Homework Help: Lower Stress and Boost Performance With Foundation Learning

Carla earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from the University of Texas and has accumulated over a decade of teaching and tutoring experience, boasting several thousand success stories and counting. Her passion for teaching is rooted in her desire to support individuals and help them realize their dreams, emphasizing the importance of early intervention in the learning process. For Carla, elevating students, nurturing a lifelong love of learning, fostering a growth mindset, and instilling the confidence that achievement brings are all illuminating aspects of being an educator.

Specializing in English Language Arts (ELAR) and writing, Carla's commitment to student success is evident in her unwavering dedication. She believes that being a cheerleader for students requires energy and an unwavering desire to help others improve, even in challenging circumstances.

As a certified teacher with both classroom and online teaching experience, Carla’s teaching methods stand out. Fun is a serious component of her tutoring philosophy. She believes in removing strict rules and pressure from the learning process, allowing learners to enjoy and retain knowledge. Celebrating her learners' milestones, driven by hard work and surpassing their goals, brings her immense joy. Witnessing their confident strides into the next phase of their academic journey fulfills her, and she infinitely believes in the promise of every individual she supports.

Carla excels at surpassing students' expectations and accelerating their progress beyond traditional timelines. Her methodology is grounded in data-driven techniques, scientifically validated methods, and best practices. Understanding the impact of emotion on learning, she adopts a lively and engaging teaching approach, transforming lessons into enjoyable games, embracing mistakes with laughter, and sustaining a dynamic learning atmosphere. Confronting challenges head-on, Carla employs innovative solutions, providing words of wisdom and encouragement during difficulties, simplifying intricate concepts, and addressing mental barriers. Her classroom experience has sharpened her ability to keenly observe struggling learners, while her one-on-one interactions have equipped her with valuable insights into what it takes to keep students motivated. 

In her free time, Carla enjoys reconnecting with nature. She lives near the beach with her husband and dog, where they enjoy camping, fishing, dolphin watching, and taking pictures of the animals they encounter. She and her husband also volunteer with the National Park Service at the Padre Island National Seashore as part of a rescue and nesting program for the critically endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle.

Victoria holds a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University. As a first-generation college graduate, she understands students' challenges when navigating the admissions process. In her own experience, she was forced to find outside resources. Even in college, she networked to find alumni and professionals working in government to help her with job applications. Victoria completed approximately 100 informational interviews over four years, and now she wants to help students in the same place that she was in by becoming their guide and resource. Professionally, Victoria works at the US Department of State - Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

As a coach, Victoria’s teaching style is structured. She excels at helping students with ideas and an outline/plan without doing the work. Victoria likes to be a support system, encouraging people to do their best by being there for them when they need her and being a sounding board to make sure applicants are confident in the decisions they are making (i.e., ensuring that an essay topic is the right one, choosing what to put on a resume, etc.) 

Victoria is motivated by deadlines; she finds that having a set schedule and clear expectations helps students stay motivated, too. She considers herself Midwest-friendly. She is outgoing and always happy to help or be available when needed. Victoria is respectful, positive, and realistic. She is always looking for solutions to problems and sticking to a plan.

When she isn’t working, Victoria enjoys lifting weights, watching sports (basketball, baseball) and reality TV (Housewives, Selling Sunset, Vanderpump Rules, etc.), journaling, visiting museums, and trying new restaurants and coffee shops.

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.