Seeking Extra Academic Help For Your Child? Montclair Is A Community Of Learning Centers

About 10 years ago, John de la Rosa and his wife, Angela, moved to Montclair from New York City, like so many others, and have since had three children.

About two years ago, Angela de la Rosa was laid off from her job at Lehman Brothers and the couple began looking for a business they could launch together that also would allow them plenty of time with the kids.

"After some thought, we decided we would open a learning center," John de la Rosa said. "Angela had a business and physics background, and I used to be a research scientist at Bell Laboratories ... I am now an IP attorney with a home office. Math was second nature to us."

After volunteering with students at Bradford Elementary School, they decided to open a Mathnasium, a math only learning center on Valley Road, last December.

On Saturday, September 11, as well as on Saturday, September 18, Mathnasium will hold open houses from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Mathnasium is just one business offering extra academic assistance to Montclair-area students this fall. Others include Chyten and Kumon, in addition to programs offered by the Montclair School District.

John de la Rosa described Mathnasium as a highly specialized center that teaches math only to students in 2nd through 12th grades, up to and including Calculus. Parents pay a monthly membership fee ranging from $225 to $350 for their children — depending on their grade level and the term of their membership — to attend twice a week for about an hour with the flexibility of an additional two sessions for extra help for a total of 10 sessions per month.

"At our center, we develop a personalized learning program for each student," John de la Rosa said. "During their sessions, we employ diagnostics, instruction, worksheets, manipulatives, and games to build Number Sense and, with it, confidence and a deep understanding and a lifelong love of math."

Also on Valley Road is Chyten Educational Services, which offers a wide range of programs — and not only in math — including private tutoring and SAT preparation.

Owner Roger Ochoa said that programs for K-12 are designed to break down traditional learning barriers and to, for example, dramatically boost reading speed and comprehension.

In addition, Chyten offers preparation for most standardized tests.

"We offer proprietary and proven strategies to obtain the highest SAT and ACT score increase," said Ochoa, adding that Chyten's SAT students have experienced an average increase of 274 points.

Classes to prepare students for the upcoming test in November —offering a comprehensive overview of the SAT — begin on September 19 and are held from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoons with practice tests given on Saturdays. Another class begins on October 24 to prepare for the upcoming January test.

In addition, there's ongoing one-on-one test preparation seven days a week by appointment.

Ochoa said that prices are $1,195 for SAT classes with one-on-one help priced at $165 per hour. Homework help is $105 per hour. SAT diagnostics are $89 but free for a limited time.

In addition, Kumon, also on Valley Road, is the world's largest after-school math and reading enrichment program.

Students can enroll as early as in preschool and can attend Kumon classes throughout primary and secondary school.

When asked about academic support offered by the Montclair School District, spokeswoman Felice Harrison said that: "Jean Wuensch and Sylvia Bryant are coordinating the after-school tutoring for students (elementary and middle) who qualify for the STARS academic support. It will be offered one day a week, most likely at [Charles H.] Bullock Elementary School and maybe one of the middle schools.

"Some of the other 'community sites,' like Trinity church, may also provide tutoring in conjunction with us," she said. "We also have Montclair State University students — about 30 — ready to support our program, as volunteer tutors, working alongside a certified teacher."

If you know of any additional opportunities for academic support, please email me at Shelley@patch.com.