26th October 2011 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A school in New York has accused a tuition agency of using scare tactics and inappropriate marketing to convince parents that their children need extra help. Reported in the New York Times, the headteacher at Riverdale school wrote to parents after it was discovered that a tutoring agency used a school directory to send letters to students’ homes encouraging them to use a private tutor.
The agency concerned is Brattle Street Coaching, and they contacted students enrolled in the ‘Constructing America’ course, because of how notoriously difficult many students find it. The argument from Leelila Strogov, founder of Brattle Street, is that Riverdale should not be so quick to judge agencies like hers who are offering a solution for students who are struggling. Strogov said that if the course was not so difficult, and if the workload was so high, then students would have no need for her services.
Kent Kildahl, the headteacher at Riverdale wrote a letter to each parent who had received the marketing material, and discouraged them from responding to Brattle Street. He accused Brattle Street and tuition agencies like them of using scare tactics, and profiting from the fear that they themselves create in students. Kildahl also defended the ‘Constructing America’ course, saying that for many students it is an intellectual challenge, and one of the most rewarding courses that they study.