Hello!
I’m happy you’ve found my site! My name is Sarah and I’ve been tutoring math and physics for around 20 years now. If you’re looking for someone to help your middle or high school student with math or physics, you’ve come to the right place!
I’m a little different from your typical math tutor, so please read on to see if I might be a good fit for you!
“Sarah is AWESOME! She is an engaging and nurturing tutor for our two daughters. She challenges them and encourages them to be even better learners.”
My approach
I know that every person learns differently and has unique strengths and weaknesses, so I do something different with every student.
With some students I teach the material from the beginning or preview upcoming material; with others we work through their homework. For some we go over background material and I give homework. With some students we chat and joke around a lot, with others we're really quiet and focused on the material, whatever works best for them.
My aim is always to take the approach that works best for each individual student, with the overall goal of helping them learn the material, learn their own study methods that play to their strengths, and have a lot of fun in the process.
Overall, I see myself as a resource and a coach to help each student achieve their goals.
“Sarah is best tutor my son has ever had. We saw dramatic changes in his grade and his confidence. My son always thought he wasn’t smart and he has been going to tutors since he was 6 years old. We had gone to 5 other math tutors until we found Sarah. After a few sessions with Sarah he felt confident in math. In class my son started raising his hand with the answer and he started helping other kids understand the math. His teacher suggested that he take honors math next year. This is our 3rd year with Sarah and we are so grateful. I have recommended Sarah to many friends and they feel the same way. ”
What makes me different
I was a somewhat contrarian student. I didn’t like just being given equations, I wanted to understand them. In every math class I took, I would think a lot about what we were learning until it made sense to me. I would often solve problems in my own ways. Sure, it was a lot more work than just accepting all the information I was given, but now I not only know a lot of math, but also how most of it works and where it comes from. I like when students ask me questions, and when they don’t want to just be given formulas. (But I’m also always happy to give formulas!)
I know a ton of different ways to solve every problem, and I know the typical methods used by different schools. I also know which aspects of problems typically trip students up. I tailor every explanation to each individual student’s learning style, interests, and their particular school’s approach.
“My child was failing math and we went through several tutors with no results or improvement. Then we found Sarah… Our goal was to just pass the class, however, not only did my child pass the class, but with the top grade! I could not thank her enough for all the help she gave us! Highly recommended!!!”
Outcomes
I’ve seen a lot of really amazing outcomes.
I’ve seen students go from failing to getting perfect scores on tests.
I’ve seen students who were approaching physics problems completely by rote learn how to think critically and analyze complex problems.
I’ve seen students who were totally intimidated by math, feeling like they were bad at it, decide they wanted to be mathematicians.
I’ve seen students who had failed a class two or three times finally make it through. I’ve seen college students who need to pass that final math class in order to get their degree in something they love, make it through, graduate, and go on to their careers.
I’ve seen students who were making so many small mistakes they were failing test after test start acing them seemingly overnight.
I’ve seen students totally lost, unsure how to go about studying for a math class, streamline their study process and become incredible note takers who can analyze a concept and summarize the key information so that their notes are useful to them later.
I’ve seen students start doing extra practice on their own because they see how much it helps.
I’ve seen one student learn three years of math in less than a year, understanding it fully and making incredible gains in her critical thinking, through her own dedication and incredibly hard work.
The thing is that these outcomes don’t really come from me. They come from the student. I’m here to support them, to explain concepts, to coach them on their study processes, and to encourage them, but ultimately this is their project, I’m just here to give them tools and to help them believe it’s possible.
The other thing is that these outcomes often take time. Typically, I do a combination of teaching material, coaching on test-taking skills, and brainstorming with the student about their study process. I never just come in and tell a student what to do or how to study, because everybody is different, and I think the most empowering outcome is that the student develops their own study process. This means that, while often we see a lot of improvement right away, sometimes change and improvement can take a long time, possibly a few months or even a year. However, the end result is that the student has a really individualized, authentic process, and also has the experience of overcoming a challenge in their own way, not just an experience of someone coming in and telling them what to do.
“With Sarah’s support, math became fun for my previously math-aversive daughter, who raised her grades from low B’s to consistent A’s”
FAQs
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I know that this is often incredibly stressful for parents. If you’ve seen your child struggling and you’ve done so many things to help them, it can feel terrible.
It’s also scary because of the stakes involved. Grades are important for getting into college, and math itself is important for getting into a lot of majors and good careers.
I want to do everything I can to make this as stress-free as possible for you, too! I send email updates after every lesson to let you know how things are going, and I’m always happy to talk over the phone, too, to check in. It’s really helpful for me to hear all the background and what you’re noticing, too.
