City of Rochester
News Release
(Monday, Sept 12, 2011) — Deputy Mayor Leonard E. Redon, City Council President Lovely A. Warren and Neighborhood and Business Development Commissioner R. Carlos Carballada joined President and CEO, Dr. Jerome Watts today to celebrate the grand opening of Watts Academic Tutoring and Teaching Services at 195 St. Paul St. in downtown Rochester.
WATTS, Inc. has opened tutoring centers in Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo to assist districts and charter schools in improving teaching and learning by offering a strong academic before- and after-school tutoring programs. The WATTS mission is to assist districts and charter schools in improving their promotional rates and high school graduation rates.
“As a community, we are failing every student who does not graduate high school,” said Deputy Mayor Redon. “Together, we all need to develop new strategies to ensure that youth can grasp the fundamentals they need to be successful. Dr. Watts’ approach of helping both students and school teachers can help bring Rochester to a new level of academic excellence.”
WATTS, Inc. is an approved Supplemental Educational Service (SES) provider for educational tutoring for K-12 students in the Rochester City School District and surrounding Monroe County areas. The SES approval allows parents to choose Watts Academic Tutoring and Teaching Services for their child. WATTS, Inc. also offers professional development services for teachers.
WATTS, Inc provides each student with an “office area” (set up with partitions) where they will use a computer-based program called A+ Learning System to enhance learning.
“I started the WATTS service because my passion is to improve the educational and future outcome of students in New York State and across the nation,” said Dr. Watts. “By opening the centers, WATTS, Inc. can make a larger impact and offer supplement services to districts and charter schools, which will improve the future outcomes of many students.”
Dr. Watts is also President of Watts Education, an organization created to help districts and charter schools improve the graduation rates of all students. Watts has a B.S. in Elementary Education from Buffalo State College, a M.S. in Educational Administration from SUNY Brockport and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration. In 2010, Dr. Watts earned his doctoral degree at St. John Fisher College, focusing on educational resilience with a focus on urban African-American males who re-enroll and complete their high school diploma or GED.
Dr. Watts’ 18-year career in education and administration includes being a principal, director of alternative education, assistant principal and elementary teacher in urban, suburban and rural districts. Watts spent the majority of his experience in the Rochester City School District where he led Josh M. Lofton Academy.
Dr. Watts has invested $250,000 in opening the Rochester site. The funds were used for building improvements, computers, partitions, furniture and supplies. The three year plan includes hiring eight full-time and 15 part-time teachers. WATTS, Inc. will hire certified administrators and teachers as tutors for the program, hoping to assist some of those who lost their jobs due to cuts in local school budgets. Watts will also hire a marketing director, secretaries and van drivers.
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News Media: For more information, contact Dr. Jerome Watts at 259-9604.