What Others Say

What Others Say

Read about the experiences of other students, parents and teachers with The Enrichment Centers. Featuring statements from clients from our summer, tutoring and after-school programs.

"He is having a wonderful time, made some new friends!!"

He is having a wonderful time, made some new friends and excited every morning to go. That itself speaks volumes about how wonderful your program is, because Sreejato is not someone who adjusts easily.

"She couldn’t wait to wake up and go back for another day of “fun”.!!"

My name is Cheryl and I am writing this letter of appreciation to praise the Enrichment Centers, Inc. My daughter Brooke has attended your camp for many weeks during the past three summers. It is not often that a child enjoys learning all day, five days a week during the summer. Brooke couldn’t get enough of your camp. She couldn’t wait to wake up and go back for another day of “fun”. What made the camp especially fun for her was your professional staff. Colin Carmello and Anthony Riccio made the Enrichment Center not only educational but also an entertaining experience. Thank you for your help.

"My son Dereck has improved his reading level!!"

I want to say my son has improved his reading level. When he started in 1st grade this year he could not read that well. Now because of the Enrichment Centers he likes to read to me and dad all the time. Thanks for all your help with his reading! Last year he was in an after school program and he hated it. So I let him stop going. This year he enjoys going.

"The Enrichment program’s role in my daughter’s remarkable progress in reading is a testament to the program’s effectiveness!"

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
Frederick Douglass, the erudite abolitionist, once mused.

Literacy is a window to both the universe of the mind and the cosmic universe. A child robbed of such existential tool will subsist at the fringes of life, in agonizing grips of intellectual, economic, and social exclusion.

A literate child is most likely to become a literate adult, and all the advantages that come with it: live one’s full potential. Therefore, as a parent, I consider childhood literacy indispensable, and deem the lack thereof as a gross violation of the child’s right.

My mother, though illiterate, realized the crushing limitations of illiteracy in my native Ghana. She vowed never to let her children suffer the indignities of this avoidable disease. I have extended the same promise to my children, but with the current leaps in global information technology, and the fact that I am blessed with the ability to read, I am better equipped to outpaced my mother’s relatively modest dream.

So, when I realized that my 5-year-old daughter, was reading at an “average level” I became concerned; I knew with instructional assistance, she could do far better.

First, I developed an after-school reading scheme for her. I was the instructor. I saw some progress, but I felt she could do much more.

Then my daughter came home one day with the Enrichment Centers’ free reading program flier. I enrolled her immediately. It did not take long to see some remarkable improvements in her reading and comprehension. Also, I was particularly excited about visible strides in a technique we had been working on: syllabic chunking. She began using this technique to break every word with two or more syllables down into chunks so she could “devour” it. She told me her after-school teacher taught her.

Now, my daughter is reading above her grade level. The Enrichment program’s role in my daughter’s remarkable progress in reading is a testament to the program’s effectiveness.

She is ready for the winter stint. She is excited.

So am I.

Yao

"North Bethesda After School Program!"

I am writing to express our gratitude for the outstanding service that you and The Enrichment Centers,Inc. provide to the students and families of North Bethesda Middle School. You always go the extra mile to accommodate our organization’s particular needs. The children are having fabulous, educational and entertaining experiences. Your dedication and background makes a good experience GREAT! Thank you so much for your unwavering attention to detail and all that you and the staff at TEC provide. It’s a pleasure to do business with you. We mean every word of what we have said.

Thank you!

Mary Collishaw
Chair of the North Bethesda After School Activities Committee

and

Tiffany DeZee, Programming Sub Committee
With the North Bethesda After School Activities Committee

"Thank you again for making my daughter’s experience both educational and entertaining!"

I am writing this letter to praise the Enrichment Centers, Inc. My daughter has attended camp for several weeks during the past three summers. It is not often that a child enjoys learning all day, five days a week during the summer. My daughter couldn’t get enough of your camp. She couldn’t wait to wake up and go back for another day of “fun”. What made the camp especially fun for her was your professional staff, Colin Carmello and Anthony Riccio. Thank you again for making Brooke’s experience both educational and entertaining.

