BUSINESS story by Heather Page BUSINESS
Top artists, athletes, and scholars have one very important act in common – they practice. The good intentions of making ourselves and our children practice educational activities, such as math sheets or joining a reading club, over the summer have met their deadline. Results are in and if you’re like many, goals were set aside for some good, waterloving, mountain-climbing summer fun. That’s okay! However, there’s no better time than the present to jump back in, full force, and start your path to another successful school year. While you may enjoy being your child's educational cheerleader, did you know there was a business that pours its heart and soul into coaching your child through higher achievements? That’s right! Kumon in Florence goes far beyond tutoring to deliver the results you seek for success at school and beyond. Led by Bonneva Ezekiel, an early childhood educator for over 30 years with a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Kumon provides lasting techniques that offer a lifetime of advantages. Bonneva serves as co-owner and instructor at Kumon. Her primary role is to develop students’ skills by observing their abilities and following through with proper instructions. “The goal is to have each student achieve one to two grade levels above their current grade,” she explains. “I am responsible for creating lesson plans for students and developing skills such as focus, Bonneva Ezekiel concentration, stamina, work skills, study attitude, and study approach. These skills are developed during careful observation of students while encouraging them to be independent, self-learners.” Kumon offers a math program and a reading program. Students are encouraged to participate 40 40
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August August2022 2022
Kumon inspires children to reach heights they never imagined possible.
in both to gain the most advantages but may also choose to do only one program. Upon joining the Kumon experience, students are walked through their daily class routine and given instructions on how how to complete the worksheets provided. “Accountability is another major part of our program,” says Bonneva. “On their journey of being independent, self-learners, students are given the ‘responsibility’ talk where they are told this is ‘their’ Kumon and they are responsible for making sure they not only do their homework and classwork, but they are also responsible for making sure they come to class prepared with their supplies.” Each student, no matter the grade level, follows the same routine, from three-year-old to high school seniors. There are three tiers of learners at Kumon – Early Learners, Primary Instruction, and Independent Students. The Early Learners range from three to about six years old. This age group is immediately greeted by an assistant that will work with them during the entire class time. The Primary Instruction students are those that are not quite ready to work 100% independently. They are monitored closely and get assistance initially to make sure they have a good start. Then they are observed and assisted when they ask. Finally, the Independent Students work completely independently and may also ask for help when needed. The last two tiers are closely monitored by instructors and adjustments are made on the spot when necessary. Graders are grading students’ homework while they are working on their classwork. Once a student completes their classwork, they take it to the graders for grading. The graders give students back their graded homework and students work independently making corrections. The exchanging of work continues until both homework and classwork achieve a score of 100%, then the student leaves for the day. Students can spend as little as 20 minutes to as long as one hour on two subjects.
