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A Parent’s Guide to Fit Learning St. Louis

A Parent’s Guide to Fit Learning St. Louis

Contents

About This Guide

Welcome to our comprehensive parent’s guide, where we cover all the need-to-know information about Fit Learning St. Louis — what we do, how we’re different from other tutoring solutions, the programs we offer, how to get your learner started at Fit, and so much more. At any point, feel free to contact us to discuss your specific situation and answer any additional questions. And be sure to sign up for our email updates!

A message from our founders: Fit Learning is not a franchise or conglomerate. We are a highly specialized program that provides unparalleled services to every kind of student. A website cannot fully capture the uniqueness of our methods and the quality of services we provide. We approach every learner as a unique case and develop a custom curriculum to meet their specific needs. After browsing the website for general information, we strongly encourage you to contact us to have a personal conversation with you about your child.

So, what is Fit Learning St. Louis?

Fit Learning is a unique — and uniquely effective — specialized learning program that provides unparalleled services to every kind of student in preschool, elementary school, and high school. An alternative to private school, Fit is the only tutoring provider in the area that combines learning science, precision teaching, direct instruction, and curriculum-based measurement into one comprehensive approach. So, what does that mean for you as a parent and for your child as a student?

To start, here is a message from Janice Smith, Lab Director of Fit Learning St. Louis:

“Is your child behind in school? Or do they have difficulty learning in a traditional classroom environment? Or are they simply not living up to their potential? At Fit Learning, St. Louis’s only precision learning lab, children ages pre-K through high school work one-on-one with our fun and engaging coaches who treat learning like a sport. Kids earn points for beating their best scores in math, reading, comprehension, critical thinking, penmanship, grammar, and composition. Fit Learning closes the gap between where your learner is today and where they need to be through finding what motivates them. That sports thing I mentioned? Well, just like a sport, kids need to practice a lot to make stellar gains in their education. Learners at Fit Learning attend 4-5 days a week. And, while accuracy is an important measure of learning, we teach skills to fluency, or true mastery, where the skill becomes automatic.”

How did Fit get its start?

Fit Learning was started by a team of scientists-educators at University of Nevada, Reno who share a commitment to applying the science of learning for the transformation of mainstream, academic difficulties. Fit’s founders hold doctorates in psychology with a specialization in learning science, and have been developing the Fit method since 1998. Their bios and curriculum vitae are available here. More information on their story — and the evolution of Fit Learning — can be found here.

In 2020, Fit cofounder Dr. Kimberly Nix Berens published Blind Spots: Why Students Fail…and the Science That Can Save Them. It provides insight into current educational crisis and how teaching can be approached differently (as it is at Fit) to provide unparalleled learning outcomes and unlock each child’s vast potential.

What are Fit’s core company values?

Fit Learning’s mission is to transform the learning abilities of all children who walk through our doors such that they achieve greatness in their communities and beyond. Our values are Science, Transform, Nurture, Teamwork, Responsibility, Change, Fun, and Integrity. You can learn more about how we define and apply these principles to our learning sessions on our Values webpage.

What kind of training do Fit’s learning coaches have?

Fit Learning St. Louis was opened in 2018 by Lab Director Janice Smith. To learn more about Janice and the St. Louis coaching staff, see our team webpage.

Fit’s learning coaches undergo rigorous training to achieve certification in Fit’s subject areas: reading, math, logic, writing, spelling, penmanship, and kindergarten readiness. They are required to pass four initial audits and then ongoing quarterly audits. Before joining Fit, our coaches typically bring backgrounds in behavioral science and/or psychology. We typically have at least one intern on staff from Washington University’s Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences. Aside from formal education and training, you’ll find that Fit Learning coaches are particularly dedicated to motivating students and helping children learn. They have fun at their job and ensure that learners are enjoying themselves and loving to learn. Our coaches are resourceful, flexible, and quick on their feet.

How is Fit Learning different from other tutors?

There are lots of significant factors that set Fit apart from other tutors. In a word, at Fit, we help learners build fluency in core academic skills. We identify and treat the source of the problem instead of just its symptoms. How do we do this? By uniquely combining learning science, precision teaching, direct instruction, and curriculum-based assessment.

