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of the Month
This month we're excited to revisit one of our favorite partners doing great work in Education Therapy in southern California,
Kimberly Green
. An educational therapist going on 15 years now, Kim works with kids from as young as five, all the way up to 21 who are experiencing academic, social or emotional difficulties related to school. Going beyond a focus on specific subjects, Kim helps students to develop and build skills that may be lacking in a student, such as working memory, higher order thinking, problem solving and expressive language to name just a few. Having graduated from Cal State Northridge in 2002 with a Masters in Special Education, Kim has since developed a highly effective, collaborative approach, working with the student's parents, teachers and schools to build a platform for success. For more information,
email Kim or call
310.702.4856.
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Looking For A Student
Community Service Opportunity?
Meet Rickey Smith, social entrepreneur and owner of the sustainable food business Urban Green. He's started a community education venture called the Urban Green Kids Row program, creating opportunities for kids from diverse backgrounds to participate in many activities related to food sustainability, from planting seeds to learning about how organic food is grown and harvested. For more info on a terrific
community service and volunteering opportunity for kids,
email
Rickey,
or call (800) 200 3320.
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Check out Our YouTube Video!
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How Academic Success Can Support You
At
Academic Success
we take great pride in finding the right coach to support the unique needs of each student we help. Please check out the areas where we work on our
web site
and let us know how we can support you.
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Looking for a College Counselor or Ed Therapist?
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We work and partner with excellent Educational Therapists and College Counselors throughout the L.A. area. Give us a call and we can recommend the right fit for your child.
310-823-4398
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Welcome To Our
Back-To-School Edition
!
In the time we've been away and our kids have  enjoyed their summer break,
it's fair to say we've lived through some challenging moments.
Our kids are seeing moments of conflict and animosity that must trigger questions around what it means to love thy neighbor and live in harmony with our fellow citizens and peers.
In addition, people are not only battling each other but also the elements, in the form of huge storms creating havoc.
Our question is: what is the growth opportunity in all this for our kids?
One salient positive to emerge from recent events is the chance it gives our kids to practice social action and create a greater feeling of love and harmony in our community.
In this month's issue, we'll look at examples of kids transcending antagonism and self-interest to come together in a common cause. We'll highlight the efforts of students who are fighting to combat hate, promote unity and extend themselves to help their fellow human beings.
In a time of distress and conflict, our kids are often the best teachers we have.
At
Academic Success, we are inspired by the knowledge that our kids' success rests as much in the heart as it does in the mind.
Please call with any questions at (310) 823 4398 or
All the best,
The Academic Success Team
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.""
- Mark Twain
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LA High Schoolers A Force For Good
New Orleans Students Feeling Houston's Pain
 Collective action can come from a deep sense of justice- but it can also be motivated by empathy for others experiencing the most dire of circumstances. Students from Harrison County in Mississippi recently got together to begin a supply drive to help their neighbors in Texas survive the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. In creating a video and other promotional material to raise awareness, they proved that love and kindness can spur on remarkable creativity and action.
Young Film-Makers Recruit Hollywood Stars
Making Video Games A Force For Good
 Studies are now proving what parents have long suspected: regular video game play often has a negative effect on academic performance. However, Games 4 Change is harnessing the addictive power of video games for something new: social action that changes the world. This inspiring article previews the upcoming Student Challenge, an initiative calling for New York City and LA-area students to create social action-based video games with positive themes.
Solitary Action To Protect Natural Beauty
Not all social action for good needs to be a group effort:  sometimes one caring, proactive person can initiate a change that benefits all. With devastating storms becoming a constant clear and present danger, this Florida high school senior and Jacksonville Beach lifeguard decided to do something to meet the challenges of the future and thereby ensure the survival of her beloved Neptune Beach.
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Enjoy The Benefits Of
"The Protégé Effect"
Beyond loving, kind action that changes the world,
 students also have the opportunity to help other kids to raise their
academic success level- and in doing so, take their own work to another plateau as well.
Research in recent years uncovered a positive phenomenon that occurs when one student helps another with their study work- and they dubbed it
The Protégé Effect.
What scientists found was a dynamic that will be familiar to teachers: In needing to help others to understand a subject, teachers were forced to review material in order to understand it better and be able to effectively apply it. The same applies for a student when he/she helps a peer- and in addition to strengthening their own knowledge of a subject, The Protégé bestows another benefit: it also helps the 'teacher'
better understand and refine their entire study process. The helper now has the opportunity to consciously look at why they use the study strategies they do and can often spur new ideas for even better ways of working.
As with all generous action to help others, The Protégé represents a win-win: making others better while improving ourselves.
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Meet
Nicole Chernov,
Coach Profile Of The Month
Born into two Ukrainian families but the first to be born on American soil, our new recruit
Nicole Chernov is the first woman in her family to receive a STEM degree. Having earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cal State LA, Nicole knows just how important new insight and a different perspective can be for any problem solving situation. With problems come challenges, and Nicole is no newcomer to the mental and emotional challenges that come with achieving your goals (like finishing school!). She spent two years during her undergrad career giving back to underprivileged communities as an after-school tutor. Nicole understands that everyone learns differently and will forever remain intrigued by the thought processes of all the different individuals around her, bringing endless positivity and a "never say no" attitude to her work. She loves to watch students as they come to realize just what they're capable of.
Nicole enjoys researching alternative energy solutions and is an Applications Engineer for a Micro-Grid startup. In her spare time you can catch Nicole spending time with her dog, helping tend and harvest from her family garden, or at the beach collecting seashells and capturing sand crabs- for science, of course.
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We consider it a privilege and an honor to support students and their families throughout the Los Angeles area. Please call us at any time; we welcome your thoughts and input. We are available at 310-823-4398.
Sincerely,
Jamie Altshule
Academic Success, Inc.
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seems difficult, we need look no further than Ocean View high school in Huntington Beach for inspiration. 
high school have taken that process to another level- all in the cause of social action. The issue at stake here is bullying, and in order to fight the bullies,