When students walk into Sylvan Learning Center for the first time, they may hang their heads low right along with their confidence. No one likes to admit they don’t know everything, but Julie Hoyes, the new owner of Sylvan Learning Center in Garner, knows just how to help.

“It feels good to make a difference,” she said.

Along with the hands-on learning opportunities and the tokens given to students to earn prizes for learning, Hoyes believes in Sylvan because children’s confidence levels change dramatically from start to finish of individual learning plans.

Since she started working with Sylvan in Burlington in 2003, Hoyes has played a part in helping close to 800 students. The Appalachian State University and Apex High School graduate says the success stories she has seen and heard about reaffirm that she is in the right line of work.

She enjoys hearing stories from parents when their children do well on the SAT or get into their top choice college.

“Every child and every family – I feel like I make a connection,” she said.

Hoyes even makes phone calls to students that have completed programs with Sylvan to check on their progress.

“They may be gone, but not forgotten,” she said.

Hoyes was a middle school Spanish teacher for two years before moving to Sylvan. She became a fulltime staff member in Garner in 2008 and later took on the role as assistant director of the branch. For nearly a year and a half, Hoyes has thought of becoming a franchise owner. When the previous owner decided to sell the Garner location, Hoyes was eager to continue providing quality instruction and excellent customer service to local students and families.

She closed on the Garner branch of Sylvan Mar. 22 and on Apr. 22 she held a ribbon cutting during the Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Business After Hours.

Since the grand opening fell on Earth Day, Hoyes gave away 32 trees, donated by Southern Garden Landscaping in Apex, to current and prospective students and their families.

Before taking over the business, Hoyes took part in the community. She has been an ambassador for the Chamber of Commerce since 2008 and joined the Garner Educational Foundation this past March.

She said she loves the Garner community and wants to give her time and resources to help make Garner the best place for students to be.

“I really want to be able to help more kids in the area – students and families,” she said.

With nearly 70 students currently, Sylvan is open Monday through Thursday after school and on Saturday mornings. Children attend between one and four days per week for one to two hours each time depending on students’ schedules.

The Garner branch keeps a 1 to 3 instructor/student ratio to help with individualized learning.

Sylvan’s students all go at their own pace, beginning and completing their specialized learning plans at different times. Students range from 4 1/2 years old to 12th grade. The 15 staff members at Garner’s Sylvan can held students from public, private and home school settings.

For parents that have children struggling to keep up in school, Hoyes said the best thing to do is nip it in the bud as soon as possible rather than waiting.

Hoyes said she wouldn’t be successful without the help of her staff of teachers and teachers’ assistants. Two of the teachers’ assistants were Sylvan students in the past.

Hoyes also draws strength from her family, especially her husband.

For a tour of Sylvan, a consolation or more information on programs provided by Sylvan Learning Center in Garner, visit http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/garner/index.cfm, call 919-779-2229 or become a fan of Sylvan Learning Garner.