Traditional tutoring, or homework help, involves someone trying to explain the content your child’s teacher is currently covering in class, but perhaps in a different way. Oftentimes there is a heavy reliance on worksheets. Certainly, this homework help is exactly what’s needed for some learners. Unfortunately, homework help sometimes turns into forever help because the underlying skill deficits aren’t ever fully addressed. In these cases, when a student is struggling, providing traditional tutoring in the form of homework help is like putting a band-aid on a broken leg – or taking aspirin to get rid of the headache caused by a brain tumor. Your child might be able to turn in more homework assignments and get a passing grade. However, they’ll feel behind and will need just as much help with the next unit or grade level.

Oftentimes, the learners we see in our lab have tried homework help or tutoring programs before but saw minimal results. Perhaps their grades improved for a while because more assignments were turned in. Maybe they even understood the concepts being taught slightly better. But they still disliked the material and struggled to pass each new unit taught in school. They seemed to fall further and further behind every year.

At Fit, we approach learning differently. Our learning coaches don’t focus on the concepts your child’s teacher is going over right this moment. That’s because the difficulty they are having right now is a symptom. Instead, through our assessment process, we find the source of your child’s struggles and treat the cause. In the end – through our more holistic approach – our learners are confident, possess the ability to expertly perform in any classroom environment, and acquire a newfound capacity for learning. And there’s more:

  • We bring extensive training and background in human behavior. We know how to improve your child’s attention, lack of motivation, self-esteem, and behavior because we’ve been doing it with other kids for years. The engaging and collaborative coach-learner dynamic is a key aspect of Fit’s approach.
  • All the responsibility for academic transformation and remediation is on us. Not you. In fact, Fit NEVER assigns homework.
  • Our curriculum is highly individualized and tailored for your child’s unique assessment results. Each child is celebrated for achieving their personal best, not how they stack up against other kids.
  • The outcomes. This is huge, because, at Fit, learners achieve an average of 1-2 years’ growth after 40 hours of instruction. We see this results both with in-person learning and our remote tutoring option.

For more information on what sets Fit apart, check out the blog post on How Fit Learning Stands Out From Other Tutors.

What subject areas does Fit offer tutoring in?

Core Curriculum Areas

Fit Learning provides instruction in the core curriculum areas of reading, math, writing, spelling, logic, penmanship, and study skills, as described below. For more information on selecting the best Fit program for your child, check out the blog post on Choosing the Right Fit Learning Program for your Learner with insights from Fit Learning co-founder Donny Newsome.

Reading (grades K-12)

Reading skills are immensely important. Not only does the ability to read well impact students’ success in other subjects, but it’s critical outside of the classroom. Reading helps us thrive in the workplace, navigate social situations, de-stress, and improve our overall intelligence.

The Fit Reading program is based on the Science of Learning, meaning that the methods we use are proven effective by scientific research. There’s no guesswork involved. We use an evidence-based approach, and so kids learn quickly and efficiently.

Some of the foundational reading skills covered in the curriculum include:

  • Phonics
  • Letter names and sounds
  • Phonemic awareness
  • Word and auditory analysis
  • Spelling and morphographs
  • Vocabulary
  • Reading comprehension

Students also work on segmenting words, reading words in isolation, and reading passages.

How Does Fit Reading Compares to Other Reading Programs Such as the Wilson Reading System and the Orton-Gillingham Approach?

Like the Wilson Reading System®️ (WRS), Fit Learning is a curriculum based on teaching phonics and phonemic awareness. This is the only empirically validated means of training effective reading repertoires. The similarities also include the use of:

  • nonsense words
  • spelling strategies
  • segmentation
  • blending of words

All three approaches — WRS, Orton-Gillingham, and Fit Learning — are multi-sensory, structured, and sequential.

But there’s even more to it. According to Rhonda West, a speech-language pathologist certified in the Wilson Reading System®️, describes it this way:

“I’ve never seen reading learners make progress the way they do at Fit Learning. It adds the science of learning to an Orton-Gillingham foundation to promote accuracy, speed, and self-confidence. It’s the difference between teaching someone to read and developing someone who loves to read—and that transformation happens within a few months. It’s like Wilson on steroids!”

