Award-Winning Reading Tutors
serving Phoenix, AZ

Philosophy texts are notoriously dense, full of layered arguments and abstract vocabulary — so after four years of parsing Kant and Aristotle at Arizona State, Rachelle developed reading strategies that transfer to virtually any subject. She breaks down active reading techniques like annotation, summarization, and inference-making so students can tackle challenging passages with confidence rather than frustration.

At the Kumon Math and Reading Center, Megan spent three years watching students at every level — from kids sounding out words to high schoolers dissecting novels — and learned to pinpoint exactly where comprehension breaks down. She teaches active reading strategies like annotation, inference-tracking, and identifying an author's purpose so that students stop passively scanning pages. An avid reader herself, she connects students with texts that build skill without killing curiosity.

Jared's background in Romance Languages means he learned to read across linguistic structures — parsing syntax in Spanish, French, or Italian where word order and idiom don't map neatly onto English. That cross-language habit of slowing down to decode how a sentence actually works carries directly into teaching English reading comprehension: he shows students how to trace an author's logic, unpack unfamiliar vocabulary from context, and recognize when a passage's meaning hinges on structure rather than individual words.

An avid reader who studied philosophy in both the U.S. and Argentina, Wallace tackles reading comprehension by teaching students to ask what an author is actually arguing — not just what the words say on the surface. He breaks down strategies for identifying main ideas, making inferences, and connecting passages to broader context.

A genetics PhD means Cameron has spent years extracting meaning from research papers where a single misread clause changes the entire conclusion — the kind of high-stakes, detail-oriented reading that builds real comprehension instincts. He brings that scientific reader's discipline to tutoring sessions, teaching students how to break a passage into its moving parts, track what the author is actually claiming, and separate key ideas from supporting detail.

Strong readers don't just decode words — they make inferences, track an author's argument, and distinguish main ideas from supporting details without slowing down. Teresa's psychology training sharpened her understanding of how comprehension actually works in the brain, which she uses to teach active reading strategies like annotation, summarization, and questioning the text.

I am currently in the process of applying to Law School. I have tutored middle school and high school students in subjects ranging from 5th grade reading to geometry to the SAT. While I am happy and able to tutor a number of subjects, I am most passionate about Test Prep because these scores are very important to students, and I enjoy helping them to conquer the test and succeed. My teaching philosophy can be described as a coaching style in which, like athletics, I believe learning the subject matter, good techniques, and constant practice are the best ways to achieving better scores.

I'm Liz! I'm so excited to help my students reach their academic goals. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Government and Performance and Communication Arts, and a Master's Degree in Chinese Politics. With a long academic career and lots of experience with standardized tests, I'm ready help prepare my students for their next steps and help them succeed and build confidence where they are now. I can't wait to meet you!

I'm a current medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine with undergraduate degrees from Washington and Lee in chemical engineering and anthropology. I have extensive experience in tutoring and teaching since 2010, and am ready to help you with your learning needs! I focus on standardized testing (SAT/ACT) and also tutor in a wide range of math, English, and Spanish classes. In my free time, I like to run, do CrossFit, volunteer, and watch TV!

I am a rising 2L working towards my law degree at Arizona State. I specialize in helping students with Reading and Writing skills. My focus is on creating study habits and techniques that are tailored towards a student's learning style and ability. I'm here to help students succeed in any way that I can by using my own academic experiences. Outside of the classroom, I love sports, hiking, and travel.

I am a third year medical student at Midwestern University (D.O.). I graduated from Arizona State University Summa Cum Laude with a double major in biology (B.S.) and psychology (B.S.) in addition to graduating from the honors college with a thesis on the effect of the urban heat island on hormonal regulation and development in black widow spiders. I am currently a tutor at Midwestern as well assisting first and second year students in their psychology, clinical medicine, osteopathic medicine, and pathology courses. I have also taught a course on medical ethics to first year medical students.

I am a fan of the "Pomodoro Technique," which uses a timer to split each half hour of the session into a 25 minute work period followed by a 5 minute break. The promise of a short respite helps students power through distractions, and the break helps ward off frustration.

I am looking at their work 'from the outside' and can therefore see where they have improved whereas the student might see their struggles more clearly than their progress. I also believe and emphasize that learning is an ongoing process, and academic skills don't come naturally to most people - they are skills which require practice over time. With a subject like Spanish, I try to relate to the student's struggles by talking about issues that I found difficult as well.

