Huntington Learning Center - Helping Students Achieve Academic Success

Huntington Learning Center celebrates its 10-year anniversary in Woodstock, in the same location, this month. Reid Trego, executive director of Huntington Learning Center in Woodstock, is proud to have provided such a valuable educational service for so long to families in Woodstock and surrounding areas. It has been so rewarding to be a part of the community where my own family lives, and to watch more and more families move here and grow as the community has grown over the years, he says.

This is a critical time of the school year for students as they approach the last semester and end-of-the-year testing. For students who have struggled with certain subjects or are applying to colleges, now is a make-it or break-it time. Huntington Learning Center in Woodstock can help students achieve academic success in individual subject areas, fundamentals and exam preparation.

As Trego explains, many parents bring their children to Huntington for help in a specific area in which theyve recently struggled, but dont realize the underlying problem is with fundamentals. Students who have difficulty learning decimals, for example, most likely have a weakness in fractions and multiplication as well, he says. One builds upon the other, so it has a cumulative effect when basic fundamentals are not learned. Now is the time to address those fundamentals before students fall even more behind and jeopardize their long-term academic success.

Huntington Learning Center takes a traditional approach to learning, emphasizing reading, writing, math and critical thinking skills. If students develop solid skills in these core areas, they will find schoolwork gets easier, Trego says. Real academic success is much more than just memorizing material for a test; its about understanding nuances, cause and effect, and being able to put the material in your own words. The new Common Core educational standards, implemented in Georgia and most other states, are based on these same fundamentals. Fortunately, thats what Huntington has been teaching since the first center opened in 1977.

The first step toward academic success and improvement begins with an academic evaluation, which gauges students individual strengths and weaknesses. Based on the assessment, Huntington instructors will recommend a learning program that will address those specific areas of weakness. All instruction is done at Huntington Learning Center, with assignments progressively increasing in difficulty. Typically, students complete the instructional program within two to six months, depending on their individual needs and goals. The sooner students begin building on those fundamentals and addressing specific areas of weakness, the better, Trego says. The longer they wait, the longer it will take to see academic progress.

Students with a weakness in reading, for example, may go through a program that involves writing down the main subjects of the material, outlining the key points of each paragraph, identifying and defining key terms, and writing a synopsis of the material in their own words. This helps students to improve not only reading comprehension and vocabulary skills necessary in English/Language Arts classes but also critical thinking and problem-solving skills that can be applied to all subjects, Trego says. Again, these are fundamental skills that are critical to overall long-term academic success.

Trego and the instructors at Huntington Learning Center work closely with teachers to monitor students progress in the classroom. Students also are tested in-center at different phases of instruction to gauge academic progress. It is so rewarding to see the look of satisfaction and pride on students faces when they finally reach their academic goals, he says. Before coming to Huntington, many students feel defeated. No matter how hard they studied, the results were the same, so they gave up. Huntingtons program allows students to see firsthand and celebrate their academic progress at every stage.

In addition to improving fundamentals and offering subject tutoring, Huntington Learning Center provides exam preparation for state tests required at the elementary, middle and high school levels; for entrance tests into high school and college; and other standardized student tests. The most common exam prep at Huntingtons Woodstock location is ACT and SAT. As Trego explains, Huntingtons ACT/SAT exam prep includes instruction for first-time and repeat students. We walk students through the differences of each test to help them determine which one is best for them, he says, noting that the ACT is more achievement-based with what students learn in school, while the SAT involves more critical thinking and problem-solving. Most students who come to Huntington in Woodstock take the ACT; the ACT features timed tests in English, math, reading, science, and an optional essay. Huntington instructors identify students targeted score, and offer individual instruction and practice tests to help them achieve that goal. Some students may need help in certain areas of weakness; others may need help due to anxiety associated with such an important test, Trego explains. In addition, some students may come to Huntington because they want help achieving a score that will allow them to compete for certain scholarships. Whatever the case may be, Trego promises, we will work hard to customize a program that meets your needs.

One of the most important things for students to understand is that the ACT does not penalize for wrong answers meaning their score is not deducted by a certain amount for each wrong answer so students should answer every question, even if they guess. Based on students practice test or score of a previous test, we identify the types of questions they should answer first, the ones to devote more time to, and the ones at which they should guess, Trego says. Obviously, students should prepare and perform their best, but there are real tips to maximizing your scoring potential. On average, Huntington students score three to six points higher on the ACT than they would without specialized exam preparation.

As Huntington Learning Center celebrates 10 years in Woodstock, Trego says, It was important to my wife and me to start a business in the community where we live, where our kids attend school, where we shop, and where we go to church. It has been so rewarding to have the opportunity to influence lives right here in our own community.