Before We Work Together

Three kinds of student find their way here. A capable student in a demanding course — AP calculus, physics, chemistry, computer science — carrying a grade that should be higher. A student headed for engineering, medicine or business who needs the thinking to hold when the load gets heavy. And the bright student whose ability and grades tell two different stories. The common thread is not a diagnosis. It is a thinking problem, and thinking is what the system works on — using the student’s own coursework, one set of problems between sessions, and a report to you that evening.

The fit call is where we discuss your student’s goals, willingness to participate, and the support that would help them engage. This is less likely to fit a family looking for answer checking, a nightly enforcer, or a one-off cram session.

Most tutoring is answer rescue: the problem gets solved and nothing underneath it changes. I ask far more questions than I answer. I want the student reasoning out loud — talk me through it, what are you thinking — because a right answer with no why is the gap the exam finds, and the only way to see the model a student is using is to hear it. Then the session produces a set of problems built from where the work got hard, the same idea with the shape changed, and what comes back gets graded. One person does all of it, so nothing is lost between handoffs. There is no secret. It’s smart work — what the research calls deliberate practice: work aimed at what is not yet mastered, with feedback on the next attempt. See how the week works.

It should not. One set of problems per session, built from that session, nothing brought in from outside — it replaces flailing, it does not add to it. A student already carrying six courses does not need more work; they need the right twenty minutes on the thing that did not land. If there is genuinely no room in the week for one set, this is the wrong year for it, and I will say so on the fit call.

They do not need to arrive confident or enthusiastic about tutoring. They do need to be willing to attend, participate, and meet me partway. I start by listening and finding a point of genuine interest rather than forcing a routine onto them. Students are welcome and encouraged to join the fit call so they can meet the person they would actually be working with. The one thing I cannot supply is the wanting. If a student remains unwilling to participate, I will say honestly that this is unlikely to help.

The current practice is built for grades 6–12, with my deepest work in high school. I teach AP and honors courses across calculus, pre-calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, statistics, economics, and business with personal finance. Some stories on the Outcomes page come from earlier work outside the current grade range; they show my teaching history, not current enrollment criteria. Review the AP and honors subjects.

No. A gifted, 2e, ADHD, or autism diagnosis is not required, and I do not diagnose or treat. I want to understand how your student learns, where the friction appears, and what you have already tried. If I believe an evaluation or clinical support would be useful, I will say so plainly. Learn more about my approach to 2e students.

We work on something the class actually assigned — the problem set due Thursday, the quiz that went sideways — because that is what the student has to move forward on anyway, and now they have help. I ask far more questions than I answer: what are you thinking, why that step, if you had to guess. The student reasons out loud. That is how a gap becomes visible, and a gap is more often a right answer with no why than a wrong answer. We fix the model, not the problem, and I explain in plain English at the level the student is at, not in vocabulary they do not have yet.

Before: what your student is working on arrives about a day ahead, and I build the session on it. Before the first session, I read everything you have — quizzes, exams, homework.

That evening: a worked guide to your student of every problem we solved, typeset, and a written summary to you of what we tackled, where your student stands, and what comes next, written against the session transcript rather than from memory.

Between sessions: one set of problems built from where the work got hard, with the solutions in the back. What your student finishes comes back graded, every problem.

Next time: I read the transcript again and prepare the next session from it. Read a real summary, names changed.

I prepare the sessions, explain the ideas, build the practice, and grade what comes back. Your student brings the class materials, works through the practice, and sends back what they finish. You support the follow-through at home. The guide gives your student something to study; the evening report gives you a clear account of the work and what comes next.

Think of a personal trainer. You hire one for the roadmap, the knowledge, and someone in your corner — not to do the work for you, and not to make you do it. I give the set, I grade it, and I say why it matters; I am not an enforcer, and I am not a parent. The follow-through at home is yours. What I do not provide is daily reminders, homework monitoring, or a plan run for the student by adults. You see the work anyway: the summary that evening says what was set and what came back.

They can, but remote work is not automatically right for every student. Sessions run one-to-one on Zoom, with shared materials and the student’s own paper or tablet when useful. The fit call helps us judge whether the student can remain present enough in that setting for the work to be productive. If I do not think remote sessions will serve them well, I will say so.

