Common questions
Questions parents commonly ask
If your question is not addressed here, please write or text. I respond promptly.
Is the first session genuinely no risk?
Yes. A full hour, and if your student does not feel it was useful, you do not pay for it. I would prefer that a family establish the fit early rather than pay for an arrangement that is not working.
What is the fee thereafter?
$40 per hour for all instruction. There is no registration fee, no minimum number of sessions, and no package to purchase in advance.
You are a high school student yourself. Why should that inspire confidence?
Because I completed these courses at these schools within the past three years, and did so at a high level. I know which topics reliably cause difficulty, how the instructors in this district set their assessments, and what the weekly coursework requires. Students also tend to acknowledge what they do not understand more readily to someone nearer their own age, and that acknowledgement is where the work begins.
Which courses do you cover?
Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Precalculus, each at on-level and advanced difficulty, together with AP Statistics, on-level statistics, and AP Chemistry. I am currently enrolled in AP Calculus BC, the most advanced mathematics course McKinney North offers.
What ages do you teach?
From first grade through the first year of university, in any course listed above. In practice, that ranges from number sense with a young child to examination preparation with a senior.
Are sessions held in person or online?
Either. In person across McKinney and the wider Dallas and Fort Worth area, or online using a shared whiteboard. The rate and the preparation are the same, and many families alternate between the two.
How quickly should we expect grades to move?
Confidence generally shifts within three or four sessions. Grades follow across a grading period. Every student I have worked with has improved by at least one letter grade, though the pace depends on how far back the gap lies and how much independent practice the student undertakes.
What happens during the first session?
It is largely diagnostic. I ask the student to work aloud through problems they have already attempted so that I can hear where the reasoning falters. I then give you a candid assessment of the gap and of how long it is likely to take to close.
May a parent observe?
Certainly, and it is often sensible for the first session. Most students settle more readily without an audience thereafter, but you are welcome in either case, and I will always tell you what was covered.
The first session is offered at no risk
Send me the course your student is taking and a short description of the difficulty. I will respond promptly, and I will tell you candidly if I do not think I am the right person for the work.