I am a senior at ASU, majoring in Applied Biological Sciences with a concentration in Secondary Education in Biology. After I graduate in December, I hope to work as a high school biology teacher. My passion for biology developed in high school and I want to pass that love on to today's high school students.

I am always looking for new approaches to benefit every student better.

I'm very passionate about helping students in their fundamental knowledge in the subjects I am qualified for and for standardized testing. Outside of school, I am also a volunteer ESL tutor for refugee kids!

I am teaching, all that matters is working together toward those goals. Watching my students grow empowers me to better myself and strive for personal growth. Tutoring has also taught me that teaching is not just utilitarian. We need teachers, certainly, and teachers serve the purpose of educating. But teachers can also be mentors. Some of the people I most respect and admire, most strive to emulate, most love, have been teachers and tutors. As a tutor I am invested not just in imparting information and understanding, but in my students' well-being and happiness. I look at students as every human deserves to be looked at: holistically.

I am currently attending the University of Houston in pursuit of a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in History. I have tutored students previously in history and mathematics (especially algebra). Along with history and mathematics I am also available to tutor Spanish I, Spanish II, Biology, and SAT/ACT prep! I really enjoy tutoring in history and math because many students find these subjects to be difficult. The feeling when a student finally understands a concept that they were previously having difficulty with is amazing, and I love seeing a student's face brighten up when they achieve this new understanding. As many students have different learning styles, I believe that it is important to create an individualized study plan for each student that best fits their method of learning and allows us to make the most of the tutoring experience. In my free time I thoroughly enjoy curling up with a good book. Currently, I have a list of 20 must read books that I am trying to work my way through. I worked as a barista for a long time and because of this another of my hobbies is to find new coffee shops that I can use as a new study spot or to simply read in. I have also recently begun practicing hot yoga, which I have found to be extremely relaxing!

I'm an architect and engineer working for Carhuff + Cueva Architects in Arizona. I attended the University of Pittsburgh where I studied civil engineering and architecture and I am originally from the Twin Cities, Minnesota.

I am a PhD student in Classics (Ancient Greek and Roman studies) at the University of Washington. I have been tutoring Latin since 2015 and was a 5th and 6th grade Latin teacher for Basis.Ed from 2016-2018. I love working one-on-one with students of all ages to improve Latin skills!

Hi! My name is Mr. Slaymaker! I am a former classroom teacher and college coach. I emphasize a supportive and encouraging environment to foster a sense of safety and comfort which I believe leads to learning success!

Strong reading comprehension is really about knowing what to do when a passage doesn't make sense on the first pass — how to identify a main claim, track an author's reasoning, and distinguish evidence from opinion. Catherine has taught reading to high schoolers, adult ESL learners, and SAT prep students, so she's seen every kind of reading struggle and knows which strategies unlock each one. Rated 4.9 by her students.

Struggling readers often skip over context clues and lose track of an author's argument across paragraphs — two habits Courtney specifically targets. She uses annotation strategies borrowed from how scientists read research papers: marking claims, identifying evidence, and summarizing sections in the margins. This active-reading approach builds comprehension skills that pay off in every subject, not just English.

The difference between reading words and actually comprehending a passage often comes down to a few specific skills: identifying the author's purpose, tracking argument structure, and making inferences from context clues. Jake's own 1580 SAT score came partly from mastering these techniques, and he applies the same close-reading strategies to everything from standardized test passages to assigned novels.

Strong readers don't just decode words — they track arguments, weigh evidence, and make inferences across paragraphs. John's background in law and history trained him to do exactly that with dense, complex texts, and he brings those same active-reading strategies to students working on comprehension, vocabulary in context, and critical analysis. Rated 5.0 across his sessions.

Psychology research trains a very specific kind of reading — the ability to move through dense methodology sections, pull key findings from results tables, and evaluate whether an author's conclusions actually follow from the data. Robert brings that analytical reading habit from his graduate work into tutoring, teaching students to interrogate a passage's structure and reasoning instead of passively absorbing words. It's an approach that clicks especially well for students ready to move past surface-level comprehension into deeper critical reading.

