Advantage Learning Center

Depending on the situation, I usually start by looking at the student's previous work: homework, quizzes, papers, etc. If I'm doing SAT/ACT, SSAT, or other test prep, I might give the parent a diagnostic test to administer.  While the parent always alerts me to the academic problem, there is no substitute for a face-to-face conversation with the target student

BA, political science, Smith College, minor Italian. Member Phi Beta Kappa. also coursework in American & World history, art history, economics, French, English, psychology. Junior year in Italy, all courses, including history, taken in Italian.

MA, Italian studies, Smith College, in Italy. all courses in history, politics & literature, taken in Italian. Thesis on a political topic written in Italian.

Ph.D. International Relations/Political Science. Courses in European & Middle East politics & history as well as Arabic, French. Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Politics, World Politics, American Foreign Policy. Dissertation topic on Italian oil and gas trade with the Soviet Union and Algeria. Research conducted in English, Italian & French.

Other relevant education & Training:

Morocco fieldwork for Penn education project on literacy, working in French & Moroccan Arabic, 5 months

6 courses in secondary and middle school education & educational psychology

Orton-Gillingham Literacy training

Generally, our prices range from $40-80/hour, depending on the distance and the difficulty levels of the material. (more for AP, college or graduate level, adult learning, or emergency tutoring; some discount for two students taking the same lesson at the same time) 

I started teaching college political science in grad school at Penn. I taught part-time and full-time for 15 years at Penn, Ursinus, Rosemont, Lasalle, and other area schools. 

I started teaching SATs part-time for Kaplan and another agency, then opened my own business in 2001, working with high school and middle school students teaching the SAT, SSAT, IEEE, and many MS & HS courses, including college prep, honors & AP political science, history, English, & Italian. I have tutored MS and HS math many times, including upper elementary math, preAlgebra, Algebra 1 & 2, and geometry. I have done quite a bit of ESL (English as a second language) both online and in-person, mainly with Chinese students. I also tutor MS & HS French.

We've worked with students from 2th grade through adult and graduate school, gifted, honors, college prep, and to some extent special ed. I especially like working with upper elementary, middle, and high school students honing their math and English skills, especially grammar. Of course, I love teaching Italian and have one adult student right now.

I'm especially fond of the time I was hired to give French lessons to someone's mother, a widow in her early 70s. She had a "bucket list" which included learning French. The daughter gave me a decorated bucket with a French flag and goodies, and I showed up at the mother's door, complete with flashcards, pictures, and lots of conversation.  We had a blast that time and in subsequent lessons!

Then there were the 3 semesters I taught kiddie Italian to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders...But that's another story!

To get an accurate picture of a student's assignments due and grades, it's important that the parent and tutor have access to the text (online if possible) and/or any teacher portal such as websites or Naviance. If you're considering hiring a tutor, look at references, but there's no substitute for listening to how the tutor interacts with the child!

Students or their parents should think about motivation and commitment.  Why do they want or need a high SAT or SSAT score and what are they willing to do to achieve it?  If they don't want to do the math problems or aren't reading outside of school at least 2 hours a week, they might have a hard time getting above a 500 in either part of the new SAT or above a 22 on the ACT.