SYLVAN CENTER PROVIDES SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATION

Classes begin when the sun is on its afternoon slide.

But more than the hour of the day is different at this place of learning.

"We call it supplemental education," said Jack Stanley, director and franchise owner of the recently opened Sylvan Learning Center in Cape Girardeau.

Opening in June, the center is among the newest of more than 500 Sylvan learning centers across the United States and in Canada.

The core of the learning center -- chock-full of colorful materials and flanked on one side by a computer learning center -- resembles a brand-new classroom.

But even if the center weren't inside a busy office building at 1020 N. Kingshighway, there are other obvious clues it isn't a typical classroom.

Desks resembling modified boomerangs provide seating for a teacher and three students. A "Sylvan Store" holds court in one corner of the room. Products available for purchase with tokens awarded for effort range from toy tractors to CDs.

Each week students balance their "checkbooks," deciding whether to spend their tokens or save them. Positive reinforcement and confidence building are chief steps in the Sylvan process, Stanley said, adding: "If they don't believe they can do it, then they won't."

And the lessons being taught in school aren't necessarily the lessons studied here, Stanley said, drawing a distinction between traditional tutoring and Sylvan.

"Tutoring is when you have a student and a person sit down and work on homework or the work they're doing in school," he said.

Sylvan's emphasis is different.

"We teach skills," he said. "We don't teach what's in the classroom. We teach what that individual needs to develop the skills to handle what's in the classroom."

Students walking through the office doors into the brightly lit setting and greeted by first names and jocularity may be kindergarten age, adults or anywhere in between.

Their reasons for coming to Sylvan are as varied as their ages.

"We work both ends of the scale: enhancement and remediation," Stanley said.

Reading and math programs are under way at the local center. An algebra program is expected to be in place next month followed shortly by study skills and writing programs.

Among Stanley's plans are for a college prep program to be up and running by Jan. 1.

From those program bases, individualized programs are adapted, or personalized, so students haves their own "prescription" for success, explained Lesa Hinton, the center's educational director. No two students do the same work.

The path to preparing individual programs begins with straight talk between Sylvan representatives and parents.

Then, thorough diagnostic tests provide a clear picture of students' strengths and weaknesses.

"For example," Stanley said, "if a student is in the sixth grade and is functioning at the third-grade level in math, then we'll start at third-grade level math and work from there."

On the other hand, if a student is working above his grade level in an area, then a program is structured to enhance that opportunity.

"We're very focused on what we want to accomplish," Stanley said.

It is that meticulousness of manner that Richard Brindisi appreciates. A former teacher, Brindisi and his wife, Marlys, have been bringing their 13-year-old son, David, to Sylvan for about 12 weeks.

"You need to establish a goal, a method and means to achieve that goal," Richard Brindisi said, adding that that is what Sylvan is doing.

The one-on-one, positive feedback that is afforded through individualized attention, too, is a big plus.

Another strong point is Sylvan's focus on the process, Brindisi said.

Instructors constantly check to make sure students are learning the skills to accomplish the desired task.

"We introduce different materials to see if they can transfer" the knowledge gained, Hinton said.

Flexibility in teaching styles and in materials greatly enhances the process, she said. Sylvan instructors adapt their teaching techniques to fit student needs.

Because people learn differently, she said, "we incorporate the learning styles of the student into the program."

Some of Sylvan's materials have been specifically designed for Sylvan and some materials are the same as those in use in area schools.

And, the center works with schools, Stanley said.

"We're supplementary, complementary, not competing," he said. With the parents' permission, Sylvan instructors keep in regular contact with the students' teachers in school.

Students aren't obligated to stay with the Sylvan program, Stanley said, but most students spend between four and six months at the center, he said.

Students typically attend one-hour sessions twice a week. When it comes to the remediation aspect, Stanley said, adding that some 97 percent of students gain a grade level in 36 hours of instruction.

As a business, the Sylvan has seen rapid success. The first center opened in Portland, Ore., in 1979. The following year, the company began franchising.

In 1991, Sylvan merged with KEE Systems of Columbia, Md., to form a new partnership, Sylvan KEE Systems.

Instructors must be certified teachers, Stanley said. Plus, they undergo specific Sylvan training.

The local center has three instructors, including Hinton and Stanley. The center's hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m.