SCHOOLS / preschools
OPEN HOUSE DATES
November 12, 2015
December 10, 2015
January 14, 2016
} ThursDay
9:00 a.m.

When you want the best school for your child...

ACADEMY OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
www.myschoolace.com Toddler - Elementary
1808a Michael Faraday Court, Reston, VA 20190
28 November 2015
washingtonFAMILY.com 703.471.2132



mom reviews:
J TEXT NANCY S.

onathan was attending sessions at
Empowered Learning Transformation
Center (ELTC) three times a week over
the summer, but has cut back to twice
a week now because school has started.

He’s a freshman in high school and is on
the freshman football team, so his schedule
is pretty busy. Speaking of school, summer
and football, I wanted to share some
anecdotal evidence of how impressed I am
with ELTC Co-Founder, Peter Riddle, and
the other counselors.

Jonathan was assigned summer reading
for school, and was dragging his feet about
reading the book. As you parents can relate,
I was constantly nagging him to complete
it – something neither of us were enjoying.

One of the counselors heard me mention
this and had a chat with Jonathan. He
reinforced the fact that I shouldn’t have
to remind him to read the book and it was
his responsibility. He told Jonathan he was
going to hold him accountable and check
back with him during the week to make
sure he was making progress. He assigned
Jonathan a certain number of pages to
read per day, and sure enough, called him
during the week to monitor his progress.

I was so impressed and thankful. The
counselors really go above and beyond for
their students (and us parents!).

Peter obviously sets a strong example in this
regard. He played sports growing up, and
knows how much Jonathan loves sports. He
was talking to Jonathan about what football
position he plays and how he could learn
new skills to switch to a position that might
better suit him on the team. He even took
Jonathan out in the hall and was showing
him techniques on how to block and tackle
an opponent.

These examples highlight how impressed I
am with not just the ELTC program, but the
people behind it. And I can’t say enough
good things about their unique program and
how well they run it.

Every session starts with gym time. The kids
“play” physical games and release excess
energy, all the while strengthening their
brain-eye-body coordination. They then
sit down at a computer for specific brain
games. Using a software program called
BrainWare Safari, the games target a range
of cognitive skills like working memory,
problem solving and strategic thinking.

The session ends in Group Learning
Strategy. In the group setting, anywhere
from 5-8 kids of varying age ranges are
given the same challenge. For example, they
practice memorizing the 50 states, and to
pass the challenge have to be able to recite
them in under 20 seconds. As a motivator,
they win $100 when they reach this goal.

Jonathan is at 25 seconds and is really
excited and eager to win that prize!
As I mentioned, my son loves sports, so I
thought the gym time would be his favorite
of the three class segments (and so did
Peter). But when I asked him, he said the
group time was his favorite. This shows how
effective this program is at not only helping
my son’s physical and mental development,
but exposing him to new concepts and
motivating him to learn and achieve.

So far the ELTC staff and counselors have
been impressive, both in their people skills
and their innovative program, and I would
highly recommend ELTC to any parent. I’m
curious to see how Jonathan’s Empowered
Learning sessions affect his grades and
school work. Mid-term grades are coming
out soon, so I’ll update readers in my next
review! Empowered Learning Transformation Centers
8120 Woodmont Ave., Ste. 150
Bethesda, MD
301-654-5919 • eltcenters.com
Nancy S. is a northern VA mom to son, Jonathan, age
13. Like many DMV parents, she works full time and
strives to find balance in her work and home life. She is
writing a series of reviews about her son’s experiences
at the Empowered Learning Transformation Center, so
check back to follow his progress.

This is the third review in a series of updates. Visit the “Mom Reviews” section of our website at
washingtonFAMILY.com to read the previous reviews.

washingtonFAMILY.com November 2015 29