A Letter From Your Instructor

I’ve been doing this a long time.

I mostly work with families now, but when I started I volunteered as a mentor in a juvenile detention center in central Virginia. I’d go in once a week and spend the day there working with kids who had been locked up for months, sometimes for years, and were working towards their GED. This was a group of ten or so kids of totally different ages, in different places in their education, with behavioral problems and learning disorders and disabilities. It was my job to guide them towards getting that diploma.

At first, I had a lot of trouble with it. I would show up and try to review math concepts or make them read books, and that never worked. They just weren’t interested. It’s because of who they were and where they were:

They thought that the work wasn’t worth doing or that they weren’t capable of doing it.

I had to step back and rework my entire approach: my job wasn’t to teach them math, but to teach them that math was worth learning and that they could learn it.

That transformed my entire approach to education. Sure, I can teach the content, but that’s only part of my job.

My job is to teach students that they can learn something and that they should learn something.


I learned how to do this in probably the hardest place to do it: in juvie, where the kids are literally there against their will. So I had to get good at that kind of inspiration, and I’ve carried that expertise and that lesson with me into the rest of my career.

So if your child believes, because of their learning differences or their personal history or for whatever other reason, that they can’t learn something or that it’s not worth learning, I can help.

I’ve seen it before, and I have built confidence and mastery in students with learning differences just like that.

My Philosophy of Education

For ten years, I’ve been providing support, mentorship, and guidance for those kids who fall through the cracks.

My mission is to provide world-class support for anyone who has been left out of or left behind in a traditional classroom.

My Qualifications

  • Nine years of one-on-one tutoring experience.

  • Currently studying for a Master’s of Education from Villanova University (expected graduation date 2024).

  • B.A. in Storytelling from the College of William and Mary, where I also minored in Computer Science and Religious Studies.

  • Nearly five years at Inspirica, a New York based private tutoring firm that has provided exceptional tutoring to select clientele for nearly 40 years–first as a full-time test prep tutor, then as the Education Technology Manager.

Before I was a tutor, I...

  • Scored in the 99th percentile on the GRE, using the same study methods I now teach my students.

  • Attended William & Mary as one of four 1693 Murray Scholars in my class of about 1,800 (a full-ride academic scholarship).

  • Scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT, though I didn’t yet know why my method worked.

  • Attended the Loudoun County Academy of Science, a competitive STEM magnet school in Northern Virginia.

Meet the Rest of the Team

Juan Fernandez

Verbal Specialist


Juan Pablo Fernandez is a Cuban-born German and American citizen with backgrounds in refugee protection and inclusion, communications, capacity building, and linguistics. His academic journey began with a BA in Comparative Politics from Columbia University in New York, followed by a Masters in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action from Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs. Fluent in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, he also has professional working knowledge of Arabic and German, and has contributed to several academic journals in the field of international relations.

Professionally, Juan has previously worked for organizations such as UNHCR, the OECD, and other international NGOs. In terms of pedagogy, he also has experience as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Brazil and as lead instructor in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s college preparation programs. In these capacities, he has worked with and for students across various academic levels, especially with regards to education programming and personalized teaching methodologies.

Additionally, Juan served as a mentor for children at Shake-a-Leg Miami, an organization leveraging the marine environment to enhance the well-being, education, and independence of children and adults facing physical, developmental, and economic challenges.

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