
In order to succeed in our program, students need to attend our tutoring centers in Santa Monica and Mar Vista regularly. This requires a commitment of two to three hours of in-center tutoring weekly, as well as some completion of extra work at home on non-class days. We seek a commitment along these lines to ensure success.
A good analogy is exercise. When was the last time you got in shape by only exercising an hour a week? You didn’t. Your family will need to devote at least a few hours per week to our program (in class and at home) if we are to advance your child’s education significantly.
Please note that the time at the center is only one part of our service. In addition to your child’s attendance here, we assign extra (individualized) work on the computer or on paper. In this way we can accelerate your child’s progress more, especially if they are behind in school. We work behind the scenes to ensure that the homework is assigned, corrected, and understood. For computer homework we even make changes to your child’s extra assignments remotely.
The Learning Path does not allow for tutoring hours to be rolled over from one week to the next, as this undermines the discipline of our tutoring programs and our ability to be effective. You need to commit to our program for your child to be successful. Nothing is more important to your child’s future success than their education.
The cost for one course is $250 per month for Math OR Reading/Writing. The cost for taking both Math and Reading/Writing is $350 per month. This includes individualized lesson plans in the subject(s), personalized tutoring time at our centers, and the assignment and grading of relevant homework. There is a $50 per month discount for siblings ($25 each). Academic progress takes plenty of time and effort. Please do not expect to get a lot out of our program in less than a year. There are no shortcuts. Anyone who tells you otherwise either isn’t being honest, or doesn’t know what they’re doing.
During the summer we operate a Summer Intensive program for students going into Grades 5-12. This allows for unlimited attendance and an accelerated pace towards and beyond grade level during the summer. The goal is to push students ahead as much as possible in a short period of time, with the aim of converting to our regular program in September to sustain their progress. Summer is a great time to get ahead, but is often not sufficient to get us all the way there. The fee for the Summer Intensive program is as follows: $350 per month for one course/$450 per month for two courses (plus registration/testing fees). There is NO LAST MONTH DEPOSIT in summer! Any student who enrolls in the Summer Tutoring Program can transfer into our Regular Tutoring Program on September 1 free of charge. This is the perfect option for older students who are behind and/or for any family who wants to try out our services.
We have a Maintenance Program option for students who are performing at or above grade level and only desire a limited engagement. To qualify for this program, students must: 1) have been enrolled in our regular or intensive tutoring programs for at least one year; and 2) be at or above grade level according to our diagnostic testing. This program is suitable for advanced students who only need a couple hours of tutoring time each month. Please inquire if you are interested.
Help for school homework is generally not included in the programs above. Although we help when we can, our focus is on our individualized tutoring plans that achieve results. Focusing solely on school homework takes a great deal of time and does not typically lead to academic improvement. To get anywhere we need to provide individualized teaching, and a focus on school homework greatly limits our ability to do so.
For students from Pre-K to Grade 2, The Learning Path usually provides diagnostic testing that is free of charge. These tests ascertain a student’s mastery of the fundamentals in Math, Reading, and Writing. Should a student in Grade 2 test particularly strongly, we may recommend that they test into the Common Core which will then incur a fee.
Diagnostic testing into the Common Core is done through adaptive computer tests at a cost of $50 for either test. Fees paid for testing can be fully credited towards registration and/or tuition. Effectively all diagnostic testing is free for students who enroll in our program. Typically we only test students in Grade 3 and above into the Common Core program directly.
For diagnostic testing, we ask that parents contact us ahead of time to book an appointment. We need to ensure that we have sufficient resources available to devote to your child when they come in. Please call or email us ahead of time to make arrangements.
The main fees are covered above. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
The Learning Path welcomes prospective families to visit us during any of our regular class hours in Santa Monica or Mar Vista. Please introduce yourself when you visit, and if we are unavailable to speak with you at length, please don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to other parents in the waiting