Please note: Parents' reviews of tutors are the opinions of Berkeley Parents Net subscribers. Your own experience may be different. Announcements from tutors are accepted without review as a service to local parents. Please always check references before hiring!

Writing enrichment for middle school students

I am part of a group of parents whose Piedmont middle school students need some writing enrichment - not remedial help. These students are all good students, exceptionally strong in math. Does anyone have a recommendation for a writing/research tutor who would be good for working with a group (4-6) of eight graders? I have checked the archives and didn't see anyone who seemed specifically appropriate. Thanks! Mom

Parents' recommendations

Jun 03 2006

My 12 year old daughter has thrived with private tutoring 
with Grey Matter.  I was fighting with my daughter over 
homework and destroying our relationship. John Chang at 
Grey Matters gave my daughter the extra edge she needed to 
excel in school and I am less anxious. He has flexible 
hours and a previous teacher. He come to your house(510) 
913-1662  
william

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May 17 2006

Adina Lepp has been tutoring our 9th grade son this semester. I highly 
recommend her. She is responsible and articulate and has helped enormously 
in keeping him focused and enthusiastic about his writing projects. I'd be 
happy to answer any questions you might have.

Adina is a sophomore English major (emphasis on creative writing) at Mills 
College. She volunteers at BHS as a writing coach and has been trained 
with 
the Writer Coach Connection program. She writes fiction. She is available 
for 
academic and creative tutoring, manuscript editing and nanny work, and is 
available now. You can reach her at adina.lepp[at]gmail.com to discuss 
specifics. 
Kathy 

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April 2006

my son's reading tutor has an opening on mondays from 5PM to 6PM.  if your child 
has any type of reading challenge, don't delay!  statistics show that if your 
child is behind by third grade, he or she will only fall further behind by ninth 
grade unless there is some intervention.  teachers don't have enough time to 
devote to one-on-one instruction/attention. 
we have been working with lisa glicksman for 2 months now.  from the very first 
session, she had my son's rapt attention and interest.  she'll come to your home.  
she provides all of the materials.  she engages the child with fun and 
interesting games and activities.  most importantly, they are making progress 
with reading fluency and comprehension.  my daughter is asking for lisa to be her 
tutor even though her reading abilities are above benchmark!

lisa can be reached at 595-8799 or lisa[at]glixart.com (email updated 9/16/06)


Suzie

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Dec 07 2005

I can recommend the following reading tutors who were with 
Reading Revolution in Oakland. My daughter personally 
worked with Georgia Morrow who is a dream of a tutor. 
Personable, professional, fun, and engaging. 

Georgia Morrow
Berkeley
510/644-3220    Morrows2[at]earthlink.net 
Credentialed teacher. Reading and writing. Pre-school 
through adult. Training in Reading Revolution and 
traditional phonics. 

Nancy Van Zwalenburg
Berkeley
510/548-4867    nancy[at]rb68.com
Credentialed teacher. Reading and lower level math. 1st 
grade – high school. Trained in Reading Revolution and 
Making Math Real techniques. 

Lisa Glicksman 
Oakland 
(510) 595-8799   lisa[at]glixart.com (email updated 9/16/06)
Tutors reading and art. 1st grade through adult. Trained in 
both Reading Revolution and traditional phonics.

Betty Ann Taylor
Oakland
(510) 763-8571   Btytalr49[at]yahoo.com
Reading, writing, elementary math, social studies, science. 
Pre-school through adult. 

Sharon 

My son had a great experience with writing tutor Kevin Arnold. We learned of him through Parents of Teens site. Kevin is young, a former Berkeley High Independent Studies teacher, is skilled and knowledgeable, and tutors with an easy-going style. He connected well with my son who gained much from Kevin's help in just a few months, his already accomplished writing improving in both organization and mechanics. Kevin tutors as a writing tutor, a homework coach, college paper research advisor, and college app essays coach. ''Kevin Arnold'' kevinarnold2004 AT yahoo.com 510.655.6612
Miles

5th Grade Boy Needs Writing Mentor

Our 5th grade (11 year old) son needs some extra help with his writing skills. He has excellent reading comprehension, good handwriting and ok spelling. He seems to understand the use of notetaking, webs, and checklists before embarking on an essay, but it often doesn't progress beyond that. He can orally express complete and sequencial thoughts (with some prompting) but has difficulty ''remembering what he said'' when it comes to writing it all out. We're looking for writing specialist/mentor since we believe a personal connection would facilitate the learning. Our son is into skateboarding, swimming, skiing and baseball as well as non-violent video games. Can anyone recommend where to look? Thanks. LESLIE

More parent recommendations

I'd like to post my recommendation for Kristan Willits, whose tutoring services I sought for my child after reading positive reports at the Parents Network website. My 7th grade son has a learning disability in written expression, which means that learning to express himself in writing in the traditional way taught in the classroom doesn't always work for him. Any writing assignment had potential for bringing on a meltdown at home and worse, my son was losing confidence. Kristan was able to break down the writing process in a way that made sense to him. With her help, he now has many strategies to use and his confidence has been restored. Kristan also welcomed my input and gave me good feedback and helpful ideas for helping my son at home. I have no doubt that Kristan's patient, supportive style and ability to tailor strategies to the individual would work for students of all different needs and abilities. She can be reached at The Socratic Method, 510/540-9562. Signed, Pleased Parent

Tutor for struggling readers
For anyone who is looking for a tutor for a child who is dyslexic or struggling with reading, I would like to recommend a friend who does Orton-Gillingham (multisensory) and also Lindamood-Bell tutoring in reading and spelling. She is an experienced tutor and is presently working toward full certification in the specialty. I am not personally familiar with the techniques she uses, but she spends a lot of time with me and my twins and I can speak for how good she is with children. I can also say she is intelligent, serious about teaching, and very, very patient. You can contact me at Kensington at california.com. Or you can contact her directly at tutorJS at yahoo.com.
Thank you,
Susan kensington at california.com

I would like to recommend Matt Eggers as a great reading/writing tutor and as a homework coach. Matt has been working with my son, who used to resist any help, and after a few months I'm very impressed with his results. You can reach Matt at 415-206-1856. Silvia

I would like to recommend Melissa Levine as a tutor. She has a B.A. from Yale and an M.A. from Washington University in St.Louis. Extensive experience teaching and tutoring reading, writing, grammar, and literature at all levels--elementary through college. (She's a published writer and journalist, too.) Can also tutor Spanish and French at the elementary and junior high levels. $50/hr. Call at 510-666-9068 or email at mlevine at mindspring.com. Christy

To the person looking for a writing tutor or a summer writing class, please contact Becky Gross. Her phone number is 510-849-4877. She is quite wonderful and really gets teens writing! PS My son also thinks she is terrific. Lynne
(updated May 2003)

My daughter is a Senior in the BHS Independent Studies program. She has an excellent English teacher, Sara McMickle, who will be offering summer tutoring in Essay Writing, Literature, Grammar, and SAT preparation. Sara is an wonderful teacher and can be reached at 644-4500, ext. 3631.
Jeffrey