Sylvan Learning Student Success Story: When a School System Could No Longer Help a Troubled Student, a Local Sylvan Learning Stepped Up to the Plate

Sylvan Learning prides itself on being a resource for children who struggle in school, and a Canadian center recently went above and beyond the call of duty to help a troubled student graduate high school. 

Albany Paul was a student at Leo Hayes High School in the city of Fredericton, which is located in Canada’s New Brunswick province, but her first three years there were far from smooth. She was expelled for fighting and later allowed to return, but her academic and social problems persisted. 

“I guess you could say I’d been a troubled child since elementary school,” Albany said. “I had dyslexia and I would never sit down. I didn’t like school and it just got worse as I got older. I skipped a lot of classes those first three years of high school because I didn’t like the teachers or the kids. I was always getting myself into trouble.”

In April 2019, the school’s vice principal reached out to the Sylvan Learning Fredericton center, which is owned and operated by franchisee Betty Hall, and asked if the staff members there would be able to work with Albany and help her finish high school. Sylvan Learning said yes, and together, the two entities devised a plan in which the high school would provide the course materials and Sylvan Learning would take it from there. In May of 2019, Albany started working with the Fredericton location’s Director of Education Daryl Cooper. 

“Due to the distance between Albany’s home and the Sylvan Learning, the local St. Mary’s First Nation community in Fredericton paid for her transportation,” Hall said. “The local Family and Community Services branch was also involved in Albany’s case.”

Albany admits that it wasn’t always easy.

“It was a bit much sometimes, and I did have off-days, but Daryl and everyone else still put up with me,” Albany said. “There were days when I just didn’t want to do anything because I was so tired of school, but they just kept me going and kept on encouraging me.” 

Despite the challenges that Albany faced to complete her schoolwork, everyone was on the same page about making sure she succeeded. 

“We don’t judge any students based on previous history when they come in,” Cooper said. “We said we would work with Albany and give her a chance, and we did. There were some off-days, which we all have, and we all grew from the experience of persevering together.”  

Everyone’s hard work during the past several months has paid off. In October 2019, less than half a year after she started working with Sylvan Learning, Albany met the requirements for graduation. She opted to complete further coursework, specifically in child studies. She will walk in her high school’s graduation and go to prom. 

“She rocks,” Cooper said of Albany. “Some people didn’t think she’d do well, but she was eager to prove them wrong and she definitely has proved them wrong. Thanks to her hard work since last May, which included completing credits over the summer, Albany is on track to graduate this spring.” 

Albany is thrilled that Sylvan Learning helped her prove herself. 

“It just makes me happy, and Daryl made sure that if I had a problem it was addressed with the school,” Albany said. “There was a lot of communication.” 

Indeed, communication and collaboration were key in helping Albany complete her high school coursework. 

“The school system as it is set up wasn’t working for Albany,” Cooper said. “We were pleased that Leo Hayes High School and the school district were willing to try this method. Albany was certainly ready to try and she did really well. I’m very pleased with how it all worked out.” 

Leo Hayes High School is also thrilled that the collaboration with Sylvan Learning worked out so well. 

“Albany came to Leo Hayes High School in grade nine, struggling to be able to focus on school work and learning,” Vice-Principal Mary Waddell and Fred Connors, a teacher in the high school’s Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR) Learning Center, said in a joint statement. “She has always been a kind and caring young lady who needed to find her self-confidence to believe she could learn. She has overcome many challenges and shown great resilience in everything we tried to help her learn. When Albany was in the LEO Learning Center on our campus, she continued to struggle to find success. We knew she was capable but we could not find a way to help her focus. Once she went to Sylvan Learning, she found exactly what she was looking for. We were able to create a great working relationship with the staff of Sylvan Learning and they were able to work with Albany in the way that she needed. She was very successful with this plan and has done exceptionally well for herself by graduating this year. We are very excited for her and her achievements.”

In addition to succeeding in the academic arena, Albany also found time to gain valuable work experience during the past year. She participated in a student work-placement program that involved working at a local business called JPM Canteen & Dairy Bar, and her transportation to and from that job was paid for as well. 

“I love working there,” Albany said. “I was so happy, and working and going to school gave me a new perspective.”

She might also have found a passion for the law, as she took a law course and loved it. 

“I really like arguing with people,” she said. “I want to go to university and get my bachelor’s degree and become a corrections officer. I also want to work with youth because I know what it’s like to be in their shoes. I want to show them that as long as you work hard, you can succeed in life.” 

Albany’s case is a shining example of what Sylvan Learning is capable of and how it can work with a variety of students to help them with their academic goals. 

“We’re thrilled Albany has done so well, and her case has opened a lot of doors for us with the school district,” Cooper said. “They didn’t think something like this could work. Now, this Sylvan Learning center is also helping a couple of other students who are younger than Albany complete their education. We’re really pleased as a center with how everything came together in the beginning, middle and end.”

Of course, Albany is also thrilled with the outcome. 

“People thought I was a bad kid who would never graduate or make it anywhere in life,” she said. “I wanted to prove everybody wrong, and Sylvan Learning gave me a chance.” 

Cooper will absolutely attend Albany’s graduation, at which Albany will wear a special cap decorated with themes that represent both her school and Sylvan Learning. 

“By working together with Leo Hayes High School, Sylvan Learning and Albany turned the whole ship around for her,” Cooper said. “At Sylvan Learning, little successes can add up and help a student change course. It’s something we see all the time at Sylvan Learning, and we’re thrilled it happened with Albany.”