More details are available on our Fit Reading page, where we break down how Fit’s method compares to the Wilson Reading System®️ and Orton-Gillingham programs. In addition, the following blog posts discuss reading instruction in more depth: How to Help Your Reluctant Reader, Phonics: Not Just For Little Kids, The Science of Reading Isn’t Enough, and Is Your Child Benefitting From Instruction Based On The Science Of Reading?.

Learners can participate in Fit’s reading program either in person or remotely via online learning. For more information on Fit’s distance learning and hybrid offerings, see our Online Services webpage.

Math (grades 1-12)

Fit Math trains students to fluency in skills such as numeration, computation, fractions, telling time, decimals, money, ratios, percentages, algebra, geometry, and problem solving. The program promotes numeracy (or number sense) and incorporates natural environment teaching (NET).

Oftentimes, children struggle in math class as they get older because there are gaps in their underlying knowledge of basic, core skills. (Perhaps they learned them earlier but forgot them or they never thoroughly understood those concepts to begin with.) At Fit, we hone in on those skill gaps and work on them until the student is confident and fluent in them. Once that firm foundation has been established, we move on to mastering more complex skills and applications.

For more details, see the Fit Math webpage.

Like our other learning programs, Fit’s math instruction can be done either in-person or via our distance learning offering. For more details, see our Online Services webpage.

Logic (grades K-12)

Fit Logic is available at both basic and advanced levels. It trains learners in problem-solving, advanced comprehension, critical thinking, and study skills.

The basic logic curriculum covers foundational skills such as:

  • Following directions
  • Naming
  • Classifying
  • Relating
  • Describing
  • Comparing and contrasting
  • Sequencing
  • Reading comprehension
  • Perspective taking
  • Listening comprehension
  • Conversational skills

The advanced logic curriculum is intended for learners who are reading at grades four and above. It covers many of the same general areas as basic logic, but takes these foundational skills to the next level. Some of the focus areas include reading comprehension, math concepts and application, vocabulary building, and improving processing speed. Another facet of Fit’s advanced logic program is coverage of grammar and composition, where we cover story writing, persuasive essays, and more.

Beyond academics, Fit Logic’s tutoring strengthens students’ executive functioning skills, such as planning, reasoning, and strategizing to solve problems. It improves kids’ working memory so they are better able to execute daily tasks — in and outside of the classroom.

For more information, see the webpages for Fit Logic (Basic) and Fit Logic (Advanced).

Fit’s logic tutoring is available for in-person or online learning. More information about our remote learning program and hybrid option can be found on the Online Services webpage.

Expressive Writing / Grammar and Composition (grades 3-12)

Fit Writing teaches learners how to effectively communicate ideas so that others understand the message. The program is perfect for students who struggle with school writing assignments or find it hard to put their thoughts into writing. It also serves children who are already proficient writers but have the potential to take their writing skills to the next level, perhaps in preparation for college.

The Fit Writing individualized curriculum covers areas such as:

  • Grammar
  • Sentence and paragraph construction
  • Brainstorming
  • Organization
  • Genre writing

For more information, see the Fit Expressive Writing webpage.

Expressive Writing — and Fit’s other curriculum areas — have the option for either in-person or virtual learning. For more information on Fit’s remote learning program, see our Online Services webpage.

Spelling (grades K-12)

These days, spelling is rarely taught explicitly in school — however, the “skill” of spelling remains as relevant as ever. It’s a key component of overall effective communication and impacts our ability to read and write fluently. Fit Spelling provides learners with a firm grasp of spelling-related concepts and rules such as:

  • Phonemic awareness (how words sound in spoken language)
  • Orthography (letter patterns and sequences)
  • Morphologic awareness (how words can be broken down into the smallest units of meaning)
  • Sight words (frequently used words)
  • Word families (patterns, root words, and common meanings or sounds)

For more information, see the Fit Spelling webpage.

Like other core Fit Learning programs, spelling tutoring can be done either in person in our Creve Coeur learning lab or online. For more details about the distance learning and hybrid options, see our online program website.

