Charlie’s story

Meet someone you have helped….Charlie.

When Charlie transitioned to junior high, it was as if he hit a brick wall. Algebra was a foreign language he simply did not speak, and there was no one to help him interpret it. His classroom teacher’s approach did not work for him, and his parents lacked the background in algebra to offer him help at home. Ultimately, Charlie ended the year with a failing grade. Although he recovered those credits by attending summer school, the instruction he received was merely a quick fix. Algebra still made no sense to him. Not surprisingly, he failed the course again in 8^th grade.

Enter The Learning Lamp. Charlie’s mom, Laura, heard about The Learning Lamp’s Credit Recovery Program through a classmate. After meeting one of our teachers, she selected a one-to-one credit recovery option. When Charlie came home after his first session, he was like a different kid.

“He was so excited. He said, ‘Mom, I understand it. Mrs. Berkey actually explained it to me. I like her, Mom. She made it fun,’” said Laura. “And he started showing me right there, doing the problems for me. What kid is happy about doing school work over the summer? He was excited for each session and would start his homework right away, even when he knew he had all week to do it.”

Charlie’s confidence soared. He met with The Learning Lamp’s teacher weekly for five weeks and completed 50 hours of work on his own. Charlie didn’t just earn the credits he needed to pass the course. He gained an understanding of algebra and walked away with the ability to solve problems independently. His final grade was a 92 percent!

“Even though it was only two hours a week, it made a world of difference for him,” Charlie’s mom explained. “Someone finally took the time to talk to him and break it down step by step. I can’t say enough about the program.