My older son is having some trouble with writing, still. He's in 4th grade, so this is the year they take the writing TAKS test. I just talked to his teacher about things we can do at school and at home to encourage him. He's honeslty reached the point where he's just not trying anymore. I tried having him write regularly all summer, but in the classroom he freeze up on writing assignments.

The following tutoring centers are avail near me - Kumon, sylvan, Huntington. Anyone have opinions on these one way or the other. Sylvan and Huntington both have writing listed on their websites, but Kumon doesn't. Sylvan is much closer to me, but it's only about 10 min. more to the Huntington location of that's a lot better.   I'm going to talk to the teacher again before signing him up, but thought some here might have good ideas.

I'm not familiar with either Kumon or Huntington, and know  little about Sylvan.  I did however tutor for quite a number of years in a locally owned tutoring center.  

I would suggest that you visit all three centers, ask for a "tour" and explanation of what they offer, how they would propose to help your son.  Some things you might want answered . 

Is the tutoring program set up so that tutoring sessions are designed for each individual student based on their needs or is it a pre set program-what I call a one size fits all?  How do they decide what is the best way to help my child be successful?  How often and how long are tutoring sessions?   What type of assessments will be done and how often will you receive feedback on your child's progress?   Will that feedback be in the form of a written report , verbal or both? 

I would also ask for references.  This is probably the best indication of how successful their tutoring is.  Talk to other parents and see what they say about  the tutoring centers, were they pleased with their experience with the center, did the center help their child become successful or make improvements?  Did their child enjoy going? 

Hope this is helpful,

Thanks Jill. That is very helpful. 

I've only heard Sylvan is quite good, but quite quite expensive.  Is there a college in your area ? Perhaps a student in the Ed. Dept. is willing to tutor .