Most tutors re-teach what the school already taught. I diagnose why your child isn't reading at grade level — then build a custom 6-9 week program that closes the gap.
Limited summer pilot · 10 student slots · NJ in-home + virtual nationwide
Generic tutoring rebuilds the same wobbly foundation. Reading struggles aren't a homework problem; they're a diagnostic problem. The right intervention starts with the right question: where exactly did the wheels come off?
Worksheets and re-teaching mask the gap. Your child gets better at coping, not better at reading.
Is it phonics? Fluency? Working memory? Comprehension? Each needs a different fix. Generic tutors don't sort it out.
A classroom teacher has 22 kids and a pacing guide. Your child's specific gap rarely gets the surgical attention it needs.
A 6-9 week cycle built around one student's specific gaps. My job isn't to teach, reteach, teach, reteach. It's to find the missing rung — and put it back.
Multiple measures of your child's reading and writing process: decoding, fluency, comprehension, and the metacognition behind them. You receive a written report with the actual gap, not a guess.
I fuse material your child can't do at their current grade with material from their actual grade — so they level up without ever feeling held back. This is the work that doesn't happen in classrooms or chain tutoring.
Once the foundation holds, growth compounds. We retest at week 6-9 with the same instruments used at intake — so the gains are measured, not claimed. Real neural change, not cramming.
A 7th grader in Philadelphia. Mom working two jobs, paying out of pocket. Twice a week, four-hour sessions. By the end of the cycle she was reading on grade level — and her school recognized her with the Most Improved Student award and a $50 savings bond. Her family stayed in touch. So did the next family. And the next.
I'm taking a limited number of students this summer so each cycle gets the attention it deserves. Start with a free call — we'll figure out whether you need me or a tutor before any money changes hands.
In-home rates for Bergen, Essex, Morris, Union, and Somerset counties. Virtual available nationwide.
I've spent 15+ years inside the NJ school system watching the same pattern repeat: smart kids slip through the cracks because nobody sat down and asked the right diagnostic question. So I started doing it on the side. One student became three. Three became a 30-year network of families who still send their kids — and now their grandkids — back to me.
I hold multiple Master's degrees, an M.Ed. as a Reading Specialist, and I'm a long-time Toastmaster. I founded Book Besties, a free-books program at my school. This summer I'm opening a small private practice to do the work I've always done — but full attention, fewer students, real measurement.
Chain programs use the same worksheets for every student — there's no diagnostic. Tutors mostly re-teach the curriculum the school already taught. I diagnose the underlying skill gap and build a custom remediation plan around it. Different problem, different tool.
K-12, with most work in grades 2-9. If your child is younger or older, we can talk through fit on the discovery call.
Most families see real shifts by week 3-4. Measurable grade-level gains typically land at the 6-9 week post-assessment. Reading isn't magic — but the right intervention is faster than parents expect.
Often, yes. Many of my students arrived after years of "they'll grow out of it." If there's a formal diagnosis, bring the documentation to the diagnostic. If there isn't, the assessment may surface patterns worth a clinical follow-up.
Yes — in-home across Bergen, Essex, Morris, Union, and Somerset counties (with a small travel adjustment outside ~15 minutes). Virtual sessions available nationwide for families who prefer it.
That's what the mid-cycle assessment is for. If the data isn't moving, we adjust the plan or — rarely — refund the unused portion and refer you to a better-fit specialist. I'd rather lose a client than waste a child's summer.
Tell me what's going on with your child. I'll tell you honestly whether a specialist is the right call — and if not, who is.
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