Students seek tutoring for a variety of reasons. Whether to improve a grade or increase their understanding in a certain subject area; stay organized and on track in all their classes, or prepare for entrance exams and standardized tests, a tutor can be just the boost they need. But for some students with slumping grades and rising frustrations, tutoring may not be a boost but a lifeline.

While hundreds of thousands of American students meet with tutors each week, no two students are alike and for those with learning differences, finding the right tutor who can understand and even diagnose specific issues while implementing a personalized strategy for academic success can be a desperate, frustrating, and costly exercise in futility.

Follow up:

For many formerly distressed parents, their search ended with a company called Creative Tutors. Founded in 1999 by longtime educator Jan Van Blarcum, Ph.D., Creative Tutors was born out of Jan's passion to provide a customized, one-on-one, in-home tutoring model to children with a variety of learning needs. Her mantra of ensuring that every child receives personalized attention from degree-certified educators has led to the growth of the Creative Tutors franchise throughout North Texas, Houston and North Carolina with a mission to grow nationwide and internationally.

Renee LeClair remembers her first encounter with Jan and recalls fondly how Creative Tutors was there for her son:

My son was 7 at the time and my husband and I had some concerns about his ability to focus his attention. We would ask him the same question over and over again and his reply would be “What?” We knew it wasn’t a hearing issue since he had been tested several times. Our thoughts began to turn to ADD.

I approached Jan and asked her if she had any suggestions. Immediately she recommended [Creative Tutors of Dallas/Highland Park/owner and diagnostician] Laurie Gaines. Laurie spent over 2 hours with our son and shared with me that the issue had nothing to do with ADD. Our son was very, very bright however he was challenged in the area of auditory learning. His ability to understand what was being asked was much more difficult when verbally handled than when it was written on paper. This information alone was incredibly valuable and 3 years later we still approach him with the same strategies that we were taught by Laurie.

Markita Gumble of McKinney, TX turned to Creative Tutors of McKinney for her three sons after a disappointing SAT prep course elsewhere. Franchise owner David Pulsipher was able to put his teaching experience to use to help Markita's boys. Markita shares her story below:

As the mother of 4 boys, I invested in SAT prep for my oldest son. That experience was not particularly successful. The SAT Prep program was a large group and not customized to his individual needs and he did not feel the SAT Prep was worth the time and effort. For my second son, we consulted with Creative Tutors.

Although he is strong in math, we did take advantage of math tutoring. This helped him keep his AP Math grades up and he scored very highly on the AP exams, receiving college credit for those classes. This savings alone would have made the tutoring worthwhile!

But for him, what made the most difference was the assistance he received in Language Arts. He is slightly dyslexic and Language Arts is his weakest subject. His tutor not only prepped him for the SAT and ACT tests, but they recommended that he take them multiple times. And after each test, they reviewed the results and concentrated on the areas of weakness. They also worked with him to write admissions essays to college. With this assistance and personal recommendations he was admitted to all of the colleges to which he applied.

David Pulsipher has put his multifarious educational background to use as franchise-owner of Creative Tutors McKinney.

“Helping families like the Gumbles is what drives me,” says David. A lifelong educator, David strives to make a difference everyday with the students he supports.

David, a longtime teacher in upper level and Advanced Mathematics and former high school basketball coach, has experience teaching inner-city youth and children with learning differences. “I remember when I first met Jeff,” says David. “He was diagnosed with borderline autism and up until 4th grade, he took a modified TAKS test. When he entered 5th grade, Jeff discovered that he now had to take the regular TAKS test. His mother called me in a panic, and we began tutoring immediately. In the past three years, Jeff has not only passed the TAKS tests, but has received commended scores on multiple tests. He also made the honor roll and is performing fantastically in all his classes.”

Jan Van Blarcum explains what makes the Creative Tutors model of individually tailored, in-home private tutoring so successful. “Kids should feel that tutoring is an opportunity for more success, not punishment for poor performance. Our tutors come from extensive teaching backgrounds but also have that magic touch which connects them to their students and makes them feel good about that area of study.”

To find a Creative Tutor in your area please visit their website.

Jan invites you to follow Creative Tutors on Twitter.