Award-Winning Elementary School Reading Tutors
serving Kennewick, WA

I am a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a Masters degree in Education and have been an Elementary and Middle School educator for over thirty years. I have worked with students in the inner city, suburbs, Appalachia, and Deep South. I love teaching and children, and have discovered my passion in tutoring students who are struggling in Reading and Math. I have taught children with learning disabilities to read, and coached students with dyscalculia in math and reading. I worked as a principal for the past eight years, so was working with students from Pre-K to 8th grade, coaching teachers, analyzing data, and tutoring individual students in math and reading. I have worked as a national park ranger in the past, so social studies and history are areas of strength. Students that I teach respond well to my teaching style and enjoy working with me. I believe that education is extremely important for children's futures and do everything that I can to help them be successful.

Early reading clicks when a child starts connecting sounds to letters and letters to meaning — and that progression needs to feel like discovery, not drill. Helen teaches phonics, sight word recognition, and basic comprehension strategies by weaving them into stories kids actually want to read. Her science background also means she's great at introducing nonfiction texts about animals, weather, and the human body to spark curiosity.

Getting an early reader to move from decoding words to actually understanding a story is a specific skill, and Marie's English background gives her a deep toolkit for it. She breaks down reading into manageable pieces — phonics patterns, context clues, making predictions — so that kids build real confidence with every book they pick up.

Early reading confidence comes from cracking the code — phonics, sight words, and fluency — but it sticks when a kid actually enjoys the story. Angela pairs foundational decoding skills with read-aloud strategies and comprehension questions that keep young readers curious about what happens next. Her experience working with K-12 students means she adjusts pacing and difficulty on the fly.

Before a child can analyze what they read, they need to feel comfortable with the basics: decoding unfamiliar words, retelling what happened, and connecting a story to their own experience. Tsering's tutoring experience across elementary grade levels means she knows how to match reading strategies to where a student actually is in that progression.

Update: I completed a two-month full-time guest teacher assignment teaching World Languages Spanish to high school students (9th-12th) Spanish 1/2/3. By utilizing a student-centered learning approach, cultural competence, and equitable teaching, I support students with pedagogy rooted in inquiry, hypothesis, information gathering, problem-solving, and action. I encourage all students to adopt an open-minded approach, and provide support to gifted students, students with disabilities, English Language Learners, and Multilanguage Learners with equity. "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." James Baldwin I am in my second year of grad school, pursuing a dual master's degree in K-8 Elementary Education and K-12 Special Education (Mild to Moderate Disabilities). With my education grad studies and BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), I synthesize creativity and best practices in education to find creative ways of supporting learners. My pursuit and purpose is to guide with compassion and enthusiasm. I encourage students to take ownership of their learning. By promoting student agency, students empower themselves to achieve in academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development. As an ADHD adult, I enjoy working with ADHD students and adults experiencing anxiety + depression. What is effortful for our neurodivergent brains is also our superpower! In my career, I have lived and worked in NYC as an editorial photographer, actor, and dancer. I lived in Berlin and pursued performance art + music while honing my communications skills in digital art + copywriting in Marketing. In Los Angeles, I succeeded as a commercial and theatrical actor. My skill set is suited for collaboration with all students to support and develop their passion for learning, exploration, and critical thinking. I live in southeastern Washington State and teach in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington State public school districts. I support students in the following subjects: Elementary School Reading Elementary School Math AP English High School English Middle School English Middle School Math Digital Media & Graphic Design Fine Arts & Filmmaking Creative Writing Study Skills & Organization German 1/2 Spanish 1/2/3 Spanish Language Arts English Language Learners English Language Development Algebra 1/2 Special Education (all subjects) High School Math "We all have ability. The difference is how we use it." Stevie Wonder Thank you for reading! Ms. Anna C.