The reasoning changes first: the student can say why a step is right, not only do it. That is the model changing, and it shows in the returned set before it shows in the grade. The grade follows, and it follows faster the more of the set comes back. Results vary; the work between sessions is what they track.

No. I do not promise a particular grade or AP score, and I would not trust anyone who does. I prepare each session, build practice from what your student has not yet mastered, and grade what comes back. You see what is changing and what needs more work. Practice between sessions matters to the result.

We look for movement in the goals that brought you here and in the student’s ability to carry more of the work themselves. The summary after every session and the graded sets give us something concrete to read, and the semester conversation lets us step back from individual assignments. Progress should be visible in the reasoning, the execution, the confidence, or the engagement — not assumed because sessions are continuing.

If progress stalls, we name it directly. We adjust when adjustment makes sense. If the engagement is no longer useful, the original need has changed, or another kind of support would serve the student better, I will tell you plainly. There is no contract or minimum term keeping a family in place.

The Outcomes page includes family testimonials and individual examples. They show what has been possible in prior one-to-one work, not what any particular student is guaranteed to achieve. A real session summary, names changed, is on the How It Works page, and the worked-guide library shows the standard of the work itself.

Engagements start at $750 every four weeks. One 50-minute session each week, with preparation, the evening guide and parent report, and one practice set per session, graded when your student returns it.

The starting fee is the same across subjects, including AP courses. A twice-weekly cadence is available; the scope and exact fee are agreed before you begin.

Billing is every four weeks, rather than by calendar month. Proposals and invoices identify the service period and session dates they cover. No contract or minimum term.

We begin with a consistent weekly or twice-weekly time. With at least 24 hours’ notice, I make a best effort to move a session within the same week. I keep limited overflow availability—often on Sunday afternoons—for enrolled students, but a replacement time cannot be guaranteed. Cancellations inside 24 hours and missed sessions are generally forfeited.

Tell me about school breaks, holidays, or travel as soon as you know. A session affected by a planned absence can be banked and rescheduled by agreement. We first look for another time in the same week, including Sunday when available; if that is not possible, we find a later date. Flexibility works best when both sides share schedule changes early.

Existing students may also request an additional session for a test, project, or unusually difficult week. Those requests are best effort and depend on available space.

Taking a few more students for fall 2026. I keep the practice deliberately small so I can prepare for and review each student’s work personally. If capacity is available and the fit is right, we choose a cadence after the fit call. If the practice is full—or I do not think I am the right person—I will tell you directly. Start with a private note.

No. I am a teacher and mentor, not a therapist. I do not evaluate, diagnose, or provide clinical treatment. I bring the academic seat at the table, and I will say plainly when I believe a family needs support outside my role.

When a psychologist, evaluator, therapist, educational consultant, or other professional refers a family, I can stay in contact with the family’s permission. I provide high-level progress updates—what we are working on, what is moving, and what is not—so the professional knows the referral is in good hands. Detailed or sensitive information remains for the student and family to decide whether to share.

Yes. Sessions are recorded in Zoom, which stores the video in my account and produces a transcript. I store transcripts in a private Google account controlled by me; I am the only person in the practice with access to that account.

I use transcript text and related student-record information to prepare parent summaries, create guide material for students, plan future sessions, review my own teaching, and organize each student’s ongoing record. Paid AI services may process that text and information in support of the work. I use paid accounts and opt out of having this data used to train the providers’ models. Technology supports my judgment; it does not replace it. I do not sell or rent session recordings, transcripts, or student information. Read the full Privacy Policy.

Students need room to speak candidly without feeling that every passing frustration will become a parent report. Ordinary venting or personal comments that I do not believe are material to the student’s well-being or academic situation generally stay between us. If I believe something is materially consequential to either, I bring it to a parent or guardian’s attention. This is an educational relationship, not therapist-client confidentiality, and we make that boundary clear at kickoff.

Parents still receive meaningful academic visibility through the after-session summary, the graded sets, the worked guides, and a conversation when an important concern cannot wait.

The system is built around ongoing sessions, the preparation before each one, the set between, and the second read after. It does not include night-before text support or one-off cram sessions. Enrolled students can request an additional session, which I accommodate on a best-effort basis when space allows.