KnowledgePoints gives students extra boost

Just a month after classes resumed throughout Lee County, Knowledge- Points is already seeing students that need a little extra help.

PHOTOS MICHELLE START Tutor Doreen Benton helps Madaline Marrero, 9, with school work. "Right now, we're at our lowest for a long, long time," said Sandra Bublis, director. "We have about 13 coming right now, but when the first report cards or interim reports come out, we'll start getting all of the calls."

The first quarter ends on Oct. 25.

The tutoring center is open Monday to Thursday and serves children in grades pre-kindergarten to twelve.

"I attend IEP (individualized educational plan) meetings," said Bublis about the children enrolled in tutoring programs. "We take their recommendations and if feasible, we put them into practice."

While most tutoring sessions involve three students for every teacher, Bublis said those that need additional help can also have individualized sessions.

When the center first opened on College Parkway in 2005, most of the students were in elementary school. Now, they serve a broader range.

COURTESY PHOTO KnowledgePoints owner Susie Golubock. "During the summer, we saw more of the older children," said owner Susie Golubock.

KnowledgePoints ran a 2 1/2 hour a day summer camp while children were off school.

"They made tremendous gains," said Bublis. "We also have enrichment programs."

The women said KnowledgePoints sees substantial success because they have a large number of materials that provide an instructional depth.

Each of the teachers at the learning center is state certified and all but one still works full-time in the school system. In order to work for Knowledge- Points, they must undergo an intense 12-week training program.

It is one of the reasons why Golubock decided to franchise with Knowledge- Points when she decided to open up a tutoring business.

"I was very impressed with the curriculum and thought very highly of the whole program," she said. "They give us a lot of support, but the curriculum was a real driving point for me. I love the program and I know it works."

COURTESY PHOTO Sandra Bublis, director of KnowledgePoints. When parents sign their children up, KnowledgePoints conducts a comprehensive assessment to gauge a child's strengths and weaknesses.

"The program is very good in economy," said Bublis. "We save the child time and the parents money. We only focus on the skills that are needed."

KnowledgePoints has enough material that tutors don't move on to the next skill until mastery is achieved.

"They have to give us five mastery sets in each skill and at each level," said Bublis. "Until they can do that, I just keep reassigning new material. I have six different textbooks that I can use. That's a real bonus. If we can just get people to see that we have so much more to offer them, even if the child has trouble catching on. There are 25 lessons in each book and in each skill and at each level. Parents need to know what we can do to help them and to keep their child from struggling further."

Students also receive tickets as incentive to work on skills. They can use the tickets to purchase items in the learning center's store or they can save them up before exchanging them for a gift certificate to their store of choice.

There is also a foosball game that they are able to play either before or after a session. Golubock said as children begin to comprehend and their skill sets improve, their entire attitude changes.

"When they see success, we see a positive attitude and that's what we are all about, making children successful and independent," she said. ¦ KnowledgePoints Learning Center

8140 College Parkway, Suite 108 Fort Myers

>>Prices: Initial diagnostic assessment: $150 >>Tutoring services: $43 an hour