Penmanship (grades K-12)

Fit Penmanship addresses the mechanics of handwriting – such as the actual formation of letters – including aspects like:

  • Fine motor (touch, squeeze, tap, lace, grasp)
  • Basic strokes (lines, circles, loops)
  • Writing alphabet (upper and lowercase)
  • Writing digits
  • Form and size
  • Copying text

Note that Fit Learning’s approach to penmanship differs from how an occupational therapist (OT) typically teaches children to write. At Fit, learners are taught proper handwriting skills using repeated practice opportunities. They work toward specific goals that have been set based on previous performance. They are provided with lots of immediate and enthusiastic feedback to motivate them. And every response is charted and recorded, so there’s proof of skill gains and a clear direction forward.

For more information, see the Fit Penmanship webpage.

Study Skills (grades 4-12)

An online program, Fit Study Hall helps students develop the critical habits needed for academic success, regardless of what specific subjects or material they are currently studying in school. These habits will help them at all stages of their schooling, from grade school to college and beyond.

The types of skills covered include:

  • Effective strategies for studying and retaining information
  • Managing one’s time and schedule
  • Organizing
  • Starting and completing tasks
  • Communicating with teachers and self-advocating

Like all Fit Learning programs, the Fit Study Hall is customized to meet each student’s needs, areas of concerns, current academic habits, and skill deficits. Some learners may require one or more Advanced Logic enrollments before starting Fit Study Hall. For more information, see the Fit Study Hall webpage.

Other Learning Programs

Fit Homeschool

Staff shortages … crowded classrooms and buses … increased workloads … fewer student services. Education is in a tough spot these days, with teachers and administrators stretched thin. For some parents and learners, Fit’s homeschool support program has truly been a life-saver, offering an effective solution when a school placement fails to maximize a child’s full potential.

Fit Homeschool (also known as Fit Learning’s Intensive Alternative Educational Placement) takes homeschool students’ learning to the next level while also providing needed support to busy parents. And it’s done in a safe and positive environment without social and peer pressures. Like other Fit programs, Fit Homeschool gets real results; students can advance several grade levels during the year.

To get started, parents elect through their school district to homeschool their child. Fit then provides homeschool support and supplementation in core skill areas. Learners attend Fit sessions for three hours per day, five days per week, and receive intensive 1:1 academic and cognitive training. Learners performing several grade levels behind across multiple curriculum areas need more than a 50-minute supplement 4-5 days per week to make up the significant gains they need to close the gap.

For more information, see the Fit Homeschool webpage, along with blog posts on How Fit Learning Can Support Homeschooling Families and Is It Time To Consider Homeschooling?.

Fit’s homeschool learners can participate in Fit Homeschool online as well as in our Creve Coeur-based learning lab. For more details on the remote or hybrid option, check out our Online Services webpage.

Lil Fits (School Readiness)

We hear a lot about school readiness these days. If it’s done right, tutoring can be a great way to get kindergarteners off to a strong start, not just learning but LOVING to learn. That’s where Lil Fits comes in. Lil Fits is a comprehensive program developed especially for younger learners, covering the basics needed for school readiness. It provides fun and effective fluency training in core subject areas such as reading, math, and critical thinking. Plus, it builds important school readiness skills such as following instructions, listening, understanding, and perspective taking. Using 1:1 instruction, the program is designed to provide the best possible foundation for long-term academic success … and foster a love of learning.

Some of the skills covered include:

  • Following instructions
  • Listening comprehension
  • Language building
  • Reading readiness
  • Oral counting
  • Number identification and patterns
  • Quantity discrimination
  • Naming
  • Categories
  • Relating
  • Perspective-taking
  • Comparatives
  • Sequencing

For more information on Lil Fits, see the Lil Fits web page and blog posts on Should I Invest In Tutoring For My Young Learner?, Kindergarten Readiness Tutoring: Is My Child Ready?, and Is Kindergarten Too Early to Start Tutoring?

The Lil Fits school readiness program can be conducted either in person or via online learning. More information  is available here about Fit Learning’s remote and hybrid tutoring options.

Academic Summer Camp

Fit Learning’s Academic Summer Camp is an excellent way to identify and address students’ core skill gaps through targeted remediation, sharpen their existing skills in preparation for the next grade, or proactively prevent summer slide. Learners can enroll in one or more subject areas — reading, math, writing, logic, and penmanship. Summer is also a great time for younger learners to benefit from the multi-subject Lil Fits school readiness program.

Fit’s approach is fun, fast-paced, and homework-free — with lots of praise and game-like prizes — making it particularly well suited for summer learning.

