Sylvan Learning Gains 19 Teachers-Turned-Franchisees Amid COVID-19 Challenges

For Dupue, New York-based educator Sabrina Ghotra, becoming a Sylvan Learning franchisee in 2020 was an opportunity to return to what she loved the most about teaching: making a difference in the lives of children in her community and their families.

“With COVID-19, families were really struggling,” said Ghotra. “Parents have all these different responsibilities these days, and when schools shifted to hybrid models, it made things difficult. My husband and I opened during the pandemic because we wanted to provide that school support that was missing.”

Ghotra, who had been a full-time public school teacher for the past eight years, is one of 19 educators who have left public teaching behind to partner with Sylvan — the leading provider of personal learning for students in grades K-12 — amid the pandemic and its aftermath.

According to a recent report conducted by Horace Mann Educators Corporation and published by CNBC, nearly 80% of educators are working more today than they were a year ago; 60% say they enjoy their jobs less; 59% do not feel secure with their district’s health and safety precautions; and 27% say they are considering quitting, retiring or taking a leave of absence.

New Jersey-based Wayne Davis, an educator for more than 24 years, is one of them. In 2020, he left public school teaching behind and became a three-unit Sylvan Learning franchisee instead. “Governments are not doing what they are supposed to do for children’s education,” Davis said. “Because of my exposure to education worldwide, I knew this was something I wanted to do.”

For many public school educators, COVID-19 only exacerbated the quality-of-life issues they’ve struggled with for years, including low pay and inadequate school funding, resulting in disruptive teacher strikes in school districts across the country.

Longtime teachers like Jason Blanshine, a former special education teacher in Delaware who became a Sylvan Learning franchisee in 2020, said Sylvan’s effective learning model is what ultimately convinced him to partner with the brand.

“The core of the teaching made me most excited,” Blanshine said. “ It brings the fun back to teaching, without all the extra things you’re asked of in a public school setting. It allows you to focus more on the student and provides me with a career, rather than just a tutoring side job.”

Independent research shows the Sylvan Method™, developed through academic research, teaching experience and technology, builds confidence, boosts skills and delivers better grades and results in up to three times more academic growth compared to students who don’t utilize Sylvan. The brands’ proprietary software, SylvanSync™, allows Sylvan teachers to engage and motivate students with adaptive lessons and a personal learning plan for each child.

“It's not a one-size-fits-all service for children,” said Ghotra. “It's really personalized, and that resonated with me. Our goal now is to help the community with this huge learning gap that occurred during COVID-19.”

A recent study estimates that COVID-related learning loss has put students behind anywhere from four to 12 months, depending on demographics.

With more than 750 points of presence worldwide, Sylvan Learning is playing an integral role in helping schools across the country fill the education void caused by COVID-19 — and increasingly, its franchise partners are former public school teachers.

For Michigan-based Sylvan franchisee Jessica Rollins, a former teacher who now owns four Sylvan Learning locations, it’s been a challenging but rewarding experience to suddenly find herself playing a hands-on, in-person role at local schools.

“At the districts we’re working with right now, some students haven’t logged on at all during COVID-19,” Rollins said. “They’re completely disengaged. We have kids in the program who didn’t do anything from March of 2020 to January of 2021. It's really nice that the schools are using community partners like Sylvan to help get these kids re-engaged.”

While public school teachers are required to teach the curriculum designed for their specific grade, Sylvan is uniquely suited to offer an individualized method that can meet students exactly where they’re at.

“We’re able to take grade level completely out of the equation,” said Rollins, who, thanks to the program, is able to work with and zero in on the progress of a small group of up to eight students.

Esther Contreras, an educator in Texas for more than 27 years, said becoming a Sylvan Learning franchisee amid the pandemic has been an opportunity to really serve students and families in her community. “There are so many parents who need our assistance now more than ever,” she said. “It was clear to me that now is the perfect time for a company like Sylvan. Parents need our expertise, and I’m confident that we can offer them that support — I want to be the answer that parents are looking for.”

As demand for Sylvan Learning’s services continues to grow exponentially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the brand is especially enthusiastic to partner with educators, said CEO John McAuliffe. “We’re honored that so many teachers are choosing Sylvan as their next career path,” he said. “Sylvan’s personalized teaching model allows them to continue their mission to change the lives of students in their communities as they bring them the gift of education.”