A history and economics double major at Northwestern who then survived three years of law school at Tulane, Andrew has spent most of his academic life buried in dense, argument-driven texts. That background means he teaches reading as an analytical exercise — pulling apart how a passage is structured, what the author assumes, and where the key claims actually live. Rated 4.9 by students.

Anthropology fieldwork and biology coursework handed Amanda two very different reading loads — ethnographies where meaning hides in cultural context, and lab papers where one misread variable wrecks an entire analysis. She teaches students to shift gears between those modes, recognizing when a text demands close literal attention versus when they need to read for implication and tone. Her 1550 SAT and 4.9 rating speak to how well that flexibility translates to any passage a student encounters.

I am here because I thoroughly enjoy working with students and watching them succeed in their academic studies. As a Mathematics major at the University of Arizona (currently a junior), I have extensive experience teaching and tutoring: I have been a teacher's assistant for a Calculus II section at my university and have spent a great deal of time assisting students with non-math related subjects as well such as English and essay-writing, time management and study skills techniques, and standardized test prep (SAT).

Pulling meaning from a dense passage comes down to knowing what to look for: how an author builds an argument, where the tone shifts, what's implied versus stated. Steven's background in literature and creative writing at ASU's Honors College trained him to dissect texts at the sentence level, a skill he now applies to reading comprehension across fiction, nonfiction, and standardized test passages.

Years of reading NASA technical documentation — mission specs for Galileo and Cassini, data analysis reports for the Hubble Space Telescope — trained Chris to extract critical information from material that punishes skimming. He brings that same disciplined, detail-oriented approach to reading sessions, teaching students how to slow down, identify what a passage is actually communicating, and separate key ideas from supporting noise. His 33 ACT confirms the strategy works across text types, not just scientific ones.

Most of Steven's tutoring subjects — accounting, business, statistics — require pulling specific numbers and meaning out of dense, detail-heavy text, which turns out to be exactly the skill that transfers to reading comprehension. He teaches students to approach a passage the way you'd approach a financial statement: identify what matters, ignore the filler, and make sure every conclusion traces back to something actually on the page. Rated 4.8 by students.

Neuroscience coursework at Trinity meant Lindsey spent four years reading research papers where misunderstanding one sentence could derail an entire experiment — a habit that trained her to read slowly, precisely, and with constant self-checking. She brings that same discipline to reading sessions, teaching students how to pause, restate what they just read in their own words, and catch the moments their comprehension starts to drift. Rated 5.0 by students.

Breaking a dense passage into its core argument, supporting evidence, and rhetorical moves is a skill Madeleine practiced constantly as both a math student parsing proofs and a TA leading text-based seminars at Barrett Honors College. She teaches students to read actively — annotating for structure, identifying an author's purpose, and distinguishing main ideas from supporting details — so they can tackle any passage with confidence.

Whether a student struggles with reading comprehension on standardized tests or with analyzing assigned texts for class, Lindsay breaks the process into concrete skills: identifying main ideas, tracking an author's argument across paragraphs, and distinguishing between what a passage states and what it implies. Her 35 ACT — which demands exactly these skills across every section — speaks to how deeply she understands strategic reading.

Fluency, vocabulary acquisition, and comprehension don't always develop at the same speed, and Jessica's education training taught her to diagnose exactly where a reader is getting stuck. She uses targeted strategies — context clues for unfamiliar words, prediction exercises for engagement, and summarization techniques for retention. Students come away not just reading more accurately but actually understanding and remembering what they've read.

Struggling readers often aren't missing vocabulary — they're missing strategies for tracking an argument or identifying what a passage is really doing. Spencer breaks reading comprehension into concrete skills: distinguishing main ideas from supporting details, recognizing tone shifts, and making inferences from context. His interdisciplinary background means he's comfortable working with texts from science, history, and literature equally.

Strong reading comprehension isn't just about understanding individual words — it's about tracking an author's argument, recognizing cause and effect, and making inferences from context clues. Alina builds these skills through active-reading strategies like annotation and summarization that transfer to every subject a student encounters.

Struggling readers often need someone who understands how comprehension develops — not just what to read, but how to read actively. Janna's human development degree from BYU and her ongoing PhD in developmental psychology give her concrete strategies for building vocabulary, improving fluency, and teaching students to monitor their own understanding as they go.