Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2023

COAST NOTE
SYLVAN GOES story by Lynn Lofton
Sylvan Learning centers have been around for 40 years, but one franchise owner is taking the tutoring service to the next level. Mississippian and Omni Sourcing CEO William Harrison saw a need and is helping to fill it.
“Omni Sourcing fulfills IT services and consulting for
Fortune 500 companies. As such we are finding it hard to find individuals with technology skill sets in Mississippi,” Harrison said. “An opportunity came up with Sylvan and it was a natural progression to offer STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) training to start building the next generation.”
An engineer by education and experience, Harrison realized that Sylvan centers could also offer STEM tutoring to middle and high school students. Traditionally, Sylvan has provided tutoring in reading, writing, and math for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, which is still their core.
“We needed to add STEM to those programs. It goes hand
in hand,” he said. “Students get one-on-one tutoring and curriculum designed for each student's deficiencies to get them to
grade level and above.”
Harrison, a native of Kilmichael near Starkville, feels adding
engineers to the cadre of certified teachers is a good mix for what he hopes to accomplish. “We're finding that a lot of students
are one and two grades behind due to the pandemic with
most deficiencies in reading and math. Many of the youngest students are just now having real school experiences,” he said. “Sylvan Learning has a tried-and-true program. Each state
has assessments and we align with those assessment tests. I'm optimistic about our students.”
He says the amount of time students spend in tutoring depends on how far behind they are but the average is 80 to 150 hours.
Sylvan has two tracks for bringing students on board – institutional, working with schools and working directly with parents – and there are financing options.
The new Gulfport center opened December 1 with a center director and six instructors. The Jackson center has been open for 30 years and a Southaven center will open in the spring.
Sylvan Learning Center
2170 East Pass Rd., Gulfport 228.207.8631
18 | January 2023
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