"More enthusiastic than ever to teach!"

First and foremost, I just want to thank you for letting me intern this summer. I throughly loved teaching ESL. It has been rewarding being able teach these kids teaching ESL. What I learned in this internship that as a teacher, we can make big difference by making kids understand that we care and love of the subject that we teach. I was more enthusiastic than ever to teach.

I am not sure what future holds for me yet, but teaching is on top of my list in my future plan. And I hope that we(interns) made you proud of your centers. We really did work hard and I think we had a great staff this year.

Again, thanks for letting me intern this summer and I hope your other center will be successful.

"Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to continue working at the Centers. I hope I will be able to return again next year!"

It has really been a pleasure working with Jessie, Asmita, and Risa, who were very considerate and caring in every aspect. I also enjoyed the company of the students who were most certainly a delight to teach. Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to continue working at the Centers. I hope I will be able to return again next year!

"She connected and worked so well with our granddaughter. Our granddaughter looked forward to your tutor coming each week (No Child Left Behind Program in Hampton,VA )"

I am writing to let you know how very happy we were with our tutor Mrs. Janet Revells. She connected and worked so well with our granddaughter. Our granddaughter looked forward to your tutor coming each week. I would like very must to request having Janet Revells as tutor again next school year if possible!

"The Maryland Choices team is celebrating Cassandra’s huge improvements in attendance, math and other subjects for grade 7"

The Maryland Choices team is celebrating Cassandra’s huge improvements in attendance, math and other subjects for grade 7. We thank you and the 7th grade team for all your dedication this year! Cassandra will continue her Math tutoring with Gary Pena from The Enrichment Centers this summer and will work on her math packet for grade 8 as well as to attend Summer School for Math. Please let us know if you think there is any area that Cassandra can focus on this summer in addition to what she will be doing. This was great team work between school staff, The Enrichment Centers, and Maryland Choices.

"My daughter earned an A in math on her report card"

I want you to be the first to know: My daughter earned an A in math on her report card! You'll remember she made an A on the assessment you helped her study for; that led to the A as well as positive feedback from her teacher. If one session with your teacher can help her that much, I can't wait to see what several sessions will do!

"Thanks so much for your time and attention!"

Thanks so much for your time and attention. With the help of the Enrichment Center, she's feeling very comfortable going into 2nd grade

"I not only improved my test taking abilities for the MCAT, but for every single test that I will have in medical school!"

This past summer I took the MCAT for the second time and utilized the Enrichment Centers for my preparations. Last summer when I took the MCAT for the first time, I utilized a major preparation company that shall not be named for confidentiality reasons. I did not get tutoring from them, but rather participated in a class which was good preparation—but not enough to achieve the score that I wanted. I have heard that their tutoring is personalized but probably not to the extent of personalization that I got from Dr. Webbink and the Enrichment Center.

During my experience with Dr. Webbink and the Enrichment Center, I worked with four people—Dr. Webbink, Holly Hargreaves,M.A. a student who is physics major from Emory, and a graduate of Haverford with a Master's from Middlebury. Dr. Webbink worked with me on anxiety strategies dealing with the test and it proved effective as I did not feel very anxious during test day. The class that I took last year did not address test anxiety that was very effective. With Holly Hargreaves, I worked on study tactics that I would have never gotten from a major test preparation company. With Holly's help, I was able to study much more efficiently than last year. With both the student tutors, I was able to understand concepts and test taking strategies that were much more comprehensive than what I got from my class last year. Quite a few of my questions were unable to be answered because the instructor did not know how to answer it—with the two students, I never had that problem.

As I was investigating companies for my MCAT preparation, I was leery on small companies as opposed to large companies with well-known reputation. I decided to take a chance with Dr. Webbink and the Enrichment Center and that proved to be a wise decision. I have yet to get my scores for the MCAT, but I am confident that I improved well compared to last year and I am more than satisfied with Dr. Webbink and the Enrichment Center. I not only improved my test taking abilities for the MCAT, but for every single test that I will have in medical school. You cannot get that even with a tutor from the big companies from what I can see.