Summer learning sessions run for 50 minutes, with students attending four or five times per week. In total, summer camp comprises 50 sessions, or about 10 or 13 weeks. There are options for double camp or intensive enrollments.

For more information, see our Academic Summer Camp page and blog posts dedicated to summer camp: Is Fit Learning’s Academic Summer Camp Right For Your Child? and Avoid the Summer BRAIN DRAIN.

Fit’s academic summer camp is available for in-person or virtual learning sessions. Details about our distance learning program are available on the Online Services webpage.

Gifted Students

It’s important that gifted children are provided sufficient rigor in their curriculum in order to maintain their interest in learning, get opportunities to learn from mistakes, and develop the cognitive and study skills that will be needed as the academic material gets harder. Fit Learning’s 1:1, customized instruction provides that. At Fit, we can develop an individualized learning program for gifted or talented students that challenges them and moves them grade-levels ahead. Because our approach is grade-level agnostic, we are uniquely positioned to meet the learning pace of an accelerated learner.

For more information, see the Gifted Students webpage.

Fit’s program for gifted learners is available for in-person or remote learning sessions. Details about our distance learning program are available on the Online Services webpage.

Prep for Private School

Many families look to Fit to help prepare students for attending rigorous private schools. This can range from brushing up on core skills to preparing specifically for entrance exams such as the Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) and Secondary School Admissions Test (SSAT).

For more information, see the blog post on Preparing for Private School Entrance Exams.

Is there an option for remote learning?

Absolutely. At Fit, we’re flexible, and evidence bears out that our method works remotely as well as in person. So, if you’re looking for online/distance tutoring — or hybrid learning — in the St. Louis area (or beyond), Fit is a great virtual option.

For more information about Fit Learning St. Louis’s online learning program, see the Online Services webpage and our blog post on Maximizing Learning Outcomes And Student Engagement Through Online Tutoring.

What do learners gain from instruction at Fit?

Academic Benefits

When it comes to how Fit benefits learners, this is a biggie: through Fit Learning, learners can achieve one year’s growth in as little as 40 hours of instruction. For examples of how Fit has transformed learning for specific students and in specific areas, check out our Results webpage.

There is more, though. Fit’s personalized method actually equips students to be better learners in the future, even as their schoolwork gets more challenging. It gives them a newfound capacity for learning, essentially helping them “learn how to learn better” for future successes. These wide-reaching benefits are simply not seen with most traditional tutoring.

Non-Academic Benefits

Building Confidence

The skills mastery (or competence) that Fit learners gain leads to overall increased confidence and higher self-esteem. Fit breaks down complex cognitive skills into smaller, more manageable building blocks, providing students with a sense of accomplishment as they achieve one “personal best” after another.

For more specifics on how Fit’s method supports and empowers learners, see our blog post on The Link Between Learning and Self-Confidence.

Relieving Stress and School-Related Anxiety

It’s not uncommon for students to experience anxiety and dread about upcoming tests and quizzes … or as relates to school in general. However, Fit’s approach helps alleviate that. Because, after instruction at Fit, learners are fluent in the core skills, so they know the material inside and out and feel confident at test time. We discuss this further in our blog post on Research-Based Practices to Alleviate Test Anxiety.

Improving Executive Functioning

Fit’s overall approach – including its multimodal technique, use of explicit instruction, and focus on fluency – is particularly conducive to improving learners’ executive functioning. In the Fit Logic curriculum, we provide executive functioning coaching around the following skills:

  • Planning: the ability to think ahead and organize and prioritize actions necessary to reach a goal
  • Problem-solving: the ability to first identify a problem and then develop a strategy to solve it
  • Working memory: the ability to remember specific short-term memories needed to execute a function or daily task
  • Attention: the ability to focus and recall from short-term memory (closely tied to the skill of working memory)
  • Reasoning: the ability to understand, analyze and think critically about ideas, and then be able to use the information
  • Cognitive flexibility: the ability to think on your feet

More specifics are discussed in the blog post on Executive Function Skills in Children: What They Are and How to Improve them.

Helping With Learning Retention

We frequently hear from parents who are concerned that their learner isn’t retaining the information they’ve learned in previous grades, courses, or units. Fit’s approach is designed to help with that. In our blog post on Helping Your Child Retain What They’ve Learned, we discuss what the experts recommend for better information retention and how Fit embodies those practices.

