From an idealistic lens, businesses should be about making profit in exchange to not only offering something of demand, but offering a product or service that enhances the community it is serving.  America’s shinning star is the Free Market; a land where the consumer ideally determines what is bought and sold.  In recent year, contrary to the shinning star, we have seen local governments override the Free Market in order to help protect its people.

For example, in some California communities, restraunts are prohibbited from using certain ingredients tehat have dramatically negative effects on its consumers.  To some, this intervention by the government bears a great offense.  If the consumer finds the ingredients to be unwelcoming, then the  product will not be purchased, thus the market regulates itself.  But, according to some, that ideal is not always the case.  As companies becoming increasingly shrewd in market research and consumer trends, some believe that companies like McDonald’s are predatory towards impoverished demographics.  If one understands the economics behind the food industry, and one can position oneself to corner the food market, one can in theory override the free market.

I share these thoughts because we at the ACT Boot Camp just had a long discussion on the nature of our company.  The need for profit is ever looming, and the lack of is a constant threat to our demise.  But in addition, we have to ask ourselves this question:  “Is the service our business provides the caliber of business that makes me believe our community  is better off?”  or “Does our work really matter?”

I believe to both questions the answer is yes.  I just sat in  a room with 21 northern Kentucky students who have dedicated 5 weeks towards ACT prep in order to be best prepared for college.  And I know that everyone of those kids are prepared, everyone of them have a much higher chance of getting obtaining the necessary resources for school, for training, for a career.

My company enhances my community.  Now I just need my community to trust us with their students.

youtube act test prep

ACT Test Prep: By The ACT Boot Camp

At Scott High School, my old stomping ground, I had a teacher who btw, was awesome at training students at practicing the reading act test.  anyway, this teacher was a powerful educator in that he used a plethora of teaching mechanisms.  My favorite was video.  Mr Simmons, as we called him, had us read Herman Mellville, discuss the why behind his madness, and then consider his delivery.  Next, for example, he would have us watch a film along the same line, what strikes me specifically is the film Falling Down.  Basically, it’s the breaking of the American Dream in the form of a man, stuck in la traffic.  He hits a tipping point, and goes on a rampage, attacking everything he perceives as not “American”.

I watched that movie 10 years ago.  Today, it still strikes me.  There is power behind video, combining language and visuals can tap deeply into a person, impacting and changing their paradigms on the spot.  Above, I linked to a video that expresses the value of ACT Prep, be that free online act prep, or a…say, highlands high school act prep course.

We chose to make this video because cartoons are wonderful forms of communication.  Think about it, they are not as abrasive as commercials, they require less than higher tech or human forms of video, be it time money or frustration.  The art work can be used to articulate the script.

another letter we sent over the summer

July 15, 2009

First, thanks for taking the time to read my letter. As a high school counselor, you are the most powerful resource for a student’s current and post-secondary educational decisions.  With that in mind, I’m writing you to see if our program can offer you and your students any help.

For 50 years now, the ACT has progressively become the standard barometer for college entrance.  As you know, Kentucky has recently emphasized the ACT’s importance by requiring every junior in the state to take the test in the spring.  As standards become more aligned with the ACT and accountability quickly heads that direction as well, it’s going to be increasingly important for school districts and individual high schools (should “high schools” be capitalized?) to insure their students’ readiness.  The ACT Boot Camp offers just that.
The ACT Boot Camp is a 5-week ACT prep intensive.  It is different from any other program in that its sole purpose is to train high school students to succeed on the ACT.  No coddling.  No wasting time.  Since mastering the ACT is our #1 and only priority, we have extremely high expectations for participants regarding their commitment to success, and we guarantee improved scores . . . period.
Each session provides students with the best content review mixed with proven content specific test-taking strategies.  Where ACT Boot Camp sets itself apart from other ACT prep courses, is in the in-class practice and open discussion format.  Students are encouraged and expected to participate in the Boot Camp as engaged learners, asking questions as they arise and assisting others in the class if desired.
We hope to have the opportunity to train your students how to take control of the test that so many high schoolers feel controls them! At no cost to the school, we want to help your students push towards the best ACT performance possible. We  look forward to being in contact with you regarding ways we can build into your students’ success.
Sincerely yours,

Mark Treas
Managing Partner, The ACT Boot Camp
859.409.0257
mt@theactbootcamp.com
www.theactbootcamp.com

Our January 2010 Act Boot Camp is primarily composed of students from Highlands High School.  We also have students from Scott High School as well as Campbell County High School, but as noted, 90% are from Highlands.  What strikes me about that is the attitude held within that school district that would result in such a large amount of the student body attending our Prep Course.  As we all know, the Bluebirds are known for their domination in KY sports, football, basketball, baseball, and anything else involving athletes.  But the dominance continues into academics.  Where there is a culture that holds success in the highest of esteem, you’ll find practice to be norm.

By reading this, you’d probably assume I am a lover of highlands, but that is not the case.  I’ve attended a bazillion northern Kentucky schools, and my whole life I’ve held no love for the cake eaters.  Nonetheless, when it comes to education, it says something about the caliber of a school when this many students are willing to invest this much time on their act scores.

Sorry for the length, but this is a summary of our Boot Camp. Call or email if you have any more questions!

Our program consists of 3 major components:
1.  Weekly Trainings
2.  Mandatory Practice Tests
3.  At Home Duties

WEEKLY TRAININGS

This is the bulk of our Boot Camp.  Our trainings are fairly lengthy, @ 3 hours per session, and in them we focus on two main elements:  Core Content, and Strategy.
Core Content:
We essentially “sharpen” the spear (or education) that our trainee has built over the course of their schooling.  We elicit knowledge as it applies to the ACT and refine it accordingly.

