Prepped and Ready: Academic Centers in Southlake Help Students Excel

Already home to several academic centers, Southlake welcomed three new additions this spring and summer, all of which are giving kids a scholastic step-up this year. From tutoring and test prep, to study hall, college counseling, literacy and more, Southlake has several options for helping kids get prepared for the classroom, college and beyond.

Elite Prep Southlake is located at 410 W. Southlake Boulevard and offers test prep, tutoring and college consulting services to students in fifth grade through high school. With locations in 50 states and across the world, the Southlake location joins several other North Texas locations.

Elite Prep provides students with a challenging academic environment that promotes personal growth and discipline, develops the knowledge and skills necessary to unlock their academic potential, and ultimately assists them in gaining admission to the colleges and universities of their choice. This is accomplished through the center’s three main programs: standardized test preparation, academic tutoring and college consulting.

Personalized test preparation is available for many standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, PSAT, AP exams and SAT Subject Tests. Tutoring and academic management help students excel in school subjects and on standardized tests, while holding students accountable as they progress toward their goals. From comprehensive admissions assistance to targeted help with specific parts of the process, college admissions consulting gives students the opportunity to work with experienced counselors to craft winning college application packages. Elite Prep provides not only preparation for college, but also learning for life.

Just one block away from Carroll Senior High School, Chelsea Hall is located at 1901 W. Southlake Boulevard and serves as an after-school academic learning center with group study sessions, pop-up test reviews, study hall and SAT/ACT test prep.

Chelsea Hall provides a learning environment that enables student members to achieve their highest possible GPA in every class, with lessons focused directly on Carroll ISD curriculum. Many instructors at Chelsea Prep are also CISD teachers.

Group study sessions meet weekly with teachers throughout the academic year and contain only students who are enrolled in the same course at Carroll High or Carroll Senior High (math group study sessions are also available for students at Carroll Middle School and Dawson Middle School). Pop up test reviews allow students to prepare for a specific quiz or test being held in one of their classes, and are available to all Carroll ISD students.

Members of study hall have access to the facility six days per week to complete their homework assignments and study for quizzes and tests. Study hall members also have access to monthly special events with speakers who give advice on the college application and admissions process, how to improve college admission essays and prepare activities lists, ways to prep for the SAT/ACT tests, and course selection at Carroll High and Carroll Senior High. Separate SAT/ACT test prep courses are available to members.

Chelsea Hall will celebrate its grand opening on September 17 with a Southlake Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting at 4:30 p.m. Guests will be able to tour the facility during the event.

Offering laser-focused literacy programs for pre-K through sixth-grade students, The Reading Ranch is located at 771 E. Southlake Boulevard, suites 99 and 100. While other academic centers may provide curriculum for multiple subjects at various grade levels, The Reading Ranch is focused solely on early literacy for young students. Southlake is one of ten locations in North Texas.

Because literacy is more than just the ability to read and write, it is the cornerstone of all learning, The Reading Ranch takes an expansive approach and covers a number of interwoven skills, including reading, phonics, fluency, spelling, vocabulary and comprehension. The multi-sensory programs used include a small, interactive learning environment (with classes of only 2 to 3 students per teacher), phonetic-based teaching methods, and fluency developed through literature-based instruction.

Founded by Dr. Kim Southwell, the curriculum and methods at The Readying Ranch were developed as part of her Doctoral studies based on sound research and proven principles. Starting at the pre-K level, early literacy programs teach children oral language, print awareness, letter recognition and more. After school tutoring is available to elementary school-aged children with multiple programs consisting of early reading, multi-sensory reading enrichment, intervention reading, intervention spelling and vocabulary enhancement, reading comprehension, early writing and writing workshop. During summers, The Reading Ranch also offers reading and writing enrichment programs designed to fill the gap between school years.

Because learning doesn’t stop with the school bell, these new education centers are giving students an academic edge to succeed in school and in life.