Here are some local tutors who have been recommended by moms, teachers and kids. Expect to pay $50 to $80 an hour for independent tutors, $80-$120 for tutors from companies (that higher rate usually gets you more formal training, guaranteed results, and/or accountability).
Capital Educators
“If you have dynamic instructors, students are much more apt to listen and engage.” Such is the philosophy of Wharton graduates and husband-and-wife team Phil and Deborah Pine. CapEd tutors offer small classes for students looking to improve their scores on the SAT, ACT, and SAT Subject Tests as well as college application assistance.
Turbo Tutoring
Two Westfield High School educators with 36 years of experience between them offer what they describe as “CliffsNotes of SAT prep”: one 2 ½-hour class to bone up on test-taking strategies before the big day. It’s $175 for one class, but students may retake the class (which is offered year-round) for free.
Kathy Essig, MEd
703-598-5036; essig.kg@gmail.com
The former director of learning support at the Potomac School in McLean, Essig is a “champion for really smart kids who don’t want to let the world down.” Essig specializes in helping kids hone their executive function skills.
Laurie Heuple, MEd, CAT
703-893-5686
A former public-school teacher and mom to two high school boys (both of whom have some form of dyslexia), Heuple specializes in helping students with dyslexia through a multisensory technique based on the Orton Gillingham Method. Students benefit from being able to pace their own sessions and phonetically based learning.
Matt Dershewitz
703-254-6431
In addition to starting Georgetown University Hospital’s free tutoring program, the 34-year-old former public-school teacher is currently earning his graduate degree in special education at George Mason University. Parents say he knows how to connect with kids of all ages and stages of learning.
Smarty Pants DC Tutoring
202-505-1340
Alison Ross and her team of highly credentialed tutors can help with subject-specific struggles, standardized-test prep, and the private- and public-school and college application processes. Ross’s passion is teaching writing, but she can design a curriculum that encompasses everything from full lesson planning to integrated tutoring and homework help.
Educational Connections
Former Fairfax County Public Schools teacher Ann Dolin is the doyenne of educational coaching. She draws upon her extensive knowledge of private and magnet schools in the area to match kids up with their best education path as well as a tutor to suit their needs. Tutors meet kids at home to work on study skills, subject-specific work, and test prep, from lower school through pre-college.
Studyworks
This nationwide SAT and ACT prep outfit has garnered a reputation for being “expensive but worth it” from parents and guidance counselors. They offer both in-person and online courses as well as a money-back guarantee.
