Education & Classes in SeaTac

A Sikorsky 300C training helicopter and fleet of Cessna 172 airplanes lift new aviators into the air during Airwork LLC's flight-training classes for both commercial and private pilots. Experienced instructors lead introductory flights that combine on-the-ground lessons with assisted flies, allowing students to get their wings wet as they learn a new skill that may someday translate into a career as an aerial photographer, movie stuntman, or raincloud repairman. Students keep track of their progress toward licensure in pilot logbooks, and Airwork also maintains a comprehensive online-training library with important documents and handbooks for both helicopter and airplane training.

Sylvan Learning’s teachers work to help kids get ahead in school by constantly analyzing skills and monitoring process to keep lessons challenging and targeted to individual abilities. This personal tutoring approach generally begins with a Sylvan skills assessment, which is designed to reveal any trouble spots or the ability to stop a train if it is leaving town at 43 miles per hour. In tailored tutoring sessions, students focus on topics such as math, reading, writing, study skills, and algebra. Sylvan also issues regular progress reports, providing parents with a comprehensive look into their son's or daughter's ongoing sessions. Sylvan's hours are flexible, catered to the needs of its students and the height of the tides.

To Akiko Graham, good food is an art form worthy of as much reverence as those found in any gallery. Restaurateurs agree: her pottery graces tables at dozens of presentation-focused restaurants, from high-end sushi bars to outposts of Wolfgang Puck's empire. Having imported her artisanal talents from Japan to Seattle two decades ago, Akiko now works in a rustic, vine-covered cottage where she both throws clay atop the wheel and uses slab-building techniques.

The resulting flowerpots, vases, and tableware stand up to the demands of hot food, dishwashers, and ovens without their Japanese characters changing into curse words. Intimate classes stoke the fires of inspiration with patient one-on-one attention that results in a solid grasp of technique.

Mary White wants to make sure you never eat a pizza that tastes like cardboard again. After working for 20-plus years for TV and radio in Seattle, she understands the importance of convenient meals, and focuses on recipes that can be easily achieved with whatever is currently stocked in the pantry or fridge. She shares her tips during group cooking classes, and shares her recipes by posting them on her website and scrawling them in secret code on butter.

Since 1995, Best in Class Education Center's instructors have aided students of all ages—from pre-K tots to high school seniors—in their academic journeys. They calibrate small-group and private math and English lessons that push each student at an individualized pace, helping struggling students catch up to speed or edifying advanced pupils seeking more of a challenge. The tutors give homework assignments for the kids to work on throughout the week, as well as administer weekly tests to assess their progress.

In addition to boosting success in current classes, the staff helps older students ready themselves for post-secondary schooling with SAT prep classes and college admission workshops, which help applicants decide on the right place, craft an impressive personal statement, and shimmy into their dream school's mascot costume before campus visits.

Purchase, prepare, and polish off S.O.L.E. (sustainable, organic, local, and ethical) food at the local foodie soul of the city: the world-famous Pike Place Market. With today’s Groupon, $28 gets you a $45 two-hour ‘Lunch and Learn’ cooking class at Diane’s Market Kitchen, just four blocks south of the legendary market at 1101 Post Alley ($50 with tax included).