Rising expenses put strain on tutoring services

By Jacob Geiger

NORFOLK

Each spring, students flock to the Sylvan Learning Centers in Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Portsmouth that Alyssa Flowers Lane owns with her sister.

February through June is always the busiest time as students - and their parents - look for help preparing for state SOLs, the SAT and final exams.

But this year, that surge never arrived. Flowers Lane said many customers told her they had to drop the tutoring program because high gas, utility and food prices were eating up family budgets.

The high prices of those essentials, coupled with an increase in unemployment and relative wage stagnation, ha ve dramatically reduced the amount of discretionary income in many Hampton Roads households. And with tutoring at Sylvan and other centers costing around $40 per hour, some families have called it quits.

"We could see a shift in the mindset of families," Flowers Lane said. "They were making choices between what they could afford."

She said some families left for good, while others told her they would take a few months off to save money and then try to return in the fall, when school resumes.

The tough times for customers are not the only thing the sisters are dealing with. In May, just a few weeks before their new center in Suffolk was due to open, the tornado that hit the area deposited a red sedan in the middle of their tutoring room.

To boost business, Flowers Lane is trying to win tutoring contracts with local school systems. Under those contracts, groups like Sylvan send tutors to work in school systems that are struggling to win accreditation.

Not every tutoring center is experiencing a decrease in business. Tera Shah, who runs a Kumon tutoring center in Chesapeake, said business has been steady this year, helped in part by discounts for parents who enroll their children in both reading and math classes.

Kumon spokeswoman Caitlin McHugh said enrollment in the math tutoring program increased across Virginia during the past year. She said Kumon has about 3,000 students enrolled in math tutoring this month, up from 2,600 statewide in July 2007.

Public school systems in South Hampton Roads also offer a mix of summer tutoring and enrichment programs.

Sharon Harris, a spokeswoman for Portsmouth public schools, said the system's summer programs - even those that aren't free - have seen increased enrollment. She and representatives from other school systems seem confident that students who need extra help or attention are still getting it.

Chuck Davis, who runs Achievement Plus, an in-home tutoring system, said the tough economy has changed his business but not driven away too many customers. Since his employees travel to student s' houses, he has started charging a gas fee if the tutor has to drive more than 12 miles.

Summer is always the slowest time of year for Davis, so he said he'll have to wait until the fall to see if business will stay strong.

"Everybody has to cut back on something, but parents are really concerned about their child's education," Davis said. "People are willing to cut back on other things like going to the movies or eating out."

Shirley Riddick agrees with that sentiment. Now retired after teaching for 33 years in the Norfolk school system, Riddick said, she's cutting other expenses to make sure she can afford tutoring for her grandchildren.

That has meant buying fewer clothes and trying to keep her grocery bill down. She thinks the sacrifices are worth it if they'll help the first- and second-graders get a leg up on their educations.

"You have to prioritize," Riddick said. "You want to make sure they get the education they need."

Jacob Geiger, (757) 446-2643, jacob.geiger@pilotonline.com