“We change the trajectory of students’ lives. There are many ways to do that. Yes, going from a C to an A grade in school, is changing their trajectory in one way, but I believe that when students feel good about their academics in school, they have a self-confidence that really can’t be imagined.”
Rasheed Haneef retired from the military, and then spent 20 years in corporate America. After that time, he was ready to do something new. His passion for serving children led him to open Tutor Doctor Charlotte Central.
About Tutor Doctor Charlotte Central
I retired from the military, and then I was in corporate America for another 20 years. I was getting to the point where I wanted to do something different or retire. As I talked with friends about my future, I realized I love helping children succeed, and that’s how I decided to start Tutor Doctor Central and South Charlotte. I thought if this was the last thing I do, as far as my career is concerned, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to do; supporting kids to improve academics and really give them a chance to have a more successful life.
We offer services from kindergarten to the university level. We could work with preschool students, elementary, middle school and beyond. We can go up to university in any subject, test prep included, so that could be SAT, ACT, GED, ASVAB, MCAT, etc.
We also facilitate coaching for students. We say the formula for academic success is academic knowledge plus academic discipline equals academic success. Many students have academic knowledge, but they may not have the discipline. They lack success because they can’t get things done or they can’t focus. They don’t set goals. They don’t prioritize. We have a coaching program that helps with that aspect as well.
We offer a few other specific programs as well. We work with athletic organizations to help student athletes looking to play sports in college. We have an Entrepreneurs Program, a financial literacy program, and a leadership program. We would love to bring those programs to any interested organizations. I think at the end of the day, to be successful, students need more than academic skills. We know employers are looking for durable skills like communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills as well.
A lot of students are struggling coming out of COVID. Right now, we are working with a lot of students who may have gone into COVID a little bit behind but, fell further behind coming out of COVID. We’re working on improving reading skills for a lot of elementary school students. Many of them are two to three grades behind in their reading levels. We’re working to help them have a chance to be successful and finish their academic career strong through high school.
What you can expect from Tutor Doctor
At Tutor Doctor, we try to understand the student’s personality so we can find the right tutor for them. If they can connect with their tutor, the students feel more engaged and usually get better results. We had this one student whose mother said she would not ask questions. If she didn’t understand something, she would not ask for help. I was able to match her with a tutor who she was able to connect with, and her mom was shocked to learn her daughter asked questions after the first session.
Parents will often say, ‘my son is not a math person.” I don’t necessarily agree with that statement. No one was born knowing math. To me, what they really mean is the student doesn’t understand the concept and is uncomfortable because he/she doesn’t feel like they know as much as the other students. Because of that feeling, they dislike math. It’s not about math. It’s about the feeling.
If Tutor Doctor had a celebrity spokesperson, who would it be?
Two come to mind. One is Jose Andres and the other is Sean Penn. The reason I think of them is that they both have done something tremendous for society. They really help people in dire situations. I feel like what we provide for individuals is vital as well. Academic success really can change the trajectory of a student’s life.
Last modified: November 10, 2023
