Do you want someone that will go above and beyond for your child? Someone that treats your child like their own? Well, Ann Singh, the Bramport Academy Director, is passionate about helping her students fulfill their dreams and reach their potential. Discover more about the Bramport Academy that operates with integrity and tutors with passion because they care about their students.

Interview was conducted verbally, so transcript reflects natural, conversational English with conscious light editing versus what might appear in a formal, written piece.

Ann: My name is Ann and I am the owner of the Academy for Mathematics & English located at Bovaird Drive. We are at 9980 Airport Rd., in Brampton.

Ann: Well, to begin with I am very passionate about education. And when my two kids were younger and in elementary school, Grades 3 and 5, I was looking for a place with a program that could challenge them academically as they were already advanced students. After trying out a few centres close to home, I realized that there was no such place or program out here in my area that would give me what I was looking for at the time because I think what I was looking for was something more unique.

I mean, I certainly wasn’t looking for the Kumon that gave my kids sore fingers from practicing fractions for weeks which they had already mastered in the classroom. I most definitely wasn’t looking for the Sylvan that in one month assigned my daughter four different tutors during her eight sessions. Then, I decided, okay enroll them in Oxford as they’ve been around, so I thought I’d try Oxford. But then, I soon found out after enrolling her that the setup was such that she was placed at a desk with four other students, three of whom could barely read and there was a teacher desperately trying to sort of keep them quiet while teaching them to read. So, there were a lot of distractions. Again, it wasn’t what I was looking for.

So, at that point, I got a little frustrated, but at the same time, something sort of hit me, an epiphany. Something came to my mind that maybe I cannot be the only parent out there looking for something of this nature. So, I embarked on the journey to come up with a tutoring centre that would be so unique that it must help to fulfill the academic desires that the parents will have for their children. After doing some intense homework, I then realized that the place I was really looking for to begin with was the Academy for Math.

Ann: I did. As a matter of fact, like I said, I tried the actual tutoring centres. I just did not sort of look into them and say, “I want to get into an investment or I want to look into something of my own.” Nothing of that nature. Purely in the interest of my own kids’ education.

Ann: Here at the Academy for Math & English, we offer after school programs in mathematics, English and science – science at the high school levels, like chemistry and physics. And at my centre, I also offer biology. We work with students from kindergarten all the way to first year university.

Ann: I chose this area primarily because, at the time, it was a growing community with many young families who believe in education. That is, many immigrants like myself who came in search of a good education for themselves and their children because we still believe that a good life stems from a good education.

Ann: Honestly, I’ve been operating for 13 years now and see students from all across Brampton because of a high referral rate. Most of our students are from the north side of Brampton, going as far as into Caledon. Also through Queen Street area, Airport, Sandalwood, Torbram, Bramalea Road, Dixie, Williams Parkway, Kennedy Road, and so on.

Ann: Oh yes, absolutely, because initially, when I started out, I was not located here. I was located at Heart Lake. And those original students, they moved with us.

Ann: Oh my gosh, I see students from just about every school in Brampton. There are too many to name but just to cite a few examples of those closer to me, I have students from Sandalwood Heights to Louise Arbor, St. Marguerite d’Youville, Chinguacousy Secondary, Bramalea Secondary, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Lake View Secondary and so on.

Ann: What they’re mostly looking for is to get a sense of comfort that this environment, first and foremost, is the right one for their child. They are looking for a program that will be mostly customized and individualized.

Ann: At my centre, I would have to say that the most popular programs is the twice a week program. Of course, the students come on two different days, one hour each day.

Ann: It would have to be Math.

Ann: What I enjoy most about my centre is the fact that we get the opportunity to motivate, to inspire, to teach and to challenge young minds. We get the opportunity to have those students who fell through the cracks of a system of many flaws. And one of the things I want to point out is at the centre, we do not only work with struggling students. I see some of the smartest, most amazing young students with tremendous potential who we prepare for IBT, AP and so on.

Ann: I try at all times to recognize and reach out to the customers’ needs. I take the time to listen to them.

Ann: And I frequently communicate with the parents.

Ann: Oh, absolutely. I’ve got many of those but the one that will stay with me forever, and I’m going to try to make this short, to sum it up. I would like to tell you how this unfolded. I came to work one day, it was about 1:30 in the day and as I was turning the lock on the door, this lady was standing right beside me. And I did not realize she was waiting for me. So, I said hi to her and we started talking. And as I opened the door, she walked in behind me. And I introduced myself and so on and she said to me, “You know, I have been looking for you for a while.” And I said, “Oh, but I’m here at 1:30pm. You could’ve called and left a message. I would’ve returned your call and set up an appointment.” And she replies, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I needed to see who is here in person.” She said to me there was a reason for it.

So, the long story short, this lady came in and she said to me as we were conversing and I was telling her about our programs and so on, she said to me, “You know, I believe that God sent me here.” From that point on, I thought that was a little sketchy. But, nevertheless, open-minded as I am, I continued talking to her. And as it turned out, she had a son in Grade 5 at the time. She was a single parent, with a Grade 5 son. And what happened was, his Grade 3 classroom teacher had identified him as having a learning disability. And she strongly felt that he did not and does not have a learning disability. And she was fighting with the school for two years to properly place him.

By that time now, he was in Grade 5. And she said, “I care about my son. I cannot see him being successful. I can’t imagine what he will turn out like by the time he reaches high school in this place.” And I said to her, “Okay, if you’re in fact correct about him not having a learning disability, then I will do exactly what I would do with every other student, do the assessment, setup a program etc.” And I did exactly that.

And, like I said, to sum this up, in two years I had the child coming here two times a week. And by the time he reached Grade 7, we had him out of the IEP and into another program. And by the time he was ready for high school, we had him into a normal applied stream because all the child wanted, his dream, was to become a carpenter. He wanted to go to Sheridan College so badly. And I continued to work with him. I went to meetings with her to his school to help properly place him. I went to IPRC, to the board meetings. And we had him there from Grade 9.

By the time he reached Grade 10, he got his first job at McDonald’s. He got through Grade 12 in the program, became a supervisor at McDonald’s. He is now at Sheridan College finishing up his program in carpentry and he stops by once every month to bring me a cup of coffee to tell me, “Ann, I’m on my way to opening my own construction business and I stopped by to say, ‘Thank you.'” And every lesson I taught him, at the end of it, he would say, “Thank you, Ann.”

His mother could not afford to pay for this program. She would send with him $50 every week. And at one point, she said, “You know Ann, my hours got cut.” And I said, “Do not stop sending him. Keep sending him because I have a job – our goal is to get him into Sheridan College and we would do it with or without. Just keep sending him.” I love that kid. He will always be the one that I remember, right from that very first day, when he was in Grade 5. And, in my mind, I will never, ever forget. And just like he said to me, “I will never, ever forget you.”

Ann: Well, there are many things but specifically I would like parents to know that my Academy is not about making money but about helping to fulfill dreams and realize potentials. It’s a place where a student can find the joy of learning and enjoy the satisfaction of success. I believe we are a unique outfit with unique approaches, a place where we operate with integrity and tutor with passion because we care about students.