business & professional
34th
annual
ERTutors.com
ATIONAI ..KU TUTOR,
Helping
Students
Succeed
birmingham
fine art fair
May 9 &10, 2015
0
a. 7 A'
A Mother's Day
Weekend Tradition
In downtown
Birmingham's
Shain Park
f www.ArtBirmingham.org
1.•
Produced by the
BIRMINGHAM BLOOMFlELD
Judy Greenwald
I Special to the Jewish News
B
With Special
thanks to
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in association with gGuild
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Temple F4- 17E11112:0]
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G26:cliz (Reform/
EtElafflTh Education Director
starting July
goa 2015.
Primary responsibilities: Direction and
administration of our Religious School
K-12 (Wed. and Sun.) Creative educational
individual who will find ways to involve
families in the educational process.
Use of Mitkadem, family education,
supervision of staff, etc.
Great team to work with!
Send resume to:
Rabbi®emanuel-mich.org
mit-w
iroTlemple Emanu-El
wham Nu 6910 V
2003770
NOTTING HILL
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MPI
REHAB SERVICES
When you choose our center for your rehabilitation
needs, you can take comfort in knowing that we'll
be here for you every step of the way, for as long as
you need us.
N.LD
Our competent, caring staff is focused on providing
comprehensive rehab services to our patients.
Our rehab services include:
Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services Including:
Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapies
State-of-the-Art
Rehabilitation Gym
& Hydrotherapy Pool
•
Orthopedic Rehabilitation
•
Stroke/Neurological Rehabilitation
•
Prosthetic Training
•
Treatment of Swallowing Difficulties
•
Back Injuries Rehabilitation
•
Physiatrist on Staff
6535 Drake Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322
phone 248.592.2000 I www.cienafacilities.com
CIEN A
1977150
52
April 30 • 2015
JN
Linda Serman and Jamie Garavaglia
Mother and daughter join to create
Educational Resource Tutors website.
Saturday,10am-6pm • Sunday,10am-5pm
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• , •
I
eing a kid is fun, right? In
most respects, the answer is
yes, but in today's competitive
world, children face many challenges —
personal, academic and social — and
both they and their parents may need to
find support to handle all that growing up
entails.
With this need in mind, Jamie
Garavaglia and her mother, Linda
Serman, created Educational Resource
Tutors (ERTutors), an online marketplace
designed to help families connect with a
variety of support professionals that can
assist children with the many skills they
need to succeed.
"Students are so much more than
test scores:' Garavaglia explained. The
38-year-old Huntington Woods resident,
who holds a master's degree in education
and has 13 years' experience in the field,
noted that children face challenges that
can profoundly affect their growth and
development
"Test scores have a lot to do with pro-
gressing, but they aren't all that matter.
Academic success is more easily achieved
when social, emotional and physical
aspects of the student are included in
the wider picture we call learning. What
makes us different from other online
tutoring companies is that idea: to work
with the 'whole' student:'
Garavagliis first job was as director
of education for the Michigan Anti-
Defamation League's anti-bias program
that teaches tolerance and anti-bullying
in schools. This work led to her empathy
for students' struggles and the realization
that one person could make a difference
in a child's life.
"Whether a child struggled in school
due to their ability or was picked on for
being different, I saw that the help of just
one caring adult could make all the dif-
ference," she said. "This experience stuck
with me for years, and when I developed
the idea for ERTutors, I wanted to create
a resource that would be the link for chil-
dren to find the support they need in any
area they require help. ERTutors would
provide tutors, offer psychologist and
social workers' services, and offer special
needs' professionals for parents and stu-
dents who need extra support:'
She knew her concept was good, but
noted she had no experience running
a business. "So I approached my mom,
who is the best entrepreneur I know, to
combine her business expertise with my
passion for all things children and educa-
tion:'
Serman, 67, of Franklin, ran Relocation
Assistance Inc. for 29 years, a service
that included moving children into
new schools. Both she and Garavaglia
attend Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield.
"Finding the right person to help with
educational and emotional needs can be
overwhelming; she said. "I saw the need
for tools that would help parents and
students find tutors or specialists more
easily:'
Their partnership was formed, and
Garavaglia and Serman launched their
site (www.ERTutors.com) in June 2014.
Parents and students who visit the site
can create free accounts to help find the
experts they need and connect with aca-
demic tutors and support professionals.
Providers create profile pages to highlight
their education, experience, session rates
and more.
"We serve students of all ages:'
Garavaglia said, "and tutors and special-
ists of any experience level are welcome
to sign up, including high school stu-
dents looking to tutor younger kids. We
want our providers to have a passion for
children, strong subject knowledge or a
license in their field, such as psycholo-
gists, social workers and occupational
therapists. Tutors and specialists can join
for free:'
ERTutors, she said, can be a great help
for today's student "We as a society are
becoming more open and sensitive to all
the different ways we can support our
children's development. As our business
grows, so will the ability of our website to
add new and inventive ways for our tutors
to help one another and to offer parents
more choices when they look for sup-
port for their children:'
❑
From 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, May 2,
ERTutors will offer free resume
help at a jobseekers' fair at
Orchard Mall, 6445 Orchard Lake
Road, West Bloomfield Township
(call 248-855-3330 for informa-
tion). For more information on
ERTutors, visit www.ERTutors.com
or call (855) 688-2227.