Boosting Processing Speed

Slow processing speed (SPS) is another common challenge in learners that is improved with Fit’s technique. Here, in our blog post on Helping Learners With Slow Processing Speed, we dig into what this processing disorder is, how it’s helped, and what aspects of Fit Learning’s approach specifically address those issues.

What makes Fit’s instructional method so effective?

Where to start? There is so much that distinguishes Fit’s tutoring method from other providers. It’s based on what science says works best, the results are unsurpassed, it’s actually enjoyable for kids, there’s no homework involved, it’s always individualized and 1:1, and much more …

Fit’s Approach is Shaped by Scientific Evidence

As discussed above, the founders of Fit Learning are scientist-educators. They crafted Fit’s method based on years of teaching, hands-on work with children, extensive research, and hundreds of publications, presentations, and certifications. The resulting approach is grounded in a wide variety of scientific and learning-based disciplines, including behavioral science and analysis, precision teaching, direct instruction, neuroscience, speech pathology, and even social skills training. For more on Fit’s founders and their evidence-based approach, check out our Research page.

For more specifics on how Fit’s method is based on scientific evidence, check out our Is Your Learner Struggling in School This Year? blog post, as well as two breakdowns of how science dispels common myths related to learning: Learning Myth: We Should Teach to a Child’s Strengths and Learning Myth: Kids Learn Differently.

Fit Uses Continuous Assessment and Data

Fit uses data to track student progress prior to and throughout their enrollment. This regular tracking, an element of precision teaching, makes learning sessions more efficient. So, at all times, our learning coaches have a clear picture of where the learner is academically and can make data-informed decisions accordingly. Furthermore, the Fit instructional team is always clear on how the student’s knowledge stacks up to others in the same grade or age group.

There are several assessment tools that we use to measure and track learners’ skill mastery (see below for more details). We use these not only when a learner starts at Fit, but also throughout their enrollment to enable the learning coach to customize sessions to their specific needs. This is critical since grades and report cards simply don’t tell the whole story when it comes to knowing how a learner is progressing. For more on that, check out the blog post titled Beyond Report Cards: How to Really Know if Your Child is Learning.

Fit Uses Precision Teaching

One facet that sets Fit Learning apart from other tutors is the use of precision teaching. (In fact, Fit Learning is St. Louis’s only precision teaching lab.) According to the Behavior Analysis in Practice journal, precision teaching is a “system for precisely defining and continuously measuring dimensional features of behavior and analyzing behavioral data on the Standard Celeration Chart (SCC) to make timely and effective data-based decisions to accelerate behavioral repertoires.” So, at Fit we capture performance data on an ongoing basis to stay informed on how the learner is progressing toward their mastery of core skills. Using that data, Fit learning coaches can adjust their teaching in “real time” to attain the best possible results. This science-based approach helps ensure that each learning session is efficient and fast-paced, with students never getting bored.

Fit Trains Students to Fluency

Fluency is synonymous with being an expert, where demonstrating skills appears to be second nature. With the type of training that Fit provides, students become experts in core skill areas. This allows them to effortlessly complete classroom and homework assignments. Even more, when students achieve fluency (or mastery) across the core skills, they experience an actual transformation as a learner.

A fluent foundation produces learners who demonstrate cognitive fitness – or the ability to learn and perform as an expert in any academic setting on any type of task. Additionally, they can engage with the material in such a way that they actually begin learning new things. Ultimately, students who are cognitively fit tend to be agile, flexible, focused, perseverant, confident, determined, and able to think critically.

For more information on fluency and cognitive fitness, check out our blog posts on Make More Mistakes and Tips for Providing Fluency Instruction and Keeping Kids Happy at Home During a Crisis

Notably, Fit’s focus on fluency is one of several factors cited for children’s academic success in countries outside of the US. For more specifics, check out this blog post on How Your Learner Can Benefit From Educational Best Practices.

Fit Uses Deliberate Practice

In their learning sessions, Fit students receive lots of opportunities to practice and respond, with deliberate practice being an important aspect of the Fit Learning method. This purposeful and systematic practice requires students’ focused attention with the specific goal of improving their performance.

