My name is Sherrie Hardy. I became a teacher in 1973 but my first learning ‘breakthrough’ came in third grade when I discovered that I could see the print in a book better while sitting on a playground ball and bouncing than sitting at my desk holding the book still. Years later, I learned that I had double vision and that seeing two of everything isn’t ‘normal’. I thought I had a reading problem when I really had a ‘processing’ problem.
Since 1973, I have taught students of all ages from infants to 12th graders, college students, and adults, in traditional school classrooms, home school programs, preschool, hospital outreach, therapy programs, perceptual-motor labs, and my own children who struggled with learning.
Most struggling learners don’t realize ‘why’ learning seems hard.
Often, their parents are puzzled too. My passion has been to figure out ‘why’ a child is struggling to learn, create an easy program to correct the underlying problems that are getting in the way, and help them get to grade level quickly because learning should be fun.
2003: Hardy Brain Training, Inc, started as a learning clinic to help struggling students learn how to excel by improving processing skills, developing cognitive skills, strengthening learning skills, and then teaching academic skills designed to bring students quickly to grade level and beyond.
Also in 2003 our not-for-profit corporation, Hardy Brain Training Foundation, Inc., was formed to remove the barriers for families with financial constraints that prevent their children from getting the help they need to become successful learners. Since 2009 we have dedicated our not-for-profit efforts to youth organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs.
Parents who had children in our clinic programs saw the amazing progress their kids were making for the first time in their lives and began telling me that their kids would really benefit from a school program that would address their weaknesses and teach them how to be successful.
2004: Hardy Academy opened its doors as an individualized school program for kids who had struggled since their early school years with learning, attention, organization, etc. in spite of teachers who really cared, parents who were at their wits end trying to find solutions, tutors, therapists, testing, reports, IEPs, 504s, advice, and prayers. But nothing had really helped.
We focused on improving processing skills first, developing cognitive skills, strengthening learning skills, then teaching our students the academic information needed to return to their traditional schools. The results have been amazing.
2008: The Start of Long-Distance Training
In the spring of 2008, we had a family bring their second-grader in for evaluation. They had taken their son, Adam, ‘everywhere’ searching for help since kindergarten. Although Adam had dedicated teachers and committed parents, he was still failing. Every week, his mom, Diane, would receive a telephone call from his teachers with disappointing concerns about Adam’s difficulty with attention and learning.
We knew we could change the frustration in Adam’s life but his family lived an hour away, his parents both worked full time, and they had two other children. When his mom begged me to help her work with him at home I heard myself saying “Yes – let’s try it”. We designed a home training program that Adam did at home with his mother’s supervision.
Over the course of third grade, Adam’s life changed. He caught up to his peers academically, became more social, and his confidence really grew. He was taken out of the Special Education Program when he tested at the ‘superior’ level in math and the ‘above average’ level in English. The principal recommended that he be tested for the Gifted and Talented (GATE) Program when he tested in the ‘advanced’ level of the California State Achievement Test (STAR).
Since then, our long-distance training programs have successfully helped kids all around the world.
2009: The Start of Boys and Girls Club Programs
In 2008 we enrolled a 4th grader named Carlos, who was working at a kindergarten level, in our Academy School Program. His father’s boss, Jeff Henley, was paying his $38,000/yr tuition. Jeff would visit and comment with surprise at the progress Carlos was making. They, too, had taken Carlos ‘everywhere’ without results.
And, like Adam, Carlos had genuinely attentive parents, dedicated teachers, and a supporter who had searched for help since Carlos was five. They were looking for ‘a miracle’.
Jeff Henley is a member of the National Board of Boys and Girls Clubs of America and, as he saw Carlos’ success, he was hopeful that we could ‘re-tool’ some of our programs so they could be used in Boys and Girls Clubs.
We began with three students in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oxnard and Port Hueneme and, since then, have trained thousands of club members in processing, reading, and math. Club members have made amazing progress documented in research studies, California State Achievement (STAR) Test Improvement, parent, student, and staff evaluations.
As Jeff said, “We got the miracle!” for Carlos and now we were ready to launch new programs to help kids in Boys and Girls Clubs.
Since 2009, the dedication of the kids, their parents, and staff has helped us design, research, and launch new programs that benefit struggling learners. Boys and Girls Clubs of America has granted us the honor of being allowed to work in any of their 4000+ clubs.
2015: We closed our school and clinic. We continued working long-distance with private clients and running our Wordquest Reading program for Boys and Girls Club youth in Metro LA, Oxnard & Port Hueneme, La Habra, Silicon Valley, and Coachella Valley each year.
2018: For years, people had been asking me to write a book or create a program with the tools we use to help kids learn how to succeed. Finally, I made the time to get started. Hardy Learning is the program we created.
2023: Welcome to Hardy Learning. This year marks the expansion of our long distance learning program designed to help families with children who are struggling with a cost-effective, fast solution that dedicated parents can easily do at home with their children.
For your child: By looking at your child’s confidence, academics, learning skills, cognitive skills, and processing skills we develop a picture of where help is needed most so your child can start to experience all the joys that come with success.
For you: Your priorities and family schedule are at the forefront of our plan as we design a program that can be done at home to improve processing, cognitive, learning, and academic skills.
You will choose how much help you need from us.
You may choose:
- to work with your child yourself with our guidance
- to have a tutor, relative, or other supporting person help your child with our guidance and your oversight
- to enroll your child with one of our trainers to accomplish the learning goals
- or perhaps a mix of the above choices will best fit your needs
We will help you find the best way to help your child.
Our plan is to help you quickly identify the underlying causes of your child’s learning struggles and discover new possibilities for creating the success you’ve been searching for.
We are happy you found us and we are here to help you.
Wishing all the best for you and your child,
~Sherrie Hardy, MA, LCTC, MIMC