Learning Resource Center of Polk County Programs
PEP Education Center, 1628 Florida Ave S., Lakeland, FL 33803
About
Learning Resource Center of Polk County Programs offers 1-to-1 Tutoring, ACT Prep, SAT Prep, and a course called Study Habits of Successful Students. The programs also include Camp READY!, MidMath Camp, PEP Magical Reading Camp, PEP Super Summer Science Camp, a Summer Coding Workshop, and Super Summer Success.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Office hours Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. and Friday 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
• Price: LRC can offer grade-level assessments, such as the BASIS, for a small fee, requires four weeks of tutoring to be paid in advance before tutoring begins, and bases all fees on gross, annual, household income using a sliding-fee scale.
Tutoring may take place at public locations such as the Learning Resource Center, a library, a school with permission from the principal, a local business, or a church, and may not take place at the student’s home. The Learning Resource Center offers an individualized, customized approach to learning and uses activity-based lesson plans that include multisensory strategies for visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile learning styles. It offers countywide services to more than 3,500 students, ages 5 through adult, and does not require parents to sign a contractual agreement for a set number of instructional hours.
The Learning Resource Center of Polk County, Inc. was founded by the Junior League of Greater Lakeland, Inc. in 1975, was originally called the Learning Disabilities Center, and changed its name in 1977 as public school programs for students with learning disabilities grew and LRC expanded its services. Its mission is to help students maximize their learning potential by providing personalized educational programs, consultative services for parents, and programs to accommodate community needs. LRC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit United Way educational provider and is accredited by Cognia (AdvancED); in 2023, it received Cognia’s School of Distinction Award.
LRC has over 500 highly qualified educational professionals, including many tutors who are currently certified teachers, as well as retired teachers, substitute teachers, some paraprofessionals, college students in their last year of an education major, and tutors with expertise in specific subject areas such as upper level math and business/accounting. The 2024–2025 Executive Committee includes Jason Wyatt (President), Kevin Kelley (Vice President), Lydia Boyd (Secretary), Sara Oppenheimer (Treasurer), and Trey Harden (Past President), with additional members serving on the Board of Directors and Advisory Board. Staff members include Executive Director Pamela Craven, Ph.D., Director of Education and Program Manager Cathie Wright, Program Managers Beth Verplanck, Beverly Mansfield, and Emily Paul, Program Assistants Grace Vallier and Lynne Roberts, Bookkeeper Sherry Rambali, and Program Intern Summer Petrac.
Parents and caregivers have shared experiences with Camp READY!, Super Summer Success, tutoring, and SAT Prep, including comments that Camp READY! prepared children for kindergarten, that children enjoyed Super Summer Success over multiple summers, that weekly 1-to-1 tutoring allowed a student to ask questions and receive extra help, and that an SAT Prep class was followed by an increase in one student’s SAT super score from 1270 to 1510. Other testimonials describe children enjoying LRC summer camps, including online sessions with science experiments at home, and parents expressing satisfaction with student accomplishments and the quality and focus of LRC services.
Last updated February 12, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Office hours Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. and Friday 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
• Price: LRC can offer grade-level assessments, such as the BASIS, for a small fee, requires four weeks of tutoring to be paid in advance before tutoring begins, and bases all fees on gross, annual, household income using a sliding-fee scale.
Tutoring may take place at public locations such as the Learning Resource Center, a library, a school with permission from the principal, a local business, or a church, and may not take place at the student’s home. The Learning Resource Center offers an individualized, customized approach to learning and uses activity-based lesson plans that include multisensory strategies for visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile learning styles. It offers countywide services to more than 3,500 students, ages 5 through adult, and does not require parents to sign a contractual agreement for a set number of instructional hours.
The Learning Resource Center of Polk County, Inc. was founded by the Junior League of Greater Lakeland, Inc. in 1975, was originally called the Learning Disabilities Center, and changed its name in 1977 as public school programs for students with learning disabilities grew and LRC expanded its services. Its mission is to help students maximize their learning potential by providing personalized educational programs, consultative services for parents, and programs to accommodate community needs. LRC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit United Way educational provider and is accredited by Cognia (AdvancED); in 2023, it received Cognia’s School of Distinction Award.
LRC has over 500 highly qualified educational professionals, including many tutors who are currently certified teachers, as well as retired teachers, substitute teachers, some paraprofessionals, college students in their last year of an education major, and tutors with expertise in specific subject areas such as upper level math and business/accounting. The 2024–2025 Executive Committee includes Jason Wyatt (President), Kevin Kelley (Vice President), Lydia Boyd (Secretary), Sara Oppenheimer (Treasurer), and Trey Harden (Past President), with additional members serving on the Board of Directors and Advisory Board. Staff members include Executive Director Pamela Craven, Ph.D., Director of Education and Program Manager Cathie Wright, Program Managers Beth Verplanck, Beverly Mansfield, and Emily Paul, Program Assistants Grace Vallier and Lynne Roberts, Bookkeeper Sherry Rambali, and Program Intern Summer Petrac.
Parents and caregivers have shared experiences with Camp READY!, Super Summer Success, tutoring, and SAT Prep, including comments that Camp READY! prepared children for kindergarten, that children enjoyed Super Summer Success over multiple summers, that weekly 1-to-1 tutoring allowed a student to ask questions and receive extra help, and that an SAT Prep class was followed by an increase in one student’s SAT super score from 1270 to 1510. Other testimonials describe children enjoying LRC summer camps, including online sessions with science experiments at home, and parents expressing satisfaction with student accomplishments and the quality and focus of LRC services.
Last updated February 12, 2026.
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