needs.”

In addition to help for struggling students, Bernstein has seen an increasing amount of desire for help in college placement. That is accomplished through one-on-one preparation for the SAT or ACT. With current economic conditions and the heightened competitiveness of college admissions and scholarship selectivity, the SAT or ACT is more important than ever. “Grades alone”, Mrs. Bernstein says, “will not cut it when it comes time for college admissions.”  The best predictor for college success is a combination of grades and SAT/ACT scores.  “We help students have test scores that match their grades.”