St. Mark’s Episcopal School celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2010.  The school began as a nursery program for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in 1960.  Over the next twenty years, St. Mark’s expanded to serve students in grades K-8, graduating its first eighth grade class in 1988.  Today St. Mark’s enrollsRead More

Founded in The Woodlands in 1988, The John Cooper School (JCS) was named after the original headmaster of Houston’s Kinkaid School. The JCS is an independent, coeducational college preparatory school for students in grades Pre-K – 12. The school is located on a 43-acre campus owned by Mr. George Mitchell,Read More

Students with ADHD pose unique challenges to parents and educational professionals. Their sensitivity and awareness of multiple activities, rather than to environmental stimuli, negatively affects their ability to learn. The common definition of ADHD is heightened awareness of or sensitivity to environmental stimuli, which results in limited alertness to theRead More

Fresno State University in Freso, California is implementing tighter restrictions on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis and treatment.  Students requesting the diagnosis and the associated stimulant drugs must now submit to two months of testing before being considered for diagnosis.  Securing the diagnosis is just the first step.  IfRead More

An article by the New York times examines a number of research studies to look at the link between exceptionally involved mothers and fathers, “helicopter parenting,” and successful students.  The authors conclude that parents should help their children, but that their help should not supplant their child’s own innate driveRead More

Teaching is as much a public service as it is a serious profession. Seldom do individuals decide to pursue a career as educators for the money. Frankly speaking, the pay package of the average American teacher isn’t exactly lucrative; but that’s a different topic for another time. For now, there’sRead More

Performance-based rewards have become an extricable part of the American corporate landscape. The benefits of the performance-linked pay model are evident. Yet, this model has not been whole-heartedly embraced and only partially assimilated by the country’s education sector. The debate on whether teachers should be paid based on performance continuesRead More

Reading strategically is an important skill for mastering reading comprehension sections of standardized tests at any level. Teaching reading strategically, especially to younger students, can be difficult. This article will illustrate an effective method for teaching students how to efficiently read and mark up a passage, as well as identifyRead More

Acting to stem a forecasted decline in the perceived quality of math and science education across the nation, a number of states decided to establish mostly residential, application-based public “academies” in math and science beginning in the mid 1980s.  The 70th Texas Legislature established the Texas Academy of Mathematics andRead More

In observing April Fool’s Day, AOL’s gadget blog “Engadget” has posted a raft of reviews for technology from yesteryear.  One such review is of the venerable graphing calculator TI-83 Plus.  The reviewer writes that even ten years after its introduction in 2002, the calculator still functions great but still costsRead More

According to the College Board*, the non-profit that administers the SAT among other tests, college tuition continued to climb in the 2011-2012 academic year: Average in-state tuition and fees for four-year public colleges and universities increased 8.3% from 2010-2011 to $8,244 per year. For private nonprofit colleges and universities, annualRead More

General Academic’s President, Shelby Joe, was featured in a Question and Answer style article on the front page of the City/State section of the Houston Chronicle’s Sunday 3/24/13 paper.  Reporter Jennifer Radcliffe asked Shelby about his insight into Houston private and select public schools and about General Academic’s Houston SchoolRead More

The Houston School Survey is now live!  Take the survey at www.HoustonSchoolSurvey.com. The Houston School Survey is an approximately ten-minute online questionnaire open to both parents and students currently or recently enrolled in a Houston area school. Produced and managed by General Academic, the Rice Village tutoring and academic consultingRead More

On January 25th, 2013, Houston affiliate CW39 featured General Academic’s newly expanded Study Lounge on their nightly news program, News Fix.  Similar to the Study Lounge environment, the News Fix story is fun and upbeat. Watch the story on CW39’s website: http://newsfixnow.com/2013/01/26/rice-entrepreneurs-open-walk-in-study-center-for-youth/

Examiner Newspapers (Memorial, Bellaire, West University, and River Oaks) featured General Academic’s newly expanded Study Lounge in print and online.  Reporter Robin Foster also writes about our book Houston Private and Select Public Schools. Read the Examiner’s article online: http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/bellaire/news/general-academics-relocates-expands-study-lounge/article_78262ea2-5f61-11e2-a3c5-001a4bcf887a.html

The initial response to the School Options Symposium at Rice University has been very strong.  As such, we are moving the venue to a larger auditorium on the same time and date (November 15, 2012 at 6:30pm).  The new room is Duncan Hall 1055, also known as “McMurtry Auditorium.” PleaseRead More