Welcome!

I help kids and families take the emotion out of homework and school success.  I’ve been tutoring for nearly 30 years now, plus I homeschooled my own four kids (3 graduates so far!) and taught at a hybrid school for 10 years.  I’m well schooled in the process of learning from many angles.  I’ve been really thinking about it lately though and what makes me unique is that I bring a breath of calm into this area.

If you choose me to work with your child, please know that my first priority is seeing them as a whole person who deserves to be met where they are and always respected.  I understand the importance of learning and why it matters so much to you as a parent, but I also understand the importance of being seen and heard from the student’s perspective.

My methods include working alongside the student in parallel, being very open to hearing that I have made a mistake in my work, finding ways to incorporate a bit of fun into work, and finding places where there are gaps in background knowledge we can fill in.  I can recommend additional practice, do side by side complete homework assignments, or just work through the handful of problems that were tricky.  My goal is to remove or reduce the barriers and roadblocks to make school easier, less emotional, and help the student see success as a possibility.  Also I love math.  And middle school boys are pretty entertaining.

Students and parents almost universally love working with me.  I am easy to work with, flexible, creative, and a good communicator.  And always, always emotionally calm, neutral-to-positive.  Several students that try and frustrate me to distract from doing work have commented that they are astounded I’m not getting mad.  It’s my superpower.  :)

I love, love, love difficult case tutoring—kids with learning disabilities, damage from a bad experience, gaps from changing schools (or simply covid), super busy overbooked high school kids, high achievers trying to get into ivy league schools, and low performers trying to pass and graduate.  I’ve been doing this long enough that I find challenges interesting and a breath of fresh air.

Elementary students:

I like to work with 3rd-5th graders for about 45 minutes a week.  I interpret the state standards from teacher bulletins and find additional practice to work on together that is consistent with current classwork.  The tricky thing in elementary school is that in many cases there is no homework and parents have nothing hands-on to work on.  I also recommend daily practice and can leave a homework protocol if desired.  Kids in this age group tend to have covid-related gaps in knowledge that make math difficult as they get into more complex topics in upper elementary.  I can help find and reduce the gaps.  It takes hard work and practice but also games and fun.

Middle school students:

Middle school (particularly for boys) tends to be the age when the wheels fall off.  They have a lot more to keep track of and some students get overwhelmed and behind.  I can look through their grade website with them, note any missing assignments, make a plan for how and when to make them up, and assist in emailing teachers with requests for grace, to unlock locked exams, and to arrange extra time before or after school.  I can also talk them through classes that are challenging and uncover reasons we can solve (seating issues, dress code issues, testing protocol issues, time restrictions, food timing…I’m sure there are many many more!).

Additionally I can do what I would call “regular” tutoring/homework help with this age group.  Many kids have their first experience with a hard math class in middle school and I can help with homework, teach concepts, and help review for tests.  I can also help with ELA, science, and history in this age group, nearly anything that is hard for them is in my wheelhouse in middle school.

High school students:

I offer “regular” tutoring for Algebra, Algebra 2, Geometry, Chemistry, Physics, and Pre-calculus.  I have a Calculus tutor I work with that can help with that as well.  I also can help with organization, teacher communication, keeping track of missing assignments, strategies for testing, parent/child communication help (in the area of school!).  I am happy to do zoom tutoring in this age group, or a hybrid approach based on need and scheduling.  I also answer occasional homework questions by text and help with finding resources for tricky topics (videos, graphics, handouts, etc).

Reach out and we can make a plan for getting the tears out of math and ending your dinner time arguments over school!