I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies from Eastern Illinois University. I graduated in 1994 and have endorsements in 6-12 Social Studies and History. I am currently considered to be a highly qualified teacher by the state of Arizona and also have an SEI (Structured English Immersion) K-12 endorsement. I have experience tutoring both junior high and high school students. Last summer I tutored seven junior high students in Reading and Writing for four hours a day during the month of June. I also currently tutor 35 high school students in Social Studies, English, Science, and Health using computer-based curriculum at an online high school. I also tutor a "5th Hour" class each day that focuses on English and Math prep for the Arizona state-mandated AIMS test that all high school students must pass to graduate. In this class we use word problems which students focus on breaking down grammatically to then solve them mathematically. The students also have an opportunity to create their own word problems each week and then "teach" the class how to solve the problem they've created. I have been an educator for over 18 years and enjoy helping students reach their academic goals and teaching them character education as well to give them the skills they need to be successful and highly productive adults. When I am not educating students I enjoy reading fiction novels (most notably from John Grisham, Stuart Woods, and Stephen King), playing sports such as golf, basketball, football, and tennis, and working out at the gym with friends. I also enjoy spending time with my wife of 11 years, our newborn daughter, and our Shitzu-Poodle.