I strongly dislike how the franchisee of the St. Paul center handled the sexual harassment charges I leveled against two employees at that location.
The first charge was brought up after I endured three separate incidents involving another employee during our regularly scheduled evening work sessions. The second harassment charge involved a center leader, and it occurred DURING a meeting held to resolve the harassment allegations raised against the first employee. Looking back to the incident, I still cringe when I think of the leader's actions, because from my perspective, it feels like I was preyed upon.
I'm an actor, and shortly before the meeting, I sent the Sylvan leader an email about a suggestive tongue extension and unwanted touching of the buttocks and crotch that happened on a movie set. The Sylvan leader read this email, and to my horror, also seemed to stick her tongue out in a manner reminiscent of the filming harassment incident.
I worked at this location from late 2018 to early 2019, and once as a substitute at the Woodbury location and disliked my experiences at both places, operated by the same franchisee. In my quest to seek justice, I contacted the franchisee directly to resolve this matter, but he had his lawyer send me a cease and desist letter, which stated that I was harassing the tutoring center.
As an activist, if I witness blatant injustice with both eyes, no attorneys will be able to silence me, so I feel the need to warn others about this learning center. I recommend prospective employees, parents and students stay far away from this particular Sylvan center or the sister site.
I'm a current sylvan teacher and I, like several posters before me, am writing to confirm that Syvlan is an absolute rip off. I would never send my kids here, and though I work at one (basically because it works with my other day job schedule), I wouldn't reccommend it. The reasons are numerous but it all boils down to these three things.
1. They absolutely don't personalize the curriculum (unless a post it note on top of a photocopied worksheet is personalized) to meet each student's needs. Our center gets an influx of NCLB/SES funded students each fall - all of whom need tons of help with reading and math skills, and we throw the same ILO (learning plans) at all of them. Zero adaptations, no extra help with ELL students, no extra training - nothing.
2. They overcharge and underprovide. As many posters have said, most of the credentialed teachers only make $12/hour. Sylvan claims they need the rest of the money for supplies but that's a load of b.s. We use 50/50 books and ipads. The books are literally falling apart. The manipulatives are broken and the ipads all need servicing. The real profits go to the franchise owner and corporate salaries. Syvlan also claims 3 students to 1 teacher is beneficial for teaching independent learning - that's a total lie. There's ZERO evidence that shows less individualized attention leads to more independence. When your kid sits at a sylvan table they're getting maybe 15 minutes of real one to one instruction if they're lucky, you're paying for a full hour though. Good deal right?
3. They upsell you on courses your kid doesn't need. As some others have mentioned, a lot of the kids that come to Sylvan simply need supervision and perhaps a kick to the backside to motivate them. Our study skills and homework support programs are hugely overpriced for very little content that isn't common sense, every day things any half invested parent could teach. Even if a students aces the pre-test Sylvan will give the parents the idea the kid still needs some kind of program.
There you have it. Sylvan is a joke. Hire a decent private tutor, shop around but don't buy into Sylvan's hype.
Sylvan Learning, Inc. Reviews
I strongly dislike how the franchisee of the St. Paul center handled the sexual harassment charges I leveled against two employees at that location.
The first charge was brought up after I endured three separate incidents involving another employee during our regularly scheduled evening work sessions. The second harassment charge involved a center leader, and it occurred DURING a meeting held to resolve the harassment allegations raised against the first employee. Looking back to the incident, I still cringe when I think of the leader's actions, because from my perspective, it feels like I was preyed upon.
I'm an actor, and shortly before the meeting, I sent the Sylvan leader an email about a suggestive tongue extension and unwanted touching of the buttocks and crotch that happened on a movie set. The Sylvan leader read this email, and to my horror, also seemed to stick her tongue out in a manner reminiscent of the filming harassment incident.
I worked at this location from late 2018 to early 2019, and once as a substitute at the Woodbury location and disliked my experiences at both places, operated by the same franchisee. In my quest to seek justice, I contacted the franchisee directly to resolve this matter, but he had his lawyer send me a cease and desist letter, which stated that I was harassing the tutoring center.
As an activist, if I witness blatant injustice with both eyes, no attorneys will be able to silence me, so I feel the need to warn others about this learning center. I recommend prospective employees, parents and students stay far away from this particular Sylvan center or the sister site.
I'm a current sylvan teacher and I, like several posters before me, am writing to confirm that Syvlan is an absolute rip off. I would never send my kids here, and though I work at one (basically because it works with my other day job schedule), I wouldn't reccommend it. The reasons are numerous but it all boils down to these three things.
1. They absolutely don't personalize the curriculum (unless a post it note on top of a photocopied worksheet is personalized) to meet each student's needs. Our center gets an influx of NCLB/SES funded students each fall - all of whom need tons of help with reading and math skills, and we throw the same ILO (learning plans) at all of them. Zero adaptations, no extra help with ELL students, no extra training - nothing.
2. They overcharge and underprovide. As many posters have said, most of the credentialed teachers only make $12/hour. Sylvan claims they need the rest of the money for supplies but that's a load of b.s. We use 50/50 books and ipads. The books are literally falling apart. The manipulatives are broken and the ipads all need servicing. The real profits go to the franchise owner and corporate salaries. Syvlan also claims 3 students to 1 teacher is beneficial for teaching independent learning - that's a total lie. There's ZERO evidence that shows less individualized attention leads to more independence. When your kid sits at a sylvan table they're getting maybe 15 minutes of real one to one instruction if they're lucky, you're paying for a full hour though. Good deal right?
3. They upsell you on courses your kid doesn't need. As some others have mentioned, a lot of the kids that come to Sylvan simply need supervision and perhaps a kick to the backside to motivate them. Our study skills and homework support programs are hugely overpriced for very little content that isn't common sense, every day things any half invested parent could teach. Even if a students aces the pre-test Sylvan will give the parents the idea the kid still needs some kind of program.
There you have it. Sylvan is a joke. Hire a decent private tutor, shop around but don't buy into Sylvan's hype.