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Phoenix Back To School Sectionlearning Centers Give The Edge In Making The GradeBY ROB TAYLOR If you are a parent agonizing over whether your child can muster up the scores to get into Stuyvesant or one of the city%u2019s top specialized high schools, there are a number of local learning centers who offer the kind of tutoring services that might help assure his or her entrance into any one of the city%u2019s prestigious schools.The learning centers concept began over 15 years ago in California to augment the classroom environment by offering individual tutoring in all school subjects and by preparing young people for the tests they have to take as they continue the various levels of their education.The concept came to the downtown area about five years ago when Dr. Mae Sakharov opened a tutoring service in her home. Now, she operates one of three such programs in Downtown Brooklyn out of an office on Court St. in Cobble Hill called The Multi-Learning Service.Sakharov%u2019s former partner, Joan Margolis recently opened a similar new business in Brooklyn Heights, The Brooklyn Learning Center, and Long Island University runs a third downtown area program, The Learning Center, on its Brooklyn campus in Ft. Greene.%u201cI thought why couldn%u2019t people who wanted to learn things buy it like they do pizza,%u201d says Sakharov who says that 100 percent of her students who prepare for the Stuyvesant exam are admitted.While many parents might think that learning centers are for children having problems with their homework, the directors of the programs say that they help a large number of %u201ckids who just want to learn more than they are in school.%u201d%u201cWe teach kids how to learn any subject they need help with,%u201d says Margolis who expects to have between 100 and 200 children in her programs after the school year begins. \ject apart, what%u2019s important and what%u2019s not and how to study it well.%u201dBoth Margolis and Sakharov promote the centers as places to study and to be tutored. Margolis says that many of her students just stop by after school where they thumb through their books in an environment she describes as %u201ccontagious.%u201dSakharov says it is good to study in a group and that she has seen students habits and personalities %u201cgrow and become themselves%u201d in the time she has operated her business.As an example, she spoke about a student who is now enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She says he had a %u201clack of self-confidence%u201d when he first came to the Multi Learning Service to study for the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test.\good peer tutor,%u201d she explains referring to a high school student who is hired to help young people with their studies. %u201cHe became a national merit scholar, worked here and now his brother is also enrolled.%u201d Many of the clients are brought to the learning centers through word-of-mouth referrals from both the public and private schools. Margolis says that about half of herAnna Marie Lepore (top, right) tutoringJose Ruiz at the Multi Learning Service,directed by Dr. Mae Sakharov (middle, left),in the company%u2019s Court St. office. JoanMargolis (bottom) at the newly openedBrooklyn Learning C enter on M ontague St.(Phoenix/Taylor Photos)We teach kids how tolearn any subject theyneed help with. Weteach them how topull a subject apart,what's important andwhat's not, and howto study well.a m istudents are in private schools and the others are from public schools.At the Court Street Multi Learning Service, Sakharov sits in a small front room filled with parents, tutors, and brothers and sisters studying and prepaing for tests they will be taking in the fall.This atmosphere contrasts with the programs offered at LIU where parents actually enroll their children in a university course for young people.%u201cWe offer very small, individualized classes for children that are tutored by licensed teachers,%u201d says Lester Wilson, Provost of LIU. The classes are run in through the summer and during the school year on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. The program does not have a drop-by office where children can do their homework. Young people are actually enrolled in semester long sessions.With students preparing to take the scholastic aptitude test for college, the special science schools test for the city%u2019s public schools, the Coop test for the parochial schools and the GED, all the learning centers are expecting their services to be in high demand during the fall.Costs for the courses that prepare students for their exams range from $165 to $420 and last 8 to 13 weeks. Fees for individual tutoring sessions are assessed on a sliding scale.But, cost isn%u2019t the consideration, adds Sakharov. %u201cWe normally never turn anyone away that comes through the door.%u201dThe Multi Learning Service is at 220 Court St. Fee for an 8-week high school examination preparation course is $330. Contact Mae Sakharov at 858-0755 for more information.The Brooklyn Learning Center is at 157 Montague St. The fee for a 13-week high school examination preparation course is $420. Contact Joan Margolis at 03541400 tor more information.Long Island University%u2019s Learning Center is on the Brooklyn Campus at Flatbush Ave. The fee for a 10-week high school examination preparation course is $165. Contact Elaine Caputo at 403-1020 for more information.Child Care Center OpenA ribbon-cutting ceremony and an open house tour of the new Methodist Hospital Child Care Center will be held on September 18, 5-7pm. The center is designed for infants through four-year-olds.There will be one caregiver for every four infants, six toddlers, eight three-year olds, and every 10 four-year-ols.Children at the center will select their own lunches from a menu provided by the Methodist Hospital Dietary Department. Two snacks will be served. Parents must supply formula for infants. The center will be open from 6am-6pm, Monday-Friday, in a renovated brownstone at 515 6th Street.Fees are as follows: up to two years old, $150/week, $40/day, $20/half day; three and four years old, $140/week, $35/day, $20/half day. For information, call 780-3367.The B e r k e le y C arroll S tr e e t S ch o o lT H R I F TS H O P4 2 Fifth Ave.7 8 3 -7 4 2 21 0 a m -6 p m , M on .-S at.L a rg e s e le c tio n o f F a ll a n d B a c k to S c h o o l C lo th in g in s to c kD o n a tio n s A re Tax D e d u ctib le -W e P ic k (Ip.The pillars of Nature%u2019s temple are alive and sometimes yield perplexing messages; forests of symbols between us and the shrine remark our passage with accustomed eyes.%u2014 BAUDELAIRE%u201c C o r r e s p o n d e n c e s%u201dSaint Ann%u2019s SchoolPreschool through Grade 12Page 20, TH E PH O EN IX, August 28,1986