Homework Help: Lower Stress and Boost Performance With Foundation Learning

Kevin earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, followed by a second Master’s degree from Northwestern University. He has over five years of experience as an educator and has served as an Admissions Counselor at Northwestern University and North Park University. Throughout the years, he has assisted over 600 students with their college applications.

As an admissions counselor, Kevin enjoys working with and guiding students through the application process. He was fortunate enough to have a sibling who went through the college application process before he attended college, but he knows that not every student is as lucky as he was. Kevin looks forward to assisting students through the process so they have the best chance of being accepted by their dream school! 

As a coach, Kevin is known for his empathy, understanding, and student-focused approach. His ability to stay calm in any situation, depth of knowledge, and reassuring affirmations ease students’ worries about their application. Kevin deeply cares about each student’s success and quickly builds rapport, creating a comfortable environment for sharing concerns and issues. Despite his friendly demeanor, he sets clear and concise goals and expectations to keep students on track.

One of Kevin’s greatest strengths as a coach is his ability to break down the application process into manageable pieces, empowering students to take ownership of their learning—a process he calls guided discovery. Through positive reinforcement and motivation, he ensures each student reaches their full potential.

In his free time, Kevin enjoys working out, reading, and completing puzzles. Some interesting facts about Kevin are that he learned to ice skate at only three years old and he met the President of Ireland and played with his dogs!

Matthew graduated from East Stroudsburg University but was also accepted to Penn State University. He boasts over 20 years of teaching experience. He currently works for the Berwick Area School District as an AP Physics and AP Capstone teacher. As a dedicated teacher, Matthew recognized the opportunity to extend his impact beyond the classroom to help even more students, which is why he started tutoring. He has been instrumental in guiding numerous students to realize their dreams, even facilitating admissions to esteemed institutions such as MIT, Columbia, UPenn, Carnegie Mellon, and more. 

Matthew's passion for tutoring is fueled by his enjoyment of one-on-one engagement with students and helping them acquire new skills. He finds immense satisfaction in assisting students in reaching their academic goals more efficiently than anticipated. He specializes in tutoring AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Mechanics, AP Electromagnetism, AP Research, High School Physics, and College Physics.

As a tutor, Matthew emphasizes a hands-on learning approach. He tries to provide each student with opportunities to experience the material that is being taught. Whether it be physical demonstrations, online simulations, or discussions about their observations in the physical world, he ensures that each student can relate to and remember their lessons. He also enjoys forming relationships with students and getting to know their strengths, weaknesses, and motivations, to provide them with the most comprehensive and tailored support. 

Matthew excels at keeping students engaged and interested. He views student success as a direct reflection of his own accomplishments as an instructor, which is why he incorporates innovative approaches into his lessons. He never lectures for more than 5 minutes a lesson and prioritizes student participation. Using conversation as a diagnostic tool, Matthew skillfully identifies gaps in the foundation, enabling students to build a deeper understanding. While he’s an expert in AP Physics and Capstone course content, he also possesses an in-depth understanding of their exams. Matthew even developed a specialized "recipe" to guide students toward qualifying scores and college credit. 

Beyond tutoring, Matthew enjoys spending time with his twin sons, coaching tennis, and playing golf. He is a strong advocate for exercise being just as important to one’s well-being as education.

James completed his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from the University of Iowa before also completing his Master’s degree in Journalism from the same institution. After working as a national and international news reporter for several years, he transitioned to full-time teaching, motivated by his passion for helping students achieve their academic goals. James has 21 years of teaching experience, including his current role as a Journalism and American Government Teacher at Chicago Public Schools. He also regularly conducts tutoring sessions and has tutored over 500 students.

For James, tutoring is a means to share his knowledge and help others succeed. He finds great satisfaction in witnessing the "lightbulb" moments students experience. He specializes in ACT and SAT tutoring, as well as US history, world history, American government, American literature, writing, journalism, and economics.

James' extensive teaching experience, deep subject knowledge, and empathy for today's youth distinguish him as a tutor. He is approachable, friendly, and entirely student-focused. He tailors his tutoring to each student's needs and emphasizes successful outcomes, often making uninteresting material engaging by drawing parallels with the real world and subject matter.

James excels at supporting students through learning blocks, drawing on their existing knowledge, and gently guiding them with strategic prompts, suggested skills, and relevant information to help them overcome the block or work around it.

In his free time, James enjoys gardening.