I am a native Seattleite, who graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a bachelor's degree in psychology and Elementary Education (K-8). I later received my master's degree in social work from the University of Washington. I taught grades 1-3 in Boston, Massachusetts (private school) and in Monroe, Washington (public school). I am passionate about helping children navigate through life both educationally and emotionally and found great satisfaction in working in Social Services for 11 years in a non-profit that provided mentors for children from single parent homes. While I was raising my children, I began tutoring Reading part time in public schools and found that I absolutely love working with emerging readers in small groups or one to one. It is extremely satisfying helping a child become a strong reader as it influences their success in every subject area. I try to instill a love for books in my students, while using humor and positive encouragement. I strongly believe that children need support at home, both by being read to and reading to their family members. I am enjoying working with students to provide phonics-based early reading education

Currently, I am a Research Technician at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM. I have tutored as an undergraduate student, and I have been the lead TA for General Chemistry courses at UC Berkeley. Chemistry is one of my passions, and I would love to share my experience!

When a passage feels confusing, the issue usually isn't vocabulary — it's that a young reader hasn't learned to pause and check their own understanding. Eileen teaches active reading strategies like predicting, summarizing, and asking questions mid-paragraph, skills she sharpened through years of close reading across science and humanities at Vanderbilt.

Early reading clicks when a child connects decoding skills to actual meaning — sounding out words matters, but so does understanding what a sentence is saying. Julia's mentoring work with elementary students gave her practice making that bridge, using context clues, picture cues, and guided questions to build both fluency and comprehension at the same time. She's patient and adaptive, adjusting her approach based on what each reader needs.

Learning to read confidently means more than sounding out words — it's building the comprehension skills to retell a story, identify a main idea, and make predictions about what comes next. Natalie spent years tutoring young readers in West Philadelphia, where she developed a patient, encouraging approach to phonics, fluency, and vocabulary that keeps kids engaged rather than frustrated.

Phonics patterns, sight words, and reading fluency each require a different kind of practice, and Ingrid tailors her approach depending on where a young reader is gaining confidence. Her patience and structured teaching style — honed through leading hands-on workshops for undergraduates at Northwestern — translate well to working with elementary-age learners building early literacy skills.

Early reading is all about decoding — blending sounds, recognizing sight words, and building the fluency that lets a child actually enjoy a story instead of struggling through every line. Heather began tutoring elementary students while still in high school and has a natural patience with kids who lose confidence quickly. Her psychology background also means she picks up on when a child is shutting down and knows how to redirect before frustration takes over.

Getting young readers excited about books is half the battle — the other half is building real skills like decoding unfamiliar words, making predictions, and retelling a story in their own words. Noel is an avid reader himself and brings that genuine enthusiasm to every session, turning reading practice into something kids actually look forward to.

Early reading instruction depends on more than phonics drills — it requires someone who can match the right text to the right reader and ask questions that build genuine comprehension. Hasan's daily work as a lead teacher at Archway Classical Academy keeps him grounded in the specific challenges elementary readers face, from decoding multisyllabic words to making inferences about character motivation.

Rachel spent years as a classroom teacher and a volunteer educator at national parks, where she learned to make stories come alive for young audiences. She applies that same energy to elementary reading, building skills like phonics, sight-word recognition, and basic comprehension by connecting texts to things kids already care about in the world around them.

Early reading clicks when a child connects phonics and vocabulary to stories they actually care about. Skyler's background spans multiple languages and literatures, giving her a sharp sense of how decoding, fluency, and comprehension build on each other. She makes reading practice feel less like a chore by matching books and passages to each student's interests.

Getting a child to love reading early changes everything that comes after. Annabel teaches phonics, sight words, and basic comprehension strategies like predicting and summarizing, turning each reading session into an active conversation about the story rather than a passive exercise.

Learning to read is really learning to think — connecting sounds to letters, letters to words, and words to meaning. Todd breaks down phonics, fluency, and comprehension into small, confidence-building steps that keep young readers engaged. His background in social work gives him a sharp sense of how to match his approach to each child's pace and personality.

Three years of elementary classroom teaching taught Arielle exactly where young readers stall — whether it's fluency, vocabulary, or comprehension of what they just read. She connects decoding skills to meaning-making so students aren't just pronouncing words but actually understanding stories and informational texts. Her Child Development training from Yale informs how she adapts strategies for each reader's developmental stage.