Alyssa Coburn, one of our co-owners and an expert tutor, has tutored many students during her career with Nurturing Wisdom. During this time, she has seen how helpful our tutoring programs can be, especially when tutoring begins early enough to ensure that students have a good foundation of knowledge and study skills before they transition to a new school or grade level. Here, Alyssa shares two stories about working with transition-year students.
I started tutoring Joe in April of his ninth grade year. At that point he’d been struggling all year, and his grades showed it. During class he didn’t know how to take notes effectively. When he worked independently, he had a tough time with comprehension. Although Joe always completed his homework and turned it in on time, he didn’t know how to study and lacked other executive functioning skills. To develop these skills, we created graphic organizers, practiced flashcard cycling, and used front-loaded notes so that he could understand and study the curriculum.
Immediately after Joe started the tutoring program, his grades went up! We were both thrilled with his success. However, when it came to final exams, he was already so far behind that he had to re-learn a year’s worth of curriculum. Because of this, Joe was very stressed out by finals and didn’t experience as much success as he would’ve liked. If we’d started tutoring earlier in the school year, his finals prep would’ve consisted of reviewing information he’d already mastered. He would’ve felt much more confident, and his grades would have reflected his hard work and grasp of the concepts.
In comparison, I began tutoring Tom for executive functioning skill development in the middle of eighth grade. We worked on study skills, note taking, and tracking assignments. Because of our time together before he entered high school, Tom began ninth grade with a solid foundation of skills. We were then able to continue working on those skills in the context of his high school classes. The new curriculum challenged Tom, but we had plenty of time to adjust our strategies to fit his needs. Later on in the school year, his schedule filled up with extracurricular activities, and he had less time to study. However, Tom’s grades didn’t suffer because he knew how to use his time wisely and how to study effectively and efficiently.
Both Joe and Tom are hard-working students. The difference in their school experiences is due in large part to when they began tutoring. Make sure your child starts off the year prepared! Learn more about our one-to-one executive functioning and academic tutoring tutoring!
Kim has a bachelor’s degree in public administration from University of Arizona, a master’s degree in special education from University of Illinois at Chicago, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from American College of Education. She previously worked as a teacher for fourteen years, and as a tutoring director for Nurturing Wisdom—we’re excited to have her back on the team! Learn more about her below.
My favorite class in high school was…geometry (although I prefer algebra) because my teacher, Mr. Warwick, was organized and explained the concepts in an engaging and understandable manner. He made me feel confident when asking questions and was always open to teaching material in a variety of ways.
I loved UIC because…it allowed me to explore Chicago and meet incredible people while working in a variety of schools and educational programs. The Graduate College of Education had teachers that provided real world context and were very supportive to students’ individual goals.
On a day off, you’ll find me…at a sporting event for one of my four daughters, floating down the DuPage River, or at the dog park with my dog, Daisy.
What sets Nurturing Wisdom apart is… the individual care we take with the families we work with and the strong team behind each tutoring decision, including tutoring plans, curriculum, and tutor matches.
Sarah graduated from Marquette University with a bachelor’s degree in education and sociology, and she’s completed coursework in childhood literacy and museum studies. After nine years as a fifth grade teacher in Wauwatosa, Portland, and Chicago, Sarah initially joined NW as a tutor. Learn more about her below!
A tip I’d give to a student to make the most of tutoring would be… that you get out of it what you put into it. If you put in time and energy, and bring a positive attitude, you’ll achieve so much!
I loved Marquette University because… it put me on the path to teaching, introduced me to amazing, life-long friends, and made me fall in love with Milwaukee.
On a day off, you’ll find me… taking a long walk to a coffee shop, chatting with friends, or going on a bike ride and cooking while listening to my latest podcast obsession.
What sets Nurturing Wisdom apart is… that everyone on the team is a life-long learner at heart, and that we care about the whole student. Everyone is dedicated to getting to know families in order to find a great fit for students and tutors.
Shannon has a degree in marketing from Creighton University. After working in the business world for over five years, she decided to go back to school to get her master’s degree in elementary education from Quincy University. Learn more about her below!
My favorite book is… The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. This is an amazing book that made me want to travel and see more of the world.
My favorite subject in school was… history because I loved learning more about the world and how the past helped shape who we are today.
On a day off you’ll find me… hanging out with family and friends. In the summer, usually doing something fun outside.
What sets Nurturing Wisdom apart is… it’s team approach to tutoring as well as it’s individualized curriculum! Both the team approach and the curriculum make tutoring and learning more fun and efficient.