Service Learning (SL) means different things to different people, however the official definition is clear according to the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse: it “is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.” Today, many secondary and post-secondary schools include SL as a part of their graduation requirements.

Service Learning as an instructional strategy helps to create a social awareness in students that impels them to social action with documented success at every educational level—primary, secondary, and post-secondary. For SL to be skillfully integrated into a school program, the educator must engage in curriculum mapping of content and standards. It must not be just an activity, something to do. SL is a hands-on learning experience that provides benefit both to the provider and to the recipient of the service. However, the doing is just the first part. The learning comes from reflection – from evaluation. This is where critical thinking on the part of the student occurs. As a result of one or many SL experiences, a student may engage in reassessing their goals, the impact they can have on their community and/or society, and hopefully gain a greater understanding of themselves and the needs that others have.

At My Learning Springboard, we help students and schools to develop and implement Service Learning opportunities in connection with the curriculum.

Pillars of Effective Service Learning:

• Meeting an authentic community need through respectful partnerships.
• Careful planning by educators.
• Involving students in planning and collaborating with community members.
• Students having decision-making and problem-solving capabilities throughout the project to foster their sense of ownership.
• Having structured time for reflection on the service goals and learning goals of the project.

Three Categories of Service:

• Direct service involves face-to-face interactions between students and their community partners.
• Indirect service activities do not include face-to-face interactions, but rather provide financial assistance or goods to another individual, group, or agency.
• Advocacy service is intended to raise awareness of an existing need without providing financial aid, goods, or face-to-face interactions.

Please contact our office to discuss your interests in greater detail.

Autism Spectrum Disorder:

Because autism is a complex disorder of brain development, My Learning Springboard offers autism support for families with a wide range of needs.

According to Autism Speaks, characteristics of ASD are identified as having difficulties “in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors.” Historically there have been several diagnosis that fell under the Autism umbrella, however in the most recent edition of the DSM-5 diagnostic manual, all autism disorders were identified as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

At times it presents challenges in various areas, such as intellectual disabilities, communication, speech, social awareness, motor coordination, sensory integration, and self-regulating behaviors, including attention and sleep. Individuals with ASD also may show strengths in areas, such as visual skills, music, math, art and academic. The Autism Spectrum Disorder ranges from mild to severe and includes children and adults with Asperger’s Syndrome.

There are varying theories as to what causes autism although most research believes that there is not just one cause. Researches continue to investigate a number of factors that may contribute to the causes of autism.

If you suspect that your child is exhibiting signs of autism, contact your doctor and/or your state’s Early Intervention Services program, usually through your local school system right away. Early intervention has been a hallmark strategy in developing cognitive, social and communication strategies in young children.

Autism Support for Families:

• Early and Strategic Interventions
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluations
• School Admissions and Specialized Program Consultation
• DIR® (Developmental, Individual Differences, Relationship-Based) / Floortime Model
• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
• Specialized Yoga and Movement Therapy
• Multi-disciplinary approach incorporating services such as Occupational Therapy (OT), Speech
• Therapy (ST), and Physical Therapy (PT)

For additional information about services and specialists, please contact our office.

At My Learning Springboard, we value art and music education and believe all students should have access to creative, hands-on learning opportunities. Our art, music and museum educators, tutors and specialists want to help students think like artists, designers and musicians as they facilitate exploration, invention, and discovery. Instruction is also available in a foreign language to help students develop language skills through art and music enrichment.

Art Education

• Animation and video editing
• Ceramics
• Collage
• Construction and models
• Digital art
• Drawing and painting
• Fashion design
• Glassblowing
• Photography
• Portfolio development
• Sketching
• Stop-motion films

Music Education

• Audition coaching
• Instrumental tutoring
• Music composition (including digital music composition)
• Music theory
• Voice coaching

Museum Education

Interactive tours emphasize active viewing where visitors acquire a new understanding of the work through participation. This means engaging with the artwork through thought-provoking questions, word games, writing, acting and drawing. These tours help teach children to respond to the artworks with the same spirit of creativity in which the artists made them. We can also help parents to feel more confident about taking their children to museums and engaging them in discussions about art. We offer a variety of experiences and will curate tours to meet your student’s specific curiosities.

From teaching entrepreneurship to the fundamentals of budgeting, our tutors specializing in business and finance coaching make seemingly advanced topics accessible for students of all ages curious about business, economics, and financial management. Whether your child is interested in learning how credit cards work, creating a personal budget, developing a business model, or learning more about the stock market, our business and finance coaching is designed to customize lessons or a workshop series specific to your goals.  We also work with teens planning for the college transition to help them establish a solid understanding of personal finance and budgeting.

In addition to finance enrichment, our business and finance coaching can be designed to support college and graduate students pursuing degrees in accounting, finance, investment banking, and real estate. These private tutors earned their undergraduate or graduate degrees in business and finance from top tier universities and programs and then went to work within the financial industry.

Private tutoring helps each student meet his or her unique needs and realize his or her individual goals. Whether the need is academic support, enrichment, test preparation, motivation, or increased self-confidence, our educators create a personalized approach to support each student. Our business and finance coaches tailor their instruction to support an individual course and integrate real world examples from their professional experiences.

Enrichment teaching with My Learning Springboard provides unlimited opportunities for creativity, meaningful learning, and fun. Our educators can facilitate independent study or small group sessions on a wide range of topics. Imagine your kitchen becoming a science lab or an art studio–we promise to help clean up–or maybe your living room becomes the next neighborhood book circle. Let us know your children’s favorite subjects or topics and we’ll design a class for an individual or small group of friends. If you don’t see exactly what you’re looking for on our site, use our Learning Concierge ® service. Through enrichment teaching, our goal is to help all students become successful, lifelong learners.

My Learning Springboard is a boutique multidisciplinary educational consulting firm and learning concierge® service. We work with learners of all ages — from preschool through young adults — with diverse learning goals and passions, thus our enrichment teaching goes down many different pathways.

Under the leadership of Brad Hoffman and Faya Hoffman — a husband-and-wife team and both Board Certified Educational Planners and Learning Specialists — our expertise spans admissions consulting and school planning, private tutoring, and test preparation. Our main office is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with services available across the New York City and Washington, DC, metro areas as well as Palm Beach County, Florida. We also work with students and families across the United States and internationally via online learning and virtual consultation.

We partner with each family to provide an integrated and meaningful enrichment teaching experience, which often includes collaboration with school faculty and related service professionals. Through our unique structure and individualized approach, we offer a wide range of services to students, families, and schools. We see learning as a lifelong journey and our goal is to help students of all ages enjoy the ride, build confidence, and achieve success.

Enrichment teaching includes:

• Art, Music, and Museum Education
• Bar and Bat Mitzvah Preparation and Jewish Education
• Coding, Engineering, Technology and Digital Coaching
• Book Clubs and Literature Circles
• Business and Finance
• Foreign Languages
• Religious School Supplementation (any faith)
• Service-Learning and Social Action

Please contact our office for more information.