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 DE ROIT E WISH NEW in association with gGuild 19:16840 Temple F4- 17E11112:0] .l Oak Eb Ba;TEITGJ 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 of \\-N s'l I3I.00 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 47('' ‘4-CI G SI3U-4' .1` o C4 6 :0 0 e oe• • , • 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.