ORANGE PARK —  Since 1979, Sylvan Learning has continued to ingrain the importance of education in the minds of young students. 

And with more than 700 locations, they don’t plan to stop anytime soon - especially the local center in Orange Park.

Celebrating 40 years in the community, the impactful tutoring hub on Kingsley Avenue has a lot in store for the future. 

As a leading provider of personal learning for kindergarten through 12th-grade students, Sylvan prides itself in offering personalized tutoring assistance in reading, math, writing, science and study skills, along with SAT and ACT prep, among other things. They service more than 100 students in the area. 

“That’s what tutoring brings to the enrichment of the children who can use that and translate it into success in the classroom and be able to continue their education even after graduating high school,” said owner Rafael Urquiza.

Since acquiring the business and the center in North Jacksonville, Urquiza said he’s excited to continue leaving his mark. 

Being in executive management, Urquiza said he wanted his last venture to involve something sure to make a lasting impact, although he wasn’t exactly sure what it entailed. That was until he came across the Orange Park Center, which was for sale. 

With all three of his children going to Sylvan, Urquiza said he was familiar with just how impactful the program was on their lives. 

“During the time they went to Sylvan, I noticed an improvement in their grades, reading comprehension, and math skills,” Urquiza said.

Although he began researching other learning centers, he said every search led him back to Sylvan. So, he took a leap of faith and headed into a new passion for something big. 

“It made me feel really comfortable moving forward and buying the business,” Urquiza said. 

Picking up the torch from the past owners, Urquiza said he’s bringing a fresh, unique energy to the franchise. Venturing more into the digital marketing space, meeting with community leaders and attending school board meetings frequently, he hopes the center’s mission will reach even more extraordinary lengths. 

“I’m trying to make an impact in the community,” Urquiza said. 

The center has also continued to secure scholarships with the Step Up For Students program. He said that this year, Step Up is offering higher scholarships for reading, private school students, PEP students and children with unique abilities. The scholarships go to families of the center who require financial help, allowing them to use the funds for tutoring. 

 Additionally, Urquiza and his team have expanded the franchise to service those in lower-income pockets in the community who may not be able to travel to the center.

Urquiza said that the partnership has done massive work in opening doors and providing opportunities for success for many underserved families, particularly within minority communities. 

“It’s a true labor of love,” said Sylvan President Susan Valverde. “It’s running a mission-driven business that makes a meaningful impact on kids' lives. And it also provides a super valuable service to the community. 

Valverde and Urquiza said that celebrating the center’s 40-year staple in the community directly reflects all the work they have accomplished. 

And there's more for the future.

Urquiza said that Sylvan will soon start contract work with local schools. Additionally, Valverde said the company is revolutionizing and revamping some of its instruction strategies under their new ownership of Unleashed Brands, a youth enrichment platform. They are hoping to yield even more outstanding results from the company.

“We’re trying to figure out how to leverage the latest and greatest things in education, such as AI that everyone's talking about,” she said. “But, we’re very firmly grounded in the fact that great teachers inspire learning, so we don't plan on removing the teacher from the equation.” 

For Urquiza, he’s ready for what’s to come at the Orange Park Center. He also can’t want to bring the business around full circle by keeping it in the family. 

“I hope it’s around for 40 more years,” Urquiza said. “I won’t necessarily be the one running it 40 years from now, but the goal is for one of my children to take the reins from me to continue.”

For Sylvan Learning, servicing communities and bringing confidence back into the classroom will always remain at the forefront of the brand. 

“For the first 45 years that we’ve had success, we have an opportunity to honor that legacy and to reinvigorate, and also revolutionize, the way we do things going forward in a more innovative way,” Valverde said.