Tutor Time's Promises

I found this article and thought all of you who have had nightmare experiences at Tutor Time locally would like to read it.

Learning Care Group Unveils New Early Education Curricula; Latest Research Drives Unique Educational Offerings at Tutor Time, Childtime NOVI, Mich.

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 2005--

The traditional "Three R's" of education have been expanded and revamped as Learning Care Group, Inc. announced it is rolling out two new proprietary curricula at all of its Tutor Time and Childtime learning centers beginning this fall.

Over the past year, Learning Care Group's education department developed curricula that reflect the latest research in early childhood education and development, resulting in the Tutor Time LifeSmart(TM) and Childtime The Empowered Child(TM) curricula.

"Learning Care Group is incredibly proud of its improved educational offerings, which will further strengthen the formidable academic reputations of Tutor Time and Childtime," said Bill Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Learning Care Group. "Studies have shown that high-quality early education experiences can have outstanding impacts on future academic success. These new curricula do just that, as well as help fulfill the company's mission to inspire life-long learning in our students and our families."

Created by early childhood specialists and national experts, both products were designed to support, nurture and educate children in developmentally appropriate ways. Additionally, both curricula were developed around the constructivist view of early learning put forth by esteemed researchers Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson and Lev Vygotsky.

Constructivist theory holds that children learn best by being active participants in their educational experiences. This view of early learning significantly contributes to the LifeSmart(TM) and The Empowered Child(TM) curricula, though the curricula use distinctly different approaches.

The Tutor Time LifeSmart(TM) curriculum incorporates basic tenets most recently put forth by Dr. Howard Gardner of Harvard University regarding the developmental theory of "multiple intelligences". Gardner postulated that human beings are gifted or are intelligent in eight different ways.

"We recognize that all young children need to build foundations in traditional content areas, like reading and math, and we continue to provide children with the tools they need to be successful in these areas," stated Richard Cohen, M.A., vice president, Education. "However, research tells us that some children, for example, have higher musical, interpersonal or reflective skills than others.

We have created a curriculum that provides active learning opportunities in each of the eight Tutor Time 'Smarts': Word Smart(TM), Math Smart(TM), Body Smart(TM), Design Smart(TM), Music Smart(TM), Nature Smart(TM), People Smart(TM) and Me Smart(TM)."
Tutor Time's curriculum and re-imagined classroom environments were designed to provide young children with foundational exploratory experiences of all eight areas of intelligence.
"LifeSmart(TM) was created to nurture and educate the whole child--cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally," Cohen added.

Childtime's The Empowered Child(TM) curriculum is inspired by the Reggio Emila approach to early learning and focuses on the three components of a quality early childhood education experience: developmentally appropriate practices, a home-like learning environment and quality teacher-child interactions.

"Childtime's curriculum empowers children by providing active learning experiences, opportunities for self-expression, and connections to the natural world," explained Cohen. "We introduce them to skills that will help them become responsible members of the community, creative problem-solvers and life-long learners."

The rollout for each curriculum will begin in the Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten classrooms at the start of this school year. New curricular methods will be introduced in every age-based classroom, infant through school-age, on an annual basis over the next three years.

"The next few years will be an exciting time for Learning Care Group," stated Davis. "The new educational offerings are just two of many great initiatives and programs that will help the company continue to grow as the premier child and family education corporation in the world."