Dane: Sussex tutor

Certified Tutor

I am a former actuary currently getting teacher certified in PA so that I can become a high school math teacher. I graduated magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Albany with a B.S. in Actuarial Science and minors in both English and Computer Science. Additionally, I was a National Merit Scholarship winner after scoring 1560 on my SAT (800 math, 760 verbal).

I have several years of experience tutoring math and helping students prepare for standardized tests (SAT, ACT, and LSAT) with excellent results. I can comfortably handle the material from any high school mathematics course, from pre-algebra through Calculus B/C, as well as any material covered in the SAT, ACT, or LSAT. I can also handle the content of a wide variety of undergraduate math courses --- particularly probability and statistics, where Ive had great success helping students struggling with that material.

I am very good at establishing rapport with students and creating an environment in which they are comfortable asking questions and being honest with me when they are confused --- which is CRUCIAL to the success of any tutor. I also have multiple methods to present all mathematical topics, so I can nearly always find an approach that makes sense to students that have struggled with the "standard" mathematics presentation.

In addition to providing excellent academic lessons, I am also able to teach students quick and easy methods to evaluate the reasonableness of their answers and various methods to help them catch their arithmetic mistakes. Additionally, I do my best to ensure that my students have a conceptual understanding of whatever topic I'm presenting rather than simply teaching the process to solve a certain type of math question. Process-based instruction has its place and can be valuable in some cases, but that type of preparation generally does not enable students to handle question types that they haven't seen before.

Finally, I am a Director of the Daniel Boone Area School District School District and the Chair of the DBASD Curriculum & Instruction Committee, so I am confident that I am keeping up with the trends/challenges facing today's students.

I had a successful professional career, but it is now time for me to give back to the community in the best way am able: improving the achievement and self-confidence of PA students, our future leaders.