For Learners and Families
Student Stories
Changing Lives, One Learner at a Time
The moment a mother notices her preschooler struggling with the alphabet and asks for help; the time a teacher spots a student who’s having trouble focusing in the classroom and recommends extra support; the day an adult with undiagnosed dyslexia sits down with an instructor and starts to sound out words on a page.
Learning comes to life at the Stern Center. We are proud to have been part of breakthrough stories for decades.
The Stern Center was one of the most formative places of my life.
Brian M. Till, MD
Surgical Resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, correspondent for The Atlantic and The New Republic, and author of the book Conversations with Power: What Great Presidents and Prime Ministers Can Teach Us about Leadership
What brought you to the Stern Center?
As a preschool-age child, I just wasn’t figuring out the fundamentals of reading and phonetics. I couldn’t make sense of the scribbles on the pages in front of me.
What was it like being a student at the Stern Center?
There’s a calm and focus—a sense of purpose—to the Stern Center that radiates through everybody who works there.
Why is the Stern Center’s work so important today?
The Stern Center will forever be needed. It has a goal of putting itself out of business by making the science they teach accessible to everyone. Still, as we’ve seen in my lifetime, that lift is just so incredible that there will always be a need for somebody outside of the school system to come in and help schools—that can take learners who are falling behind and get them back to where they need to be. The need is there; the capacity is there. I am one of the thousands of kids who have benefited from it.
In all of the incredible stories about people with learning disabilities who achieved amazing things—who thought about the world in new ways and brought forward incredible innovations—very few of them got there on their own. They got there when others helped them unlock their own capacity.
The Stern Center gave me the tools to succeed in school and work.
Stephanie Hackett, M.Ed.
Graduate of St. Michael’s College, Teacher, and former Community-Based Learning Coordinator in the Winooski School District
What was your experience like at the Stern Center?
Growing up, I struggled academically and felt very discouraged in an academic setting. The Stern Center gave me the tools to succeed in school and work. With these tools, I’m now more confident in my abilities and more proactive in recognizing the support I need to reach my full potential—in and out of the classroom—with a learning disability.
How has your experience at the Stern Center changed the way you teach?
I constantly think: Okay, I remember being on the other side of the seat as a student. What tools did I use? What did I tell myself? What did my tutor tell me? I bring those strategies into the educational world to support my students. When students struggle, I want to be there for them to support them and say, “Hey, it’s okay that you don’t get that. It doesn’t mean anything’s wrong. We just need to approach it a different way.”
We’ve seen him make tremendous gains in his reading ability, his confidence, and his ability to tackle new challenges in the classroom.
Matthew and David Price
David is a former Stern Center student. Matthew, his father, is the George W. Albee Green & Gold Professor of Psychological Science, and Director of the Clinical Psychology Training Program at the University of Vermont.
What brought you to the Stern Center?
When David was in kindergarten, we noticed he wasn’t really picking up on a lot of the material the way some of the other kids were. He was struggling with a lot of work at home. So we brought him to the Stern Center to be evaluated, and we learned that he had dyslexia, and we really wanted him to get the best possible instruction that someone with dyslexia could get.
How does the Stern Center foster learning?
The Stern Center shows students that they can learn. It teaches them that they can make progress—that when they encounter a challenge, they can overcome it, which is essential to making it really far in this world. The Stern Center is such a wonderful place. We’re so grateful that David has had a chance to take advantage of it. We really hope that more kids can access these types of services so they can benefit just as much as David has.
Learning Programs
Tutoring Services
We offer expert instruction and intervention in reading, writing, math, and more in one-to-one sessions tailored to a learner’s needs.
Evaluations
We help people understand how they learn so they can overcome challenges and move forward academically, professionally, and socially.
Social-Emotional Learning
Through direct teaching, coaching, and practice, our social learning experts help individuals learn the fundamental building blocks of social success.
Get in Touch!
For questions about learning services and programs, email learning@sterncenter.org, call 802-276-8563, or fill out the form below.
