RALUCA BARZU
The Kentucky Standard
In a few months Nelson County students will get a new tutoring facility.
Sylvan Learning Center , an organization dedicated to bringing in-center and online tutoring programs for every child, will open an office in Bardstown.
The center will be in the northwest corner of the Kentucky Home Square Shopping Center , on KY 245.
Sylvan will take part of the glass building behind Pizza Hut, Kim Huston, Nelson County Economic Development Agency CEO, said.
The business will only occupy about 2,500 to 3,000 square feet.
Kym DeStephanis, executive director with Sylvan Learning Centers talked with Huston and showed interest in moving forward with the project. A new facility will open its doors by October.
A contractor has been selected to finish off the section designated for the new center, Huston said.
The center is also looking for staff and will be hiring in the next month or so, Huston added.
“It is another nice business that complements what we already have,” Huston said.
The closest Sylvan Learning Centers are in Louisville and Elizabethtown . Bardstown students are already traveling the distance to take part in its programs, Huston said.
“They've done research and found the need (for a center) here,” she added.
The Sylvan tutors help students Kindergarten through grade 12. Courses are available for adults and working professionals seeking advancement.
DeStephanis said the center will not offer traditional tutoring, but will provide one-on-one instruction in individualized sessions.
Students' needs and learning styles are assessed prior to enrollment, DeStephanis said.
Bardstown was the “last territory available in Kentucky ,” DeStephanis added, and the center will cater to surrounding counties as well.
“This was our opportunity to meet some more rural areas,” DeStephanis said, adding Bardstown is a fast growing community that would benefit from the center.
Children are provided with personalized lessons for all ages and preparation levels, in topics such as tutoring in math, reading and ACT preparation. An SAT program will be instituted in the future, DeStephanis said.
Since the first center was erected in 1979, more than 1,000 Sylvan Learning Centers have been built to help children in the U.S. and Canada
Similar facilities are already available in Bardstown, such as “Enrich Me” — a tutoring center run by retired teachers — and Bardstown Adult Learning Center .
However, Huston said Sylvan Learning Centers will bring something different to the community and will offer services directly to local schools.
The Sylvan program is also a certified supplemental provider for the No Child Left Behind Act, DeStephanis said. This means children who do not meet No Child Left Behind standards can get Sylvan services paid for by their school district.
An open house for the new center is scheduled in October and diagnostic testing for children interested in the program will begin mid-October.
For more information contact DeStephanis at (812) 923-0336.
Raluca Barzu can be reached at 348-9003 Ext.114 or by e-mail at rbarzu@bardstowncable.net.
