THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 12, 1996 TAG: 9606110123
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LORI A. DENNEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 103 lines
Bonnie Brice doesn't have any children, but she's spent 13 years helping kids with their homework, attending parent/teacher conferences and high school and college graduations.
Brice owns Learning Dimensions, a tutoring business she has operated out of an office in Great Neck for almost 13 years.
``I felt that this kind of teaching, one-on-one, was the best avenue to help individual styles of learning,'' said Brice, a former public school teacher for 12 years. ``I wanted to find a format that would allow flexibility to work with students the way I knew would work for them.''
Brice said she doesn't judge her students by SAT scores or all A's. Instead, she takes into account a student's home life or particular circumstances and then puts an emphasis on what the student does well.
``Some students come for reinforcement or to re-learn something in another way that works best for them,'' said Brice, who has a bachelor's degree in humanities and a master's degree from Old Dominion University in special education. ``I help them set realistic goals so that they can be the best they can be.''
Brice offers tutoring sessions for all grade levels, including college and adult studies. She also offers preschool tutoring for the younger set. Her students come from all over Hampton Roads.
She tutors in higher level courses and foreign languages. She can help a teen plan college courses or a pre-schooler with letters, shapes and numbers. She also offers help with standardized testing.
Five other teachers work out of Brice's office as contractors.
Each of the teachers - some are full-time public school teachers - specializes in a particular area or subject. Brice even has an educational diagnostician who is available for testing including educational evaluations and pre- and post-testing conferences with a full written report. Testing begins at $150.
Brice, who depends on word-of-mouth for business, charges $25 for each one-on-one 50-minute tutoring session.
She regularly contacts teachers to see how she can be helpful. She attends parent/teacher conferences with parents and she helps parents learn how to make homework time less stressful. She has also worked with psychiatrists and psychologists on behalf of students.
Brice doesn't require a contract when parents enroll a student and bills monthly for tutoring time.
``I will not set a time limit because every child is different,'' said Brice.
Her office is filled with reference materials such as encyclopedias and there are computers, desks and chairs and private study areas. She leaves her doors open from 2 to 9 p.m. during the school year for students who want to come in and study or introduce a sweetheart, a friend or even the family pet.
It's not unusual to go in on any day and find a project strewn across the floor or a student giving a speech to an audience of other students.
She's been known to order pizza for a group of students studying especially hard. Or to take youngsters over to a nearby convenience store for a treat after they've consistently shown improvement. Brice will also make ``good luck'' phone calls on the morning of exams or special tests.
More often than not, she also provides or helps find the materials needed for class projects.
Brice doesn't close her business down for the summer. Instead, she offers workshops and group enrichment programs that begin one week after school lets out and stop one week before the new school year begins.
This year, Brice's business has helped between 60 and 70 kids. In all, she estimates she's tutored 600 to 700 students in the 13 years her business has been open.
``When my students tell their friends about us then I know we've really accomplished something,'' she said. MEMO: Learning Dimensions can be reached by calling 498-1175. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Bonnie Brice, top left, owner of Learning Dimensions, tutors
Courtney Shelly, right, in science, as Karen Vita, bottom left,
tutors Emily Miller, bottom right, and Bryan Brough, left, in math.
Graphic
SUMMER OFFERINGS
Here are some summer workshops offered by Learning Dimensions
Readiness Playshop - Designed for children entering kindergarten.
It will be 9 to 11:30 a.m. Aug. 5 to 9. Fee is $135.
Let's Get Ready for First Grade - This small group- readiness
workshop is for students entering first grade; from 9 to 11:30 a.m.
July 29 to Aug. 2. Fee is $135.
Ready to Read in First Grade - A reading readiness review; from 9
to 11 a.m. Aug. 12 to 15. Fee is $150.
Math Head Start for First and Second Grade - This small
group-math fun workshop will review basic addition and subtraction;
from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Aug. 19 to 23. Fee is $135.
Multiplication and Division Workshop - Individualized instruction
in the basics for students entering third and fourth grades; 9 to 11
a.m. Aug. 26 to 30. Fee is $150.
Math Workshop - A review of math skills with games and group
activities for fifth and sixth grades; 3 to 5 p.m. Aug. 12 to 16.
Fee is $150.
Study Strategies for School Success - Individualized attention
for improved performance and grades for students entering fifth,
sixth or seventh grades; 3 to 5 p.m. Aug. 19 to 23. Fee is $160.
Study Strategies for School Success - Individualized attention
for improved performance and grades for students entering eighth,
ninth or 10th grades will be Aug. 26 to 30. The time and cost will
be determined later.
KEYWORDS: TUTOR TUTORING SUMMER SCHOOL by CNB