A Confident, Satisfied Prospective Medical Student

"His professionalism, mannerism and knowledge was more than appreciated!"

I wanted to thank your organization in an emergency request to locate a professional, knowledgeable person to teach my son Algebra I - Part II as he is preparing for Novel exam.

Mr. Starr was very kind to take this task on the very next day after contacting your agency. JonT. (my son) learned the needed information from Mr. Starr and enjoy working with him.

His professionalism, mannerism and knowledge was more than appreciated!

Kim Leagan

"Thank you very much. The girls really enjoyed the week of learning, Empowered Learning with the electives in Anime and Drama really worked for my kids."

Thank you very much. The girls really enjoyed the week of learning, Empowered Learning with the electives in Anime and Drama really worked for my kids. By the end of the week they learned some wonderful study skills and organizational skills that have not been taught to them in school previously. Teresa and Mary both are re-arranging their rooms to fit their desks according to the guidelines you suggested to them. Apparently the great idea I had had a long time ago of having their desks under a window in our busy living room wasn't too conducive to studying!

They are organizing it all by themselves and come home armed with a lot of ideas. RC was wonderful with both girls, Mary Grace took a special liking to him and learned a lot from his anime class. He taught her a lot about drawing techniques. Ryan was also really good with the girls and they learned a lot from him as well.

"Gosh, I never knew I could learn so much. This is way faster compared to the speed at school."

Our children are enrolled in Summer '08 at Rockville Campus for Small Group Tutoring They were very vocal about quality of Mr. Colin's Math tutoring. The younger one said "Gosh, I never knew I could learn so much. This is way faster compared to the speed at school." The older one said "Compared to Johns Hopkins's CTY I would like to learn from Mr. Colin. Teaching here is very customized, based on your needs and speed.

"YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did the distance--feel reallygood about it!"

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did the distance--feel reallygood about it!

MCAT student

"Thank you so much for accommodating Hannah and for recognizing that she and Miya would like to do activities together."

Hannah and Miya had a great time with RC yesterday and Hannah was actually trying to get out of going to her tennis camp this afternoon so she and Miya could work more with him!

Thank you so much for accommodating Hannah and for recognizing that she and Miya would like to do activities together. I very much appreciate your efforts on their behalf.

"The level of service and quality of instruction has been exemplary."

My name is Jannifer and I am writing this letter of appreciation to Dr. Pat Webbink and the instructors at the Enrichment Centers, Inc. because I appreciate all of the support that my family has received from them over the last six years. I am a mother with six children; four of my children decided to pursue a college education after high school. Since 2002, three of those children have been under the tutelage of the Enrichment Centers, Inc. The oldest of the four children would have sought instruction from the Center had I known of its existence when the child needed it in 2000 and 2001.

Fortunately, I learned of the Enrichment Centers, Inc. in time for the 2nd child to benefit while in college. My children have had tutoring sessions in the subjects of Algebra, Calculus, and Biology over the last six years. In each every case, the tutors provided were knowledgeable in their field of study, extremely capable in the art of teaching, flexible in the dates, hours and places where they could meet for the tutoring sessions, and reasonable in their prices. The tutors met with my children at the Center’s Hyattsville location, at the library in my neighborhood in Prince Georges County Maryland, at a library located in Montgomery County, and in one of my child’s dormitory on the campus of University of Maryland. The level of service and quality of instruction has been exemplary. The Center has always been available and willing to help me whenever I called upon it. Once again, I want to thank Dr. Webbink and her staff for the wonderful support that I have received from the Enrichment Center. I look forward to continuing to call upon the Enrichment Center and ensure all of my children complete their college education.

"I would like to commend you and your team for the work that you do ... Thank you. I really appreciate all of you."

I would like to commend you and your team for the work that you do. You are great people and I want to thank you for sending me AFRAH ADIM to be my son’s tutor. She is working with my son in just about every subject and is absolutely wonderful. She is also very professional. A definite plus is that she speaks Arabic which makes it much easier for me to communicate with her in regards to my son. Afrah is great!! Thank you. I really appreciate all of you.

"She had lots of laughs and the teacher did great science experiments with the kids."

