“When I first started in this school, I was at a 3rd grade level in math and spelling. By the end of the school year, I was at a 5th grade level in everything. I came up two whole grade levels in math and spelling! I really caught up on my grades. My favorite subject is reading. I also like geography. I have also learned percentages.”
“I like my friends, too. I like Alessandro except when he karate chops my body when he’s playing. I love all my teachers!” -A.W. (5th grade CLC Academy student)
“M. just finished his third year at the (Community) Learning Center. Bill has been his tutor for all three years and the results have been fantastic! M. maintained “honor roll” status the entire year. Out of the seven classes, he had four A’s and the rest were B’s.”
“This would not have been possible without Bill’s dedication and help. The (Community) Learning Center was vital in our son’s educational process.”
“M. got accepted into an Academic Magnet program for High School and we will again be keeping him at the (Community) Learning Center to ensure his future academic success. I can’t thank Bill enough for his role in making this happen. The Learning Center is a vital part in our Community and I feel fortunate that we have this center available to use right in our neighborhood.” (C.L. -Mother of Middle School graduate)
“Prior to A. starting the tutoring program, he was having great difficulty not only blending the different sounds of the words, but even just the sounds of some of the individual letters themselves. He was getting frustrated and would cry, saying that he couldn’t read and was far behind.”
“Now, just a few sessions into the program, A. is reading! I practically cried when we sat down on the couch and he read a small book to me. A smirk on his face, no longer frustrated. When he doesn’t know a word, I watch him work it out in his head. I could not express how thankful and relieved I am. This has helped more than I could have ever imagined. Debbie is truly a Godsend, and so very patient with him from day one.” (T.A. -parent of 2nd grade student) *A. is pictured with his mom.
“My name is J. and I recently graduated from Palm Harbor University High School. In the fall of this year I will be attending Doane University in Crete, Nebraska on full ride academic/athletic scholarship.”
“I want to thank Community Learning Center for all the help they gave me to achieve this goal. I was able to improve my SAT score from a 720 to a 1020 because of the Academic Booster Program at Community Learning Center. I also got a lot of help in math, which was a weak subject for me. I am graduating with all A’s and B’s and I got to exempt all my end of year exams because of my grades.”
“I am grateful for all the help that Jackie gave me on preparing me for the SAT and helping me learn study skills which will also help me in college. Jackie always made learning fun. I want to thank Jen for always pushing me and Sioux for helping me with reading and essays.” -J.D. (high school student and We Believe in Me athlete) *J. is pictured with his tutor, Jackie.
Summer Camp excitement! The Community Learning Center is holding one-week educational camps this summer for kids ages 6 – 12 years old! Our field trips will relate to the weekly theme -for example, during Marine Biology week, the kids will be going to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and the Tarpon Springs sponge docks/aquarium.
Each week, kids will enjoy arts and crafts, games, outdoor play, hands-on activities, summer water play, kid movies, cooking in the cafe and more. We also have several artists and musicians coming out to the Center to do workshops with the kids.
For more info, please call us at (727) 441-4444.
Our private school is hopping with new students! Since August, we have doubled in size and we plan to triple the number of students by the new school year. We are servicing Kindergarten through 5th grade and our kids are primarily receiving scholarships through the Step Up for Students program. This program is proving very successful, as many of our students were previously attending public schools and were struggling to stay on track. These same students are now being instructed at their appropriate academic level, using effective curriculum, and are moving to the top of their class.
“The Community Learning Center Academy is the most wonderful school! I have seen a big difference in D’s school work and attitude since he has started. The teachers here are great and so patient. Something you don’t see very often in public school. They have one-on-one teaching here and it’s wonderful. The environment is warm and inviting. My son is so happy here. He wakes up each morning eager and ready.” S.O. (parent)
“I have been learning to read better and I am spelling better now. I like learning about explosions -like how they take down a building when they are getting ready to build another new building there. I like learning about volcanoes. Eruptions are cool! I like all the kids here! They are all my friends. I like going outside after lunch to play with them. That’s my favorite. We push each other around in the car, too.” M.C. (2nd grade student)
“I love school! I love Ms. Joanie and Ms. Erika! I have fun driving the play car. I know my ABC’s now. I like that Alex gives me blueberries when I do my work. I like the kids and I like doing numbers. I know the days of the week and my birthday.” J.K. (Kindergarten student)
Enrollment is now open for renewing families who are receiving Step Up for Students scholarship funding. Go to www.stepupforstudents.org under the For Parents -Income-based Scholarship tabs for more information on how the scholarship works and to apply for the 2017-2018 school year. If you need help filling out the application, please call us at (727) 441-4444.
“My daughter S. has been coming to Clearwater (Community) Learning Center for two years now. She started in the 2nd grade. She was struggling to keep up in school. She hated school and didn’t want to go. As you can see, school has changed a lot since we have gone to school.
“The teachers tell you on Back to School night if your child falls behind, it is up to us as her parents to get her caught up. This can be very difficult considering they don’t send home her workbooks but pull pages out of them and send them home because they want the child to be doing the work, not the parent. We don’t know how they are doing the new math so when we show them how we were taught, it confuses them more. I learned pretty quickly that if I wanted my daughter to learn the basics like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division that I would have to teach her.
“I still can’t believe they stopped giving spelling words after 1st grade. Then tell me we are going to the computer age and there is spell correct. Wow. You can imagine I’m just shocked about that.
“They (teachers) want them (students) to be able to pass these tests so they can have raises. My daughter is struggling to pass these tests.
“S’s tutor Theresa has filled an educational void and become her teacher. It has been a long road trying to play catch up while they keep pushing S. forward even though she is not ready for it. Finally, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. She is learning her basics with Theresa and that is helping her in school. She is having fun doing it.
“S. is actually getting B’s and is on Honor Roll for the first time in her life. We couldn’t be more thrilled. We would like to say thank you for being there for not only our child but also all children who need help with learning.” -C.D. (mother)
The next Free Books and Art for Kids event is happening THIS Saturday, Sept. 10th from 11am – 1pm. All kids can take home as many FREE books as they would like.
We will also have:
Art
Games
Snacks
Info for parents on helping your children
Musical performance by Artists for Human Rights
Ice cream social: $1 cones, $3 create-your-own sundaes
Fun, fun, fun!!!
at Community Learning Center
1411 N Fort Harrison Ave.
Clearwater, FL 33755
(727) 441-4444
This event is open to the public. Bring your friends!!!
John Corcoran thought that he would never learn how to read; that something was wrong with him. He was 48 years old before he discovered that something is wrong with the system – the school system.
John Corcoran spoke at the Florida Literacy Coalition conference on May 4th. This coalition is made up of volunteers and professionals who teach adults how to read. One in six adults cannot read above a 4th grade level; a high percentage of those cannot read above a 2nd grade level.
At age 48 he sought help from a volunteer reading coach at a library. She got him tested and it turned out that he just did not know how the written language worked. “A teacher broke the code for me,” he said. And in 13 months he went from a 2nd grade reading level to a 6th grade level. He was then functionally literate. However, it took seven years for him to feel like he could really read anything he wanted to read.
John Corcoran says that his illiteracy “suspended me in childhood”. He had a bad feeling about teachers and about himself. By second grade he had been placed in the “dumb room”. The teachers of course didn’t refer to it as the dumb room, but the students did. He rebelled, got in fights, and was a troublemaker all through elementary school.
In high school, John was an athlete, was popular and dated the valedictorian who did his homework. He stopped being a “cut-up” and became a “kiss-up”. He graduated from high school with a 2nd grade reading level and an athletic scholarship.
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