Strategy:
This is where students receive training that, for legal purposes, the schools are not permitted to distribute.  The ACT is a static inventory and therefore, practices can be developed to increase one’s performance.  We spend much of our time focused on time management, how the ACT is scored, how to make good guesses, and debunking common test fallacies.
Logistics
-TUESDAYS
-6-9 PM
-5 Trainings total

MANDATORY PRACTICE TESTS

Our participants engage in 2, full featured practice tests.  Our goals are two fold:
1.  Assess academic deficiencies and strengths, which will afford areas of focus henceforward
2.  Bread Familiarity:  By simulating the ACT Test, our trainees can put into practice what they learn in our Boot Camp.  This also helps reduce test anxiety, and lets the student focus on the task at hand.  Success in the ACT is built on practice!
Logistics
Location: SAME AS TRAINING
Saturdays
Test one:  1/30 8AM-12PM
Test two: 3/6 8AM-12PM
*calculator required!
**SHOW UP MIN 15 MINUTES EARLY

@ HOME DUTIES

Much of the material the ACT tests on is built throughout a students academic career.  5 weekly sessions simply is not enough to fully prepare a student (specifically in mathematics).  Our weekly trainings are followed up with assignments to be worked on throughout the week.  To be honest, students tend to resent “homework” but in order to  raise scores work in required.

Price: $300
Payment Form:  Credit Card/ Pay Pal:  visit www.theactbootcamp.com  under Sign Up on the home page, fill out your appropriate info

Checks, made out to The ACT Boot Camp *must receive one week before course begins
mail checks to 1134 Water Works Rd, Newport KY 41075

January Course
Tuesdays:
Starting January 26th – March 2nd
6-9 PM
Location:
Northern Kentucky Association of Realtors Conference Room
7660 Turfway Rd.
Florence, KY 41042
*building located directly behind Regal Cinemas

Saturdays:
January 30th & March 6
8AM- 12 PM

Students required to bring a copy of The Real ACT PREP GUIDE *NOT INCLUDED

On a personal Note:  We are a small local company with a deep passion for seeing high school kids positioned for success as they enter post-secondary education.  I believe in our program, but I must say that it isn’t a “get rich quick” deal.  The process is mentally strenuous but effective.

Hopefully that gives you better insight.  Feel free to call or email me if you’d like to talk more.

Mark
Managing Partner
The ACT Boot Camp
859.409.0257

We are super excited about starting the next ACT Boot Camp!  This email will give a quick rundown of everything you need to know as we begin.  Please email or call if you have any questions or concerns.

Essential Info:
Date/Time: We begin Tuesday, January 26 from 6-9 PM . . . try to get there by 5:50!
Location: Northern Kentucky Association of Realtors (NKAR), 7660 Turfway Road,  Florence, KY 41042 . . . really great site with SmartBoard technology
What to Bring: The Real ACT Prep Guide, Paper, Graphing Calculator, Pens/Pencils, and anything else to help you pay attention and take notes

Mandatory Class Sessions:
5 Tuesday sessions: 1/26, 2/2, 2/9, (skip 2/16), 2/23, 3/2 . . . each session will be from 6-9 PM
2 Saturday practice tests: 1/30 and 3/6 from 8 AM-11:45 AM at NKAR . . . try to get there by 7:45!

Mark Treas
The ACT Boot Camp

Northern Kentucky act test prep is all about location.  NKY is big but deciptively accessible.  With major freeways connecting all counties, and major roads connecting city to city, getting from one end to the other can usually happen in under 30 minutes, and often under 20.  I live in Fort Thomas Kentucky, right next to Highlands High School act prep location; and I can usually get to Boone County High School in less than 20.

One paradigm that would help make this area more awesome is if people stopped locking themselves in because of their geography.  County lines are built arbitrary but those make believe boundaries frustrates expansion.  I say no more.  No more neglecting experiencing something that is happening in Campbell county because I’m over at Ryle High School.  IF there is a training that can help my education; if there is a speaker who may shed light on new and important elements, I want to know, and I want to experience it first hand.

I recently visited a friend who has a plethora of vintage electronics.  He was showing me some of his favorite pieces, and then we came to his record player.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We sat and listened, and then he put it on, and old Doors album, and it began skipping!  The same line, over and over, so that I could not get the line out of my head.

ACT Prep is all about repetition.  ACT Practice tests work and they work well.  You have to be willing to fight for the results you need, fight to win.  Over and over, same test, same questions, same ideas, the act test is a predictable inventory.  Our job, as trainers, is simply to:

1.  Sharpen content knowledge

2.  Mature testing skills

3.  Elicit their passion

I’ve said this a million times, if a student doesn’t care, they won’t succeed. Ask anyone who teaches at a Boone County School  The practice takes time, and that is the core of nky act test strategy

Having lived in northern kentucky for my entire life, I feel like I know the area through and through.  More importantly the geography is the culture.

Our area is the spearhead of the Commonwealth, leading the way in all fronts of academics, technology, culture, and all awesome things.  Between Boone County, Kenton County, and Campbell County, plus all the individual schools in between; our area is quickly maturing.

AS I’ve said a thousand times, the Kentucky Junior ACT Test is on route, coming up early this March, and people have to get prepared: stat!

I just created our new posters and flyers for our ACT Boot Camp; and I’m pretty pumped.  It’s been tricky, creating marketing materials that people will bother to look at without coming across as another HUGE generic program that doesn’t care about their students.

The reality is, we do care about students and we care about the schools.  When we started getting reports back from our students; how they enjoyed our  course (given that its a ton of work based on a not awesome subject), and even better, they successfully new how to increase act scores, we knew our act prep course was able to greatly serve boone county schools, kenton county schools, and all the other northern kentucky schools.