For more on how our use of deliberate practice helps kids learn, see our blog posts on Make More Mistakes, Learning Myth: Kids Learn Differently, and Learning Myth: We Should Teach to a Child’s Strengths.

Fit is Fun!

Fit learners have fun – the sessions fly by, and students look forward to attending them. There are great prizes to celebrate their personal bests and keep the motivation flowing. Which is doubly beneficial, since research shows that learning is most effective when students are having fun.

So, how do we keep learners engaged?

  • Fit’s 1:1 method is highly interactive, multisensory, and stress-free. Our approach is also multimodal, meaning that for a given skill, instruction is provided in a variety of ways. These may include speech, writing, facial expressions, audio, and pictures.
  • Learning sessions at Fit are fast-paced and led by our credentialed learning coaches who are pros at motivating students.
  • At Fit, we use an individualized curriculum that meets students right where they are. We take a personalized approach, and there is no small group learning.
  • We use lots of reward, reinforcement, and celebration – including an awesome prize tower. To kids, learning at Fit feels less like work and more like a game. In fact, Fit’s technique incorporates elements of gamification to make learning fun, interactive, and very effective. These include tracking personal bests, mastering (or becoming fluent in) lower-level skills before leveling up, providing immediate feedback, using short spurts of effort, and building in reinforcers such as earning points.

Also, did we mention that Fit never assigns homework? Since all the work is done during sessions, Fit learners never have tests to study for or reports to write. So, evenings and weekends can be spent playing, enjoying sports, and being with family and friends.

What kinds of learners benefit from tutoring at Fit?

Through its personalized approach, Fit’s method is scientifically proven to help all kinds of learners in grades pre-K through high school, including:

Fit Learning’s programs serve who are seeking to:

Finally, Fit is successful at:

It’s important to note that Fit’s technique works well for learners with and without disabilities. Students do not need to have a diagnosis or disability in order to benefit from tutoring at Fit.

How does tuition work at Fit Learning?

Families choose to commit to a 50-hour enrollment after meeting with the Director to review assessment results. Tuition can be paid across three monthly payments. A traditional enrollment takes about three months to complete. An intensive enrollment is the right fit for some learners, attending as many as ten sessions a week. The price of tuition varies depending on whether your child enrolls in a traditional or intensive enrollment or if you take advantage of any available discounts. Please call the lab and speak with director Janice Smith to learn more about tuition costs and logistics. At first blush, the tuition for a 50-hour enrollment might seem higher than other places you have researched. However, it’s truly not an apples-to-apples comparison — what Fit brings to the table extends far beyond traditional tutoring.

  • Other programs might look cheaper until you factor in the length of service. Some popular reading programs, for example, clearly state that they take 2-3 years to complete! Data collected over our 20+ year history demonstrate that kids in our program gain an average of 1-2 grade levels in 50 hours!
  • Tuition for each 50-hour enrollment covers hours of data review and clinical meetings … and that is in addition to the individualized, 50-minute learning sessions with a credentialed learning coach. There’s a lot of ongoing “behind the scenes” preparation and analysis that occurs to make the Fit learning sessions and overall experience as impactful and transformative as possible.
  • With most traditional tutoring programs, you are paying for what is essentially homework help, using the same teaching tools and “technologies” that didn’t work to teach the learner the skills the first time around (in the classroom). What you get with Fit is much different. Rather than providing homework help, we teach the component skills to close the gap for learners that are sometimes years behind. The benefits of this foundational approach are significant and long-lasting, boosting your child’s self-confidence and setting them up for future success.
  • Fit learning coaches are experts at engaging and motivating learners. At Fit, we take great care to hire only the best people — those who are not only “book smart” but can genuinely connect with children and teens — and we make a significant and ongoing investment in training and professional development.

The blog post Should I Invest In Tutoring For My Young Learner? explores how beneficial (and potentially cost-saving) it can be to start tutoring early in a quality program.

Call us today to learn more about how tutoring at Fit Learning can be a powerful investment in your child’s future.

What is Fit’s attendance policy?

We understand that things come up and it may be necessary to reschedule occasionally. Fit’s policy is that we will reschedule up to ten (10) sessions per enrollment when given at least ten (10) business days notice. Additionally, families get two (2) bonus days that we’ll reschedule for any reason without notice.

