 |
Frequently Asked Questions about
Manus Academy
- How is your service different
from other tutoring centers and schools?
- Are your services guaranteed?
How will I know if my child is making progress?
- I understand that Manus Academy is
accredited by the Southern Association for Colleges
and Schools. How does this benefit me as a parent?
- Are your teachers certified?
- How much do your services
cost and how do they compare with other educational
services?
- Is financing available?
- How long will my child have
to see a tutor or remain in your school before
he or she is caught up?
- How much testing is necessary
before my child can begin the program?
- My child plays a team sport
and doesn’t get home until 6:00 p.m. Can
you work with that schedule?
- What’s the social atmosphere
like in your school?
1. How
is your service different from other tutoring centers
and schools?
We deliver to each student the kind of instruction
he or she needs at any given time. Unlike other
tutoring services and schools that have pre-set
curriculums students must follow, we build our instructional
programs around the student’s immediate needs.
Then, we monitor, update and refine the student’s
program as he or she progresses. Here are the other
ways in which we are unique:
- Our student-teacher ratio is lower than most
other tutorial services and schools. Our after-school
tutoring is one-to-one and our school’s
student-teacher ratio is five-to-one with students
receiving additional one-to-one teaching as
needed.
- Our services are more comprehensive than most
educational services. We confer often with parents,
other caregivers and teachers to ensure that
what the student learns with us he or she uses
at home during homework and study time and in
classes at school. We look at all factors in
a student’s life that impact his or her
educational success and work with the student
and family on successfully managing these factors.
- Our services include assessment, one-to-one
instruction, an accredited school, ongoing parent
and teacher conferences, parent and teacher
training, course counseling, consulting with
other professionals who work with the student
and consulting on school placement.
- We can teach students with a wider range of
ability and learning patterns than most other
educational services. Some of our students just
need a little extra help in Algebra I, Spanish
or an advanced placement class. Some students
have mild to severe learning disabilities, attention
deficit disorder or other neurological difficulties
and need more intensive instruction. Others might
benefit from attending our school where they can
receive all of their instruction in an environment
that’s uniquely tailored to their needs.
- Finally, we have a proprietary educational
and teacher-training program that’s based
on current educational research and has been developed,
refined and tested for over two decades. This
results in a delivery of instruction that is more
consistent and effective than most other services.
« Back to top
2. Are your services
guaranteed? How will I know if my child is making
progress?
- We guarantee the delivery of our service. We
follow a written system of accountability that
shows parents at any given time the skills we
are teaching each student, the skills he or she
has learned, the student’s rate of progress
and his or her work output. Our education director,
lead teacher and teaching staff regularly review
each student’s educational growth.
- We also confer regularly with parents and classroom
teachers (of tutorial students) to determine if
the student’s work with us contributes to
improved academic performance and an increase
in self-confidence. These regular communications
enable us to make changes in our instructional
program as needed.
« Back to top
3. I understand
that Manus Academy is accredited by the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools. How does this benefit me
as a parent?
To maintain accreditation with SACS, we must demonstrate:
– sound corporate and financial health
– a well-defined and organized curricula
– a qualified educational staff and management
– clear admissions procedures
– systems for student accountability and maintenance
of records
– a well-defined system for communicating
in-house and with parents
– adequate physical facilities, equipment
and materials
– continuous self-examination and goals for
self-improvement
Our accreditation assures clients that we meet the
criteria for operating a high-quality educational
service and it shows our commitment to fulfilling
our mission – to help students achieve educational
success.
« Back to top
4. Are your
teachers certified?
- All of our teachers must meet the requirements
of our company’s certification program,
which is more rigorous than the state’s
certification requirements. Our teachers have
at least a bachelor’s degree in education
or an education related field, if not a master’s
degree. Our directors have master’s degrees
in special education.
- At the beginning of their employment, all staff
members receive between eighty to one hundred
hours of training to learn how to teach and assess
using our proprietary methods. The education director
and lead teacher meet with teachers weekly, bi-monthly
and annually to monitor and review their teaching
strategies, progress toward individually set teaching
goals and level of expertise. This system of teacher
accountability ensures that your child receives
the type of instruction he or she needs at any
given time.
- Unlike instructors at many other educational
institutions, our teachers are trained to work
with students with a broad spectrum of educational
abilities and concerns. They can effectively teach
students who need minimum coaching in a specific
subject or those who need intensive instruction
in all subjects.
« Back to top
5. How much
do your services cost and how do they compare with
other educational services?
Because our services are comprehensive in scope,
our fees and tuitions vary from a one-time assessment
and consultation fee of about $300 to a monthly
school tuition of $1,220.
In many cases, we offer more service at a lower
cost than other educational services. For example,
our monthly rate to tutor a student in basic reading,
writing or math skills is $360. This is about the
same amount as what other tutoring centers charge
that work with students in a three-to-one rather
than one-to-one ratio.
While we may charge a little more to coach middle
and high school students to develop effective homework
and study habits, we also offer more service for
that cost. We carefully track the student’s
application of effective study habits at home and
school and confer regularly with parents and teachers
to ensure that our services remain effective.
« Back to top
6. Is financing available?
Yes. We have arranged for third-party financing
through SLM Financial, a Sallie Mae company. SLM
Financial makes long-term loans at competitive interest
rates to qualified families. Similar to college
loans, families pay off the loans at relatively
low monthly payments over an extended time. People
interested in applying for a loan may contact our
center director for an application.
« Back to top
7. How long will
my child have to see a tutor or remain in your school
before he or she is caught up?
Some students need only a few months of tutoring
to succeed in their regular school. Others, who
have more significant learning or attentional difficulties,
may need one year or more. Once we begin teaching
your child, we can observe the rate at which he
or she progresses under optimal teaching conditions.
This rate helps predict how much individualized
instruction your child will need and for how long.
To keep you up-to-date, we chart your child’s
progress toward his or her educational goals and
share these results with you twice monthly. We also
assess progress by post-testing most students each
spring.
« Back to top
8. How much testing
is necessary before my child can begin the program?
Our purpose for testing incoming students is to
help us determine the exact educational goals your
child should work toward and the starting points
of our training and instruction. We test only as
much as we need to gather this information.
Therefore, our testing can range from one to three
hours. If you’ve had your child recently tested
with another professional, such as a psychologist,
we use the results of that testing and a light program
assessment to build an instructional program.
« Back to top
9. My child
plays a team sport and doesn’t get home until
6:00 p.m. Can you work with that schedule?
Yes. We have teaching staff available to work with
your child up through 9:00 p.m., Monday through
Thursday.
« Back to top
10. What’s
the social atmosphere like in your school?
During a recent survey, our students reported that
they feel very comfortable in our school and find
the teachers committed to helping them. They understand
our mission of delivering to each student the kind
of instruction he or she needs at any given time
and they learn to respect each other’s unique
qualities.
Our atmosphere tends to be calm, warm and friendly.
Many students find making friends easier in our
less competitive and more relaxed social environment.
« Back to top |
|
|
|
 |
©2003-2004
Manus Academy - The Cyzner Institute All Rights Reserved |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
monday-friday
morning & afternoon sessions
afternoon & evening tutoring
instructional opportunities for preschool children available
at: |
|
|
|
