Santa Barbara, CA – May 26, 2011 – Every parent has had an experience where a child begs to enroll in certain summer activities, only to decide two sessions in that he or she no longer wants to attend the class. Then, the parent is left to either (a) write off the money spent on the series of classes or (b) drag the child to the remaining lessons week after week as any initial interest in the subject dwindles.
The new Kidzmet.com has developed an assessment tool to increase parents’ odds of finding the best summer activities for their kids, based on personality type, multiple intelligences and cognitive style. The tool could potentially save parents countless hours of sifting through available enrichment options to fill the gaps in a child’s educational experience that have been “left behind” by state budget cuts.
While the education debate today is focused on teacher quality, Kidzmet’s Founder Jen Lilienstein thinks the school system is ignoring an issue with teacher/student matching. “Teachers certainly didn’t get involved in their profession for the money—they did it because they felt it was their calling. But, as with all relationships, inspiration and motivation come most easily from someone who thinks like you do. By pairing kids with compatible teachers, tutors and coaches—just like dating services do for couples and corporations do with employees—Kidzmet is better able to put each child on their unique path to success instead of trying to fit a generation of square pegs into round holes. An added benefit for teachers is that the potential of positive reviews and word of mouth is much greater when they’re prepared to integrate the new pupil into their program the minute the child first walks through the door.”
Because teacher/student match-ups are based on more than just subjects and ages taught, Kidzmet can give parents insight into which local experts are uniquely qualified to help each of their kids’ seeds of potential blossom. Kidzmet member parents can also currently vet potential teachers, coaches and tutors via the MentorMatch tool at no cost to the teacher. The entire Pairing Portrait takes about 10 minutes to complete.
Kidzmet member teachers are better prepared to engage with new students after receiving an introductory email with a high level profile of the potential student’s personality, interests, and learning style when a trial class coupon has been printed by the family. Plus, because Kidzmet is a free service for families, teachers or tutors can ask all incoming students to complete a Kidzmet Pairing Portrait, so that the instructor is better prepared to welcome the child into their program.
Kidzmet is a free service for families. Teachers pay an annual fee of $50 for a year of MentorMatching if they sign up for a paid listing before June 1, 2011 (typically $100).
About Kidzmet
Launched in Spring of 2011, Kidzmet.com is the first website to use personality, innate talents and predominant cognitive style to match teachers, tutors and coaches with the students they were meant to teach. Its service, available in the United States from coast-to-coast, evaluates the fit type of a teacher with an individual student in order to help parents pair their kids with local extracurricular activities led by individuals that instinctively understand how to help each child’s seeds of potential blossom. Kidzmet also offers a tool to help public and charter school after care programs identify the enrichment activities most desired by the student body, as well as assess which teacher, tutor or coach would be best to hire to teach the kids interested in the class.
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Contact: Jen Lilienstein
Tel: 805-576-7078
Cell: 805-252-3649
Email: [email protected]