My daughter had a great time at The Enrichment Centers. Your teaching staff is very pleasant and did an excellent job at educating her. She had lots of laughs and the teacher did great science experiments with the kids. You team is very pleasant to meet and greet.

"Your Anime & Manga class was very well received by our students!"

I wanted to let you know that your Anime & Manga class was very well received by our students. One mother would like her daughter to continue with the class privately. Many thanks.

"After a successful week of tutoring this summer, my son’s math aptitude had increased from 5th to 9th grade level."

I am writing to commend you on the excellent tutoring services my 9th grade son is receiving.

After a successful week of tutoring this summer, my son’s math aptitude had increased from 5th to 9th grade level. This is due to the dedication and commitment to service demonstrated by Mr. Tim Gutman, his personal tutor. Recently, my son was given the opportunity to work with the Enrichment Center again this school year through the Maryland Choices program. The amazing thing is my son requested Tim, and he was available.

Since, my son has increased his Math test scores and is receiving an A this quarter. Tim’s easy going nature and love of the content subject area is evident in the way he presents himself. He is very personable and capable of teaching shortcuts for solving difficult equations. My son developed a genuine regard for Tim and is enjoying Math.

In closing, I simply want to thank this team for a job well done!

"I have nothing but positive feedback from the students and the parents. Genell was wonderful. She came to each class prepared and ready for this large group. She made the class interesting and modified where needed for all ages 5-11. She was a pleasure to work with."

I have nothing but positive feedback from the students and the parents. Genell was wonderful. She came to each class prepared and ready for this large group. She made the class interesting and modified where needed for all ages 5-11. She was a pleasure to work with.

Thank you Enrichment Centers!

I look forward to working with you again.

"All the kids in the class absolutely love Japanese."

My son, Conor, and all the kids in the class absolutely love Japanese in our after-school class at North Bethesda!

"Erica was very happy and expressed a desire to come back next summer."

Erica was very happy and expressed a desire to come back next summer. Every summer it is my intent to work with Erica with Math and Reading and it never happens -- I was especially satisfied that she worked on math, reading and writing skills.

"We have experienced several math camps throughout the years, and unfortunately our experience has been less than satisfactory. It was a joy to see the smile on my daughter's face everyday when I picked her up and the confidence in her voice when we reviewed what topics she had covered that day. Thank you for providing my princess with a truly enriching math experience."

We have experienced several math camps throughout the years, and unfortunately our experience has been less than satisfactory. Armen was simply a pleasure, as were all of the college students with whom she interacted. It was a joy to see the smile on my daughter's face everyday when I picked her up and the confidence in her voice when we reviewed what topics she had covered that day. She enjoyed her teachers so much that it was very important to her that we bring doughnuts on the last day for her teachers, Krispy Creme.

Your flexibility regarding payment is reflective of teachers that interacted with my daughter. And let me say that she had a wonderful experience. She found the tutors to be both friendly and intelligent, and she feels that she benefited from attendance. I look forward to enrolling her next year.

Thank you for providing my princess with a truly enriching math experience.

"She had a wonderful experience. She found the tutors to be both friendly and intelligent, and she feels that she benefited from attendance. I look forward to enrolling her next year."

I want to thank you for working with me with regard to special arrangements. Your flexibility is reflective of teachers that interacted with Briaun. And let me say that she had a wonderful experience. She found the tutors to be both friendly and intelligent, and she feels that she benefited from attendance. I look forward to enrolling her next year. Thank you again for your cooperation and understanding.

"C actually offered to give up some of the new school clothes I normally buy her in exchange for additional time at The Enrichment Centers program."

I was very excited to find the Enrichment Centers' Creative Arts program for my granddaughters this summer. Twelve-year old T and ten-year old C were spending several weeks with me and although they wanted it to be all "free time," I insisted they sign up for some program for part of their visit. Neither child wanted to go to a typical day camp or athletic program, but they were interested in doing dance, drama, art, and similar activities.

When I enrolled them, T indicated on her application that she wanted to learn hip-hop dance and to have an opportunity to be a counselor-in-training. C also was interested in dance and drama as well as creative writing.

