Marnie Barnett (High School Art Teacher): "Academically, students are getting back into a groove with schoolwork. There is usually a short period of review on content. The review of information or skills is good—it develops confidence and sharpens their skills. Next thing you know, we are off and running! Emotionally, every student is different. Some are excited to go back to school and see friends; some students dread school. Everyone is different. There is an adjustment in mindset that needs to happen so students can engage again."

Ciara Shabazz (BCS Brainwave Tutoring): "When students come back in September, we notice they often struggle to reconnect with multi-step thinking, like fraction operations or structured paragraph writing, after a few months away from daily practice. On top of those academic gaps, the sudden surge in executive functioning demands—balancing new planners, shifting schedules, and multiple subjects—frequently triggers organizational paralysis. This usually fuels a deep fear of being 'called out' or falling behind, causing many students to shrink back instead of asking for help early on."

Marnie Barnett: "The early signs of students falling behind are they begin to disengage, miss deadlines, or they just don’t seem like themselves. Those things can happen once in a while, but if a pattern of behavior exhibits, then it’s time to investigate the change. This is why the relationships we build with our students matter. Getting to know our students helps us become the teacher they need us to be."

Ciara Shabazz: "When a student’s roadblock is confidence rather than understanding, you’ll see an intense over-reliance on reassurance, where they ask 'Is this right?' after completing every problem because they don't trust their own logic. They also tend to deploy quick task avoidance tactics—like suddenly needing water or rearranging pencils—the exact moment a problem gets slightly challenging. Most telling of all is when they disown their success, writing off correct answers as total luck while treating any mistake as absolute proof that they just aren't smart enough."

Marnie Barnett: "Ideal support is parent involvement. Check your student’s backpack daily and key into what’s happening at school. Communicate with your child’s teacher. Take the teacher’s direction on academic practice. We want your child to be successful."

Ciara Shabazz: "To make sure 1-on-1 sessions truly support the student, we focus heavily on strengthening foundational skills while keeping pace with current classroom learning. We start by reviewing actual school artifacts like corrected quizzes, rubrics, and teacher notes to pinpoint core skill gaps. Crucially, we make sure we use the exact same visual tools, algorithms, and graphic organizers that their specific teacher uses, which prevents any confusion or conflicting methods between tutoring and schoolwork."

Ciara Shabazz: "One of my favorite breakthrough moments involved a young reader who was deeply self-conscious about reading aloud, to the point where she would mumble or completely shut down whenever she hit an unfamiliar word. Instead of forcing our way through the frustration, we shifted gears to focus on root words and built a customized decoding toolkit in a zero-pressure environment. Within just a few weeks, she went from literally hiding behind her book to eagerly volunteering to read passages out loud first, which completely transformed her self-image as a learner."

Marnie Barnett: "Take care of the basic needs that we all take for granted sometimes—SLEEP! Make sleep a priority. It sounds so simple, but it can be a challenge. Practice, practice, practice makes you better at the skills you want to be automatic, like reading and multiplication facts. Reaching out early—encourage kids to communicate or contact their teacher, we are there to help! Celebrating effort—ask what they learned or improved, not only what they scored."

Ciara Shabazz: "Parents can make a huge difference by setting up a dedicated, low-distraction workspace stocked with all the necessary supplies so focus isn't broken by searching for a pencil. Practicing 'body doubling', where a parent sits nearby working on their own quiet tasks, helps model focused energy without making the child feel hovered over. Finally, treating mistakes as simple data or helpful clues about what to review next takes the heavy emotional charge out of getting an answer wrong and keeps homework from spiraling into a power struggle."