Thirty years ago Meadowbrook Center for Learning (MCLD) opened its doors to Oakland County area students in Rochester. The goal was to have a place where children could go for affordable, one-to-one tutoring help, where learning challenges and differences could be addressed in a caring manner, and where no student would be turned away. In the last three decades, they have helped thousands of students and placed a special focus on raising scholarship aid money to help children with learning needs who come from economically-disadvantaged families.
Meadowbrook Center for Learning Differences’ Director, Yolanda Udell, is joined by Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce members, friends, and Rochester City Manager Blaine Wing for a Ribbon Cutting in May – Photo by Michael Dwyer
What sets Meadowbrook Center for Learning apart is the experienced tutors who are trained educators and have worked with various students’ learning challenges. This includes autism, dyslexia, epilepsy, ADHD and genetic impairments, as well as children who have no diagnosed learning problems but who, nevertheless, require extra educational support to succeed. The Center has been awarded the 2010 Oakland University Educator of the year, 2007 and 2014 Rochester Lion’s Club Wallace M. Doc O’Brien Community Improvement Grant, 2016 Lula Wilson and Filmer Charitable Trust grants, plus 2018 Madison Community Foundation, Harrison Foundation and Rochester Junior Women’s grants.
In the past 30 years, legislative mandates have raised requirements for graduation and, recently, even third grade promotion. Unfortunately, statistics continue to show students still lack proficiency in basic subjects: According to The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” “only 37% of students are prepared for college-level math and reading.”
Children with learning disabilities are much more likely to drop out of school; those who come from underprivileged homes are at an even bigger disadvantage since their families lack the means to provide the educational support their children need. In Rochester alone there are elementary schools with poverty over 30%. The Center’s Executive Director, Yolanda Udell states “We understand that not everyone learns the same way, but believe that everyone should have the same opportunities to succeed.”
The continued focus of the Center will be to help students from preschool to college in all subjects, speech and occupational therapy, remediation in reading and math, handwriting, and ACT/SAT and college essay preparation. All of their tutors are current or former teachers who hold appropriate credentials and are degreed in their subject areas.
MCLD is a 501(c)(3) non-profit governed by a local, volunteer Board of Directors. The Center was established in 1988 and is committed to making customized educational tutoring services as accessible as possible for all families. The Center’s philosophy is “We are not franchise-driven, but are deeply rooted in the community. Profit is not our bottom line – your children are.”
For information, to donate, or to schedule an appointment to discuss tutoring for your child, please call 248-656-3806. You may also visit their new location in the Oakwood Medical Center at 811 Oakwood Drive, Suite 203, Rochester, Michigan 48307 or visit their website at www.meadowbrookcenter.org. For questions or more information, please contact Yolanda Udell, Executive Director, at mcld411@sbcglobal.net
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