Educational Services include academic coaching, academic management, tutoring, college counseling, and broader educational consulting. Services are offered to students, parents of students, professionals, or anyone looking to learn new subject matter and/or skills. Unlike conventional educational services, Sustainable Joy examines the context in which learning takes place or has been acquired. Instructional methods are designed to be age-appropriate and culturally proficient to achieve real results.
WHERE DO SESSIONS TAKE PLACE?
Online sessions are available for anyone within the United States who is able to connect via the internet with appropriate equipment (e.g., a webcam and microphone). Generally, in-person sessions take place within a 7-mile radius or 35-minute roundtrip drive of Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. Tutoring in Silver Spring, Maryland takes place at the Silver Spring Library and other public locations. Tutoring in Rockville, MD takes place at Rockville Memorial Library, Twinbrook Library, and other public locations. Tutoring for residents of North Silver Spring, Laurel, Beltsville takes place at White Oak Library. Provided your home is smoke-free, pets are put away, and an adult is home for the entire duration of the session, residential tutoring may be available depending upon the distance, parking logistics and other factors. To get started, submit a service request below.
Academic Coaching. Support and coaching on the underlying knowledge, behaviors, and core skills required to be an effective learner and increasingly responsible person. This includes modelling and teaching time management, organization, managing course load/study schedule, note taking and other study skills, attention/focus, and retention strategies. It also includes specific strategies and evidence-based best practices for cognitive or behavioral disorders (EFD, SPD, Asperger’s Syndrome), learning differences (dyslexia, dysgraphia) and other factors that affect academic success.
Academic Management. Unlike academic coaching or tutoring, this service is for persons who need interventive or ongoing support, coordination, or oversight of overall academics in order to matriculate. Includes assignment tracking, interfacing with professors or teachers, academic calendaring and workload management. It is a service offered to parents as much as students. It includes creating, refining, and/or providing significant management of systems to ensure academic goals are achieved. Examples include creating folders for organizing assignments, materials, and supplies for multiple classes in middle school and beyond or setting up digital calendaring so that parents, teachers, student, and other stakeholders (resource teacher, tutor) can track assignments as they are assigned, completed, turned in, graded, resubmitted, etc.
Tutoring. Tutoring is instruction in one or more specific content areas (subjects) such as English essay writing, Spanish verb conjugation, typing, or preparing for AP US History exams. It differs from academic coaching and academic management because it focuses on specific skills and content rather than, for example, the underlying skills required to learn in general or the set of skills and practices required to manage all courses in middle school and high school.
College Counseling. College planning should begin well before the senior year and even before high school. Before the application process even begins, there is considerable pre-planing that should be taking place in middle school. Yes, middle school. Assistance with the personal statement, financial aid applications, scholarship forms and statements, school selection (4-year vs. 2-year, in-state, online and more), securing useful letters of recommendation, and coaching on the overall admissions process for one or more schools.