How do we get started at Fit Learning St. Louis?

All it takes to get started is a call or email, and you’re one step closer to watching your student’s learning accelerate as their confidence grows.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how Fit enrollments work:

  • Step 1 – Contact us to schedule a comprehensive skills assessment to kick off the process.
  • Step 2 – Schedule an appointment for 2-4 hours of testing. (The time for testing varies depending on the curriculum areas being tested and the academic skills your child has.)
  • Step 3 – Spend an hour meeting with the lab’s director, Janice Smith, to review the assessment results.
    • You will receive a multi-page detailed report of your child’s skills, and Janice will discuss academic intervention recommendations based on insights from the assessment.
    • You are free to share the assessment data with members of your child’s educational team or teachers. The data can help inform IEP goals and curriculum decisions.
    • There’s no obligation to enroll after completing an assessment.
  • Step 4 – If you decide to enroll your child at Fit Learning, you’ll complete the intake paperwork to have your child’s name added to the waitlist.
  • Step 5 – Once your child is enrolled, they will meet 1:1 with a certified learning coach for 50-minute sessions, 4-5 times a week. It takes about 10-13 weeks to complete a typical 50-hour enrollment. The Fit team will use a curriculum and approach tailored for your learner, with the goal of mastering fundamental academic skills for lifelong learning and overall cognitive fitness.
  • Step 6 – You will be kept informed about your child’s progress. Your child’s coach will share a short debrief with you at the end of every session. We’ll keep you apprised of how many personal bests your child achieved and which skills have been mastered after 15 hours and then after 30 hours.

I see that the first step in a Fit enrollment is for the learner to take a comprehensive intake assessment. What type of testing do you use?

At Fit, we use norm-referenced measurements, which are widely used, research-based assessment methods. They measure a learner’s ability in a given area, while also comparing that individual learner’s performance to that of their peers. In other words, they provide a view into how that learner performs relative to others of the same age or grade. (Some commonly used norm-referenced assessments that you’re probably familiar with are the ACT, SAT, and IQ tests.)

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM)

One type of norm-referenced measurement we use is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). Fit cofounder Kimberly Berens discusses this in her book Blind Spots. She writes, “CBM is a national assessment method with over 30 years of research supporting its reliability and validity in predicting long-term academic success.” More information on CBM can be found here.

We use CBM to assess learners in the areas of math, reading, writing, spelling, and – in the case of Lil Fits – early literacy and numeracy skills. Some of the specific CBM tests include the following.

  • The Math-CAP (or M-CAP) CBM evaluates a learner’s understanding of concepts and applications in math, or their language-based math skills.
  • The Math-COMP (or M-COMP) CBM assesses a learner’s computation skills and ability to solve math algorithms.
  • The MAZE-CBM assesses a learner’s silent reading comprehension and word recognition.
  • The Oral Reading CBM assesses a learner’s oral reading fluency.

In the outcomes graphs shown on the Results page and elsewhere on the website, we’ve used the AimsWeb platform to chart the CBM data and view how student performance stacks up to national percentile ranks.

Other Reading Assessment Tools

Besides CBM and AimsWeb, we also use the HMH Reading Inventory and CUBED reading assessment tools.

  • The Reading Inventory measures reading ability and text difficulty. Not only does it show how proficient a learner is, but it also forecasts their future growth. More information on the Reading Inventory is available here.
  • The CUBED platform evaluates reading comprehension using three parameters: the learner’s ability to comprehend written language, understand oral/listening language, and decode language. More information on CUBED is available here.

The use of norm-referenced measurements allows us to effectively track student learning – over time, as compared to their own past performance, and also as compared to peers. This data drives instructional decision-making and goal setting. It also helps to make Fit coaching sessions particularly focused and efficient.

For examples of how the results of these tests look when mapped out, see our Results page. And, for more on our use of data to monitor progress, check out the blog post on Why Isn’t 100% Good Enough?.

Is it possible for me to observe a learning session at Fit before I commit to registering my child?

You bet! Contact Janice to set up an observation. More specifics about our location are available here.

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10425 Old Olive Street Road, LL4
Creve Coeur, MO 63141

janice@fitlearningstl.com
(314) 246-0540