On the first day, both girls were shy and apprehensive, but they came home at the end of the day bursting with enthusiasm! After several days, both of them began asking me to extend their enrollment. When I hesitated, C actually offered to give up some of the new school clothes I normally buy her in exchange for additional time at the Enrichment Centers' program.

Both girls got all of what they asked for and more. T was thrilled to spend lots of time doing hip-hop as well as being assigned to help with younger children. C got more instruction and practice on flute in a few weeks than what she got in the entire last school year. And both of them learned lots of new things without even realizing it.

What made this program especially good for them was that it was small, had lots of excellent and enthusiastic staff, and it was designed to work with each child's individual interests, talents and needs. T and C are already talking about returning next summer, for as many weeks as possible. I am so glad that I found the Enrichment Centers for my granddaughters.

Both girls continue to be very excited and enthusiastic about their programs, and both I and their mother are very happy that they are getting so much from it and that they're enjoying it at the Rockville center. The girls love your program.

~Toni Greenfeld

"My daughter thoroughly enjoyed her teachers."

My daughter thoroughly enjoyed her teachers and the time spent learning old and new things! Again thank you.

~Liz Harris-Marshall

"The adults seemed to care genuinely about the children and the progress they were making"

This letter will provide you with the information gathered at the Supplemental Education Services (SES) site visit conducted at Lewisdale Elementary on April 28, 2007. We appreciate the opportunity to review the implementation of The Enrichment Center in Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), including those areas required by the NO Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). During the site visit, both the logistical operation and the implementation of the academic program were observed. Please see the attachment with comprehensive notes from the meeting. The following commendations should be noted:

• Tutor was well prepared and started the lessons promptly or ahead of time. All documentation was available for review and accurate as to requirements listed in RFQ.
• The adults working in the Enrichment Center seemed to care genuinely about the children and the progress they were making.
• Home visits were conducted to communicate with the parents as needed.

Director
Program Improvement and Family Support

"She has loved it! The class is interesting and topics are broad. Dr. Cohen has done a nice job with such a young-aged group of children to build a life-long interest in science! She has come home every week discussing in great detail the topic of the day and has frequently referred to her learnings at a later time."

My daughter has been partcipating in the Science class on Mondays at Burning Tree Elementary School all year with Dr. Joel Cohen. She has loved it! The class is interesting and topics are broad. Dr. Cohen has done a nice job with such a young-aged group of children to build a life-long interest in science! He began the class with simple concepts and now they are learning the life-cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly. She has come home every week discussing in great detail the topic of the day and has frequently referred to her learnings at a later time.

Thank you to you and the program and a great thanks to Dr. Cohen for keeping the class interesting and fun!

~Renata Bianchi

"The French instructor is wonderful!"

The French instructor is wonderful! Things are going well and the kids are really enjoying the class.

~Medea Ranck
Maury Elementary School

"The children adore the wonderful instructors including Holly, the Hip-Hop instructor. The children couldn't stop raving about how wonderful she was! I have personally had the opportunity to observe a few sessions of the different classes. I was impressed by the nurturing quality the instructors had with all the students. We are all looking forward to another great year of classes with The Enrichment Centers."

Kudos to Dr. Pat Webbink and all the hard work The Enrichment Centers does to benefit the children at the Oneness-Family School! The Enrichment Center has been providing us with various after school enrichment classes for about two years. We have had the privilege of having Chess, Future Einsteins, and just recently Hip-hop programs at our school. The children adore the wonderful instructors including Holly, the Hip-Hop instructor. The children couldn't stop raving about how wonderful she was! I have personally had the opportunity to observe a few sessions of the different classes. I was impressed by the nurturing quality the instructors had with all the students. We are all looking forward to another great year of classes with The Enrichment Centers!

~Ana García
Oneness-Family School

"My daughter really enjoyed her weeks with your program last year. I regretted not having enrolled her longer."

Finding a remediation program for the summer daytime hours where my daughter can have a social and athletic outlet in addition to academics is the trick. She really enjoyed her weeks with your program last year. I regretted not having enrolled her longer.

~ Susan Fleishman

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