1. Verbal Excellence
Verbal Excellence is our flagship verbal skills strengthening course. It is highly effective in raising SAT
reading and writing scores through improving college level English skills.
Our new Verbal Excellence Plus 650 to 700 + Course is limited to students who have a GPA of at least
3.0 and a diagnostic or official PSAT/SAT score of 550+.
- The purpose of our VE Plus course is to introduce students to college level English at an accelerated pace,
together with SAT test prep. - We seek substantial score improvements in this course. If students attend all classes and do all their
homework, very substantial score gains can be achieved over a 6 to 9 month period. - This course is designed to enable students to score in the top percentiles and thereby gain a competitive
advantage when applying to top tier schools such as Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Berkeley,
UCLA and others.
Unlike most SAT verbal prep courses, which emphasize test practice and test-taking strategies, this is an intensive
course that strengthens college level reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills.
Students will be assigned extensive reading covering a wide range of literature (similar to the passages found on the
SAT reading section) and will learn all the high frequency SAT vocabulary words. The writing component focuses on
grammar and essay writing. Students will learn to generate ideas quickly from a given a topic, outline their
thoughts, and compose a compelling essay.
What differentiates this course from typical SAT prep courses is our emphasis on strengthening the foundational
skills needed for understanding sophisticated English (what the SAT verbal section tests).
Why do we take this approach?
Despite what many test prep companies say about their amazing score gains, independent studies show that score
gains for most students who have taken one or more typical prep courses are limited, especially on the verbal portion
of the test. In fact, one 2001 study shows that the average score gain on the verbal section after taking a prep course
is a mere 8 points. We believe that the reason why score gains are so minimal for the verbal section is because quick
band-aid approaches that teach mainly test-taking strategies, gimmicks, and word memorization just do not work
well.
Based on our experience tutoring students, we have designed a program that is much more intensive and
comprehensive, one that will provide the groundwork for substantial verbal score gains on the SAT. If students
attend all classes and complete all assignments, this course will give them the best chance of improving their critical
reading and writing scores.
This brings us to the final reason why we have taken such an intensive approach to strengthening verbal skills. We
believe that preparing for the SAT is important as the SAT is an important factor in college admissions. But we
believe that strong verbal skills are important beyond just the SAT. Not only will verbal ability influence college
performance but poor verbal skills (and even average verbal skills) will limit one’s career choices and may
adversely affect one’s chances for success later in life.
2. Grade English Excellence for 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th graders
- A special course designed to strengthen reading, writing and vocabulary skills so that students will develop a
strong foundation in English and enjoy reading and writing. - For advanced students this course will prepare them for gifted and talented youth programs (call us for more
information).
This is an intensive reading and writing course that prepares students for honors English classes in high school and
provides important foundations for high school/college admissions tests such as the SSAT, PSAT and SAT.
It is an accelerated course that covers high school to college level vocabulary and reading material. Our reading
program focuses on developing critical thinking abilities as students learn to analyze and understand sophisticated
English. The writing component focuses on expository writing and students will learn to write extensively on a wide
variety of topics. The reading component of the course reinforces the writing component as our readings will
introduce students to a range of important issues, which will provide them with an increasing knowledge base for
their writing.
This is a long-term commitment for students as solid results can only be achieved over a multi-month period. If
students attend all classes and complete most of their homework, they can expect to improve one or more grade
levels as they will be able to perform at a higher level at school. Their English as well as history/social studies
grades should improve--sometimes substantially. Most students will find themselves enjoying reading more than
they have in the past as their English skills improve. Moreover, students' English achievement test scores will
improve and most importantly, this course will provide students with the critical early foundations of high SAT
reading and writing scores.
This is a long-term commitment for students as solid results can only be achieved over a multi-month period. If
students attend all classes and complete most of their homework, they can expect to improve one or more grade
levels as they will be able to perform at a higher level at school. Their English as well as history/social studies
grades should improve--sometimes substantially. Most students will find themselves enjoying reading more than
they have in the past as their English skills improve. Moreover, students' English achievement test scores will
improve and most importantly, this course will provide students with the critical early foundations of high
SAT reading and writing scores.
This course is designed for ambitious students who want to attend a top university. It is not for below average to
average students as classes are fast-paced and the course content is rigorous and accelerated.
3. Essential Foundations in English
- A course designed to teach recent immigrant students and foreign students the basics of high school English.
- The course focuses on building strong foundations in: vocabulary, grammar, writing and reading
comprehension - Our goal is to accelerate the process of learning high school English so that students will reach a level of
competence that would enable them to perform well in regular high school English courses.
4. Verbal Velocity Program: second grade to high school (ages 7 to 18)
- A general verbal skills, reading comprehension and vocabulary improvement program that nurtures the
love of reading as foundational skills are strengthened. - There is an optional writing skills component.
Who is this program for?
This is a powerful foundational skills program designed for the following students;
1) Students who are underachievers in reading (their reading skills lag behind their general intellectual abilities).
Students with reading achievement scores that are significantly lower than their math scores would fit this profile.
2) Average to above average students reading at grade level or a little above grade level
but show little interest in reading and need to be coaxed to read.
We try to understand why the student is an underachieving or reluctant reader.
Sometimes it is because they were not taught the proper reading skills in earlier
grades and reading has become a chore. In these cases, we will teach them the basics of
decoding/phonics and then proceed quickly to the reading of classic and contemporary
literature.
5. Learn to Read Program: ages 5 and up (some 4 year olds may be read for this program)
- This is an intensive reading program designed to enable your child to read on his/her own within a short
period of time (normally in about 6 to 8 months). - This program nurtures the love of reading while your child learns critical decoding/phonics skills–the key
building blocks in reading. - Many children will be able to read children’s books on their own after this program and may even read at a
grade level that is one or more years beyond what most children their age are capable of.
Who is this program for?
1). Young children who already know some or all the letters of the alphabet but are not yet reading on their own.
2). Older Children who are not doing well in reading in school and appear to be “guessing” to figure out words.
These children are generally not labeled as having severe reading disabilities but they lag behind their peers
primarily because they have not been exposed to systematic phonics instruction and cannot decode words
rapidly.
6. Education Consultation: K-12:
- We assist parents in making important decisions about their child’s educational needs.
- We help place students in top private schools.
- We evaluate the performance, skill levels, and unique social/emotional needs of each student and make
appropriate recommendations for schooling. - We assist students in applying to private schools.
- For some students, unique educational programs are recommended–such as home-schooling. In these cases,
we help parents set up empowering learning environments.
