The two leaders of the U.S. in further education are industry franchise Kumon Math and Reading Centers and Sylvan Learning Centers. Kumon currently has 1238 centers in the U.S., around the world with a total of 26,138. Sylvan has more than 1075 centers in the U.S. and 75 in Canada. Although both have experienced years of established success, they are each uniquely different in many aspects of its business practices and operations.

The franchise and the Kumon method of learning began in 1958 in Japan where high school math teacher Toru Kumon’s son was having problems with math in second grade. Kumon created a series of spreadsheets for mathematical his son to work after school. With daily practice, Kumon’s son gradually improved and later excelled in his math skills. Today, Kumon franchisees apply this method of daily practice and self-paced improvement of the children in math and reading. Kumon representative Deven Klein said: “Any organization Kumon is based on a father’s love and concern for their son.”

Sylvan Learning Centers franchise was founded in 1979 by W. Berry Fowler, a secondary school teacher in Anaheim, California. Fowler himself has been a struggle for students whose life was changed for the better, when a university professor diagnosed and helped him with his reading difficulties. Fowler was the aim of providing extra help and individualized attention to the many students falling behind in school; to test students individually and provide mentoring programs tailored to their particular needs. “Sylvan tutors are trained and certified and love to teach,” says Sylvan company representative Greg Helwig.

Helwig claims, “Sylvan’s strong and positive track record of more than 25 years clearly establishes this tutoring company apart from any competitors.’s Long experience is, along with almost 100% brand and high customer satisfaction. Innovative programs like Sylvan in line, with mentorship delivered live over the Internet, Sylvan and the new pre-K reading program also Sylvan Unlike other providers of tutoring. ”

Unlike the strong national and regional marketing that has helped bring Sylvan “almost 100% mark,” Kumon has been based mainly through the last half-decade on the “word of mouth” to promote and grow their businesses. Jenny of Kumon Cherrytree representative said that this is word of mouth advertising that has been the driving force behind its expansion, and it is not uncommon for parents to have returned over the years to register additional brothers in their programs.

Whereas the more traditional educational methods Sylvan resembled guardianship in a classroom style, Kumon Math and Reading Centers employ a more independent learning program. The curriculum consists of hundreds of short assignments. A student must master each concept before fully learn a new one. Each assignment is the time and classification. Students must reach nearly 100 percent accuracy within a period of time before advancing to the next level. Through this practice repeated independent, student of master each skill before moving on to the next.

Students go to a Kumon Center once or twice a week for about 30 minutes per item in the home and completes the daily assignment of short duration (10-30 minutes per item) on other days of the week. The instructor evaluates each child’s progress week to ensure growth and academic goals are being met. It is not a quick fix, is a long-term program and can take up to one year for a child to catch up to grade level.

Both franchises referred to the benefits of a parent to take his son to use their services.

Helwig Sylvan said: “When parents take their children to Sylvan, they’re getting the support of the entire system of Sylvan. Sylvan perspective of diagnosis and in downtown drives an individualized tutoring that goes beyond the tasks of drilling and support to ensure that every child achieve mastery skill. Interaction with other students who are also receiving individualized tutoring creates a positive peer / group dynamic that adds to the positive outcomes. All this is backed by a guarantee. ”

Klein of Kuman said: “Apart from the unique educational method and philosophy mentioned, I think that really Kumon fosters a strong, positive parent-child relationship. We will not hesitate to say to parents who have to be very involved in the process, and if they can not, should not enroll their children. Kumon is a daily program of about 20 to 30 minutes per day. Therefore, on non-day center, the student completes the daily lesson in home, based on their individual curriculum. In encouraging and supporting the child to do the daily lesson, the father is really capable of participating in the child’s progress through the leaves of Kumon. Many parents even enjoy the option on the home of classification so they can immediately check if your child needs to correct their errors or explain a concept. This routine creates a strong link in the parent-child relationship. ”

Kumon regular monthly tuition ranges from about $ 80 to $ 110 per item, and there is a time of a registration fee of $ 30 to $ 50. Topics covered include math and reading. Sylvan instruction a regular time cost can range from about $ 48 to $ 58 per hour. Their skills assessment test is about $ 175, and there is a $ 50 registration fee per program. Their curriculum includes: Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Study Skills, SAT / ACT Prep, Advanced Youth Scholars Program, and courses for high school credit. Prices may vary from center to center within each franchise.

For prospective franchisees looking for a low-investment tutoring franchise, Klein said that the low investment costs of the Kumon franchise sets it apart from other franchises education: “Our initial investment (defined as three months from opening Center) is estimated to be in a range from $ 10,038 to $ 30,353. This is a relatively low initial investment for U.S. franchise systems. In fact, there has been ranked in the top 500 franchises by year since the magazine Entrepreneur as a leading franchise low investment. We have put in 8 ranking in this category in 2006. ”

The franchise fee for Sylvan Learning Centers is $ 40 thousand to 48, with a projected total investment of about $ 180 to $ 300 mil. Helwig states, “Sylvan franchisees are supported by 25 years of experience, processes and systems, nearly 100% mark, strong national and regional marketing, and an expert field staff to consult with franchisees to ensure that are employing best practices to build a strong and successful business. ”

And what do these two franchises more pride in themselves?

“Sylvan helps children develop the skills to do better in school and the confidence to do better in everything else,” said Helwig. “The fact that the impact of Sylvan lasts a lifetime and can truly change a child’s life is the most important part of what Sylvan offers.”

Klein shared about this Kumon Math and Reading Centers: “Kumon is proud to see the majority of our students have a love of learning and developing life skills to help society. These skills include focus, perseverance, patience and compassion. Our students develop not only good mind, but good hearts. For our franchisees and employees, is much more than just seeing our students master math and reading. We are very proud that our method of teaching implies that the student participates in setting learning objectives, because it is very pleasant in this way – we know this from watching our students. We take pride in the fact that all our actions and decisions are made in the best interest of the child. “