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 is the social atmosphere like in your school? 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 need just 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 many other services. « Back to top 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 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 allow us to make changes in our instructional program as needed. « Back to top 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 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 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 founder has a master's degree in special education. At the beginning of their employment, all staff members receive extensive training to learn how to teach and assess using our proprietary methods. The director and other supervisors 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 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 tuition vary. 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 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 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 business manager for an application. « Back to top 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 or more years of attending our school. Once we begin teaching your child, we 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 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 instruction. We test only as much as we need to gather this information. Therefore, our testing can range from one to three or more 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 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 8:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. « Back to top What is 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 6203 Carmel Road Charlotte, NC 28226 Phone: 704-542-6471 Fax: 704-541-2858 monday-friday morning, afternoon & evening sessions instructional opportunities for preschool children available at: Case Studies »

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