If it helps, I’ve learned over the years that while it can be incredibly stressful at the time, there are lots of ways for things to work out. If a student fails a math class, sometimes if they switch to a different class, teacher, or even take a break for a few months and come back to it later they find it’s suddenly easy and they do well. Or, if they stop putting pressure on themselves to get A’s and instead aim for B’s, they find they make slow, consistent progress and end up doing really well after a few months. I’ve noticed that often when we approach things with the goal of just having fun, getting through the homework, and making things as stress-free as possible without worrying about the outcome, we often make the quickest progress.
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We’ll make good use of whatever time we have, but here’s what I recommend, in general:
As-needed lessons:
If a student isn’t needing regular support but would like to occasionally meet to go over a concept in more depth or ask me questions before a test, we can absolutely do that. We can either do a full hour or even just a quick half-hour.
1 lesson per week:
This is a good basic schedule for students who are already doing pretty well in a class. We can usually cover a week’s worth of material in a 1-hour lesson. If a student just has occasional questions or would like a little more support in a class, this is a great option.
2 lessons per week:
If students are taking both math and physics, it generally works better to have one lesson for each class every week. 2 lessons per week is also ideal for students who are struggling, or who have background material to catch up on.
If we’re covering content that’s different than what’s covered in class (for example, if we’re reviewing fractions, percentages, and decimals) it’s best to have at least two lessons per week, just so that they’re getting some engagement with the material a few times a week, in addition to homework. This could absolutely be two half-hours per week.
3+ lessons per week:
For students who are taking multiple classes, or who are wanting to make a lot of progress quickly, or who have a lot of material they want to cover, or who struggle with doing homework on their own and temporarily want more support and to work through that together, three lessons per week can be really great. 4 lessons per week can be great over the summer, if they’re wanting to fill in gaps, get caught up, or work ahead.
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My rate is $100/hr.
All lessons are 1 hour long.
For cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice I charge half the cost of the lesson. For cancellations with less than an hour’s notice I charge the full cost of the lesson.
For payment, I accept Venmo, Zelle, or mailed check.
You can pay lesson-by-lesson or monthly. If you choose the monthly option, I send you an invoice at the beginning of the month. Payment is due by the first lesson of the month. Any unused lessons will be refunded or credited to the next month. Any extra lessons added will be billed in the next month’s invoice.
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I do give extra practice sometimes. It can be very helpful, but I’m very careful about what practice I give and how I give it. Because my primary goal is to empower the student, I never give them homework that they don’t want. This might sound strange. Who would want to do homework? Surprisingly, a lot of students! Sometimes they don’t have time, or they’re too disheartened, or it’s too stressful, but after we’ve made math into less of a terrible experience, lots of students ask me for extra practice. I only give practice that is specifically tailored to them. I try to give a small enough amount that it's effective but not arduous. I always give answer keys because for practice to be beneficial we need immediate feedback, otherwise we’re just reinforcing incorrect processes. I also only give practice on topics that we’ve gone over, again so that we’re not just reinforcing incorrect strategies.
Practice is great, but it’s extremely detrimental if I’m giving them homework they don’t want, because that reinforces the idea that math is something they hate and that they’re being forced to do. It’s also detrimental if the homework is another obligation on an already too-full plate. They don’t have time to do it, so it just sits there as something they feel guilty about that they haven’t done. Again, first and foremost we want math to be fun!
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If you’re interested in working with me, contact me on my contact page and let me know what you’re looking for.
From there, I usually like to schedule a thirty minute trial lesson, where the student and I go over something they’re currently working on, just to see if they like working with me and if it seems like a good fit.
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Algebra 1
Geometry
Algebra 2
Precalculus
Calculus
AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC
Physics
AP Physics 1
AP Physics 2
AP Physics C: Mechanics
AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism
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I meet with all students online, via Zoom.
For students who use OneNote, I create a shared OneNote with a new page for every meeting, so they always have access to the notes we take. They can also put questions in there any time between lessons, and I will also put as much extra practice in there as they’d like.
They’re also welcome to text or email me questions any time between lessons.
“We have worked with Sarah for over a year and have not ever found a better tutor. She is professional, knowledgeable and personable. Working with Sarah has given my daughter tremendous confidence and help where she needs it. I would highly recommend Sarah to anyone who is looking for a first rate tutor. ”
My qualifications
BS Physics, University of Washington
MA Cognition and Learning, Columbia University
20 Years Tutoring Experience
Full International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma
“Sarah has tutored our daughter in math for the past four years. She is engaging and supportive; creating an environment where our daughter always feels successful. Sarah is highly skilled and proficient, not only in her subject areas, but also in her ability to teach and help our daughter understand the content. She is easy to communicate with and flexible and responsive when it comes to scheduling/rescheduling sessions. Sarah has given our daughter confidence in a subject matter where she often struggles and has been a huge influence in our daughter’s continuing success in math. We are so lucky to have found her.”
Get in Touch
If you’d like to join my waitlist either for the current school year or for fall 2023, send me a message! I’d love to hear about what you’re looking for and what I can do to help.