Kristin

Certified Tutor

I am excited to work with and tutor students, primarily in grades 2-8 online and in the Minneapolis-Twin Cities area. I firmly believe that making a personal connection with a student is the most important first step towards them feeling comfortable to work with you. I believe that once students know that you truly want to help them, that no question is too silly for them to ask, they will open up and let you understand their academic issues. I have found this to be true in my time teaching, particularly with students entering the middle grades when students tend to become more self aware of their academic struggles relative to peers. I believe in meeting a child where they are at academically and finding ways to help them learn in a style that meets their individual needs. No two students are the same and everyone learns differently, be it visually, auditory, or kinesthetic (hands-on) learning. Ultimately, I want to help boost student's academic performance and their self confidence!

Teaching background: I have been teaching for over five years now. Originally from the Midwest (Wisconsin), I completed my summer teaching in south Los Angeles, California through the Teach For America program, a program that I joined in 2006. I taught third-grade (multiple subjects) and fifth-grade (multiple subjects) for five years at an urban school district in San Jose, California, a district which served a majority English learner population. I taught English Language Arts, Reading, Writing, Math, Social Studies, Science, and English Language Development. I am humbled to say that in my time at my elementary school, I was named Teacher of the Year twice, in both my second and third year teaching, nominated by 30 school faculty members, along with community members (including parents).

I have also managed our school's program for the Gifted and Talented students and provided after-school and Saturday tutoring sessions to struggling students at our school. Additionally, I have taught GED courses for adults, tutoring them in Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science and taught evening English Language Development courses for adults in our school district.

I have also provided private tutoring services for elementary and middle school students in their homes. Finally, I have managed two summer programs for K-5 and high school students in Los Altos, California and Boston, Massachusetts.

I earned my Masters of Public Management (MPM) degree, with an emphasis in Education Management, from Carnegie Mellon University in 2012. I earned academic distinction in my MPM program and was a merit-based scholarship recipient (Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow). I also hold Bachelors of Science degrees in both Communications and Political Science, in addition to a Leadership Certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I completed my teacher credentialing program at San Jose State University to teach students in grades K-8 (multiple subjects). I have earned my lifetime teaching credential from the state of California, a credential which is recognized in 47 of the 50 states. I also hold up-to-date teaching credentials in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.