Testimonials

“Six months of Dana’s gentle, humorous, and intuitive sessions with my 11th grader have been invaluable. My kid was on the shy side, who wanted to do well at school, and who genuinely liked learning, but struggled with planning, organization, and study skills. Dana not only approached his challenges via methods that worked for and interested him, but set up daily routines, weekly plans, and even emailed teachers together in order to set up reserved office hours. They always spent some of their time together watching subtly motivational TedTalk videos or just talking about longer term goals, like college. These are ALL things that my spouse and I had attempted to do with our son, but he really needed an outside genuinely helpful (and definitely more qualified) person in that role.

Now, my child is not afraid to email teachers or attend office hours. He makes a study plan - and sticks with it, spending far less time worrying about studying than the studying itself takes. He’s enthused about college, and has stopped comparing himself to other kids and what colleges are on their list. In short, Dana has accomplished in 6 months what we as a family have worked on for years. She’s now meeting with and helping our son’s younger sibling who is similarly motivated and ready to try something different. Hiring Dana has been the best investment not just in our kids’ education, but in their futures as well. She has taught them planning, organizational, and execution skills that will serve them well no matter what they choose to do in life.”

- J.G., 9th and 11th grade parent

"Dana gets it- she’s able to support her students and their parents as they navigate their kids' educational needs. Dana has worked with my children for the last 3 years to grow their executive functioning and writing skills. Dana has the unique ability to transition and adapt with her students as they progress from middle school to high school. She is kind, fun and is able to keep kids on track in a direct and loving way. My children have enjoyed working with her and I have recommended her to multiple families."

- Leah A., 9th and 11th grade parent

"Dana was a critical source of support in my son's challenging 6th-grade educational experience. She helped him develop a structured approach to learning and taught him systems for organizing his assignments, materials, and time. She went above and beyond to build trust and guide him through the academic and social battlefield of middle school."

- Sara D., 6th grade parent

“We reached out to Dana to work with our 8th-grade son in an effort to better prepare him for high school. His middle school years were disjointed with changing buildings multiple times and the pandemic – while he was doing “fine,” it was clear that he had really never had the chance or instruction on “how to study.” Dana was able to help him to re-focus his academic approach– she gave him ways to get organized, plan for upcoming assignments and tests, as well as help him with study skills like note-taking and creating quiz materials. She worked with him to improve his writing by asking questions that would deepen his understanding of the topic and develop his ideas and arguments in a more sophisticated way. We appreciated when she would bring her own materials to work on note-taking, which also addressed important and relevant social and historical topics. He finished the year feeling proud and confident about 9th grade. We will definitely be asking for Dana’s assistance as our younger son enters 6th grade so he can learn good study skills and organization from the outset!”

- Megan Z., 8th grade parent

“Dana has been instrumental in helping our son (and now our daughter) navigate the academic demands of middle school while managing the challenges of ADHD. She not only provides supports to promote executive functioning skills, but she also has helped build self-confidence in them. We are eternally grateful to Dana for always going above and beyond, and finding ways to promote learning by tapping into our kids’ individual interests. “

- Parent of 6th and 8th grade students

“Dana taught my daughter with kindness, compassion, and patience. She came into our lives during a very difficult school year for our 4th grade daughter, guiding her through remote learning in new and creative ways. Developing executive functioning skills was vital to my daughter's progress, and she became a critical component in my daughter's educational team within one session. They built a meaningful bond right away. Dana's professional, can-do attitude and flexibility made working with her easy during a chaotic year.”

- 4th grade parent

“We highly recommend Dana. After working with our daughter to help her focus and build her reading and writing skills we saw a huge improvement. Dana is professional and engaging. Our daughter was so excited for their weekly sessions.”

- Melissa S., 2nd grade parent

"I have nothing but the highest recommendation for Dana.  We are so lucky to have found her – not only is she kind, knowledgeable, patient and encouraging, but she accommodates a working mom’s schedule.   Her knowledge and kindness has made her a very effective tutor- this is the first time my kids are excited to learn and show confidence in their work. Thank you Dana!"

                                                                                                                                                      - Maria, parent of 2nd + 5th grade students

Dana has improved my self-confidence, motivation and grades. When I began working with her I was failing one class and had a D in another. Within two months, my grades in both classes were A's. I would never have been able to accomplish this without her. Dana really cares and is teaching me a lot more than academics. She has shown me where I've been in my own way and how to fix the problem. Never thought that this was possible. My parents are thrilled!"

                                                                                                                                                         - 9th grade student

"I wanted to take a moment to thank you for all of the hard work you did with our daughter. When she started first grade she was struggling to read. She was very discouraged and we recognized that her frustration was just compounding the situation, she was losing confidence and focus. You taught her reading in a way that helped unlock important skills and you made every session fun and enjoyable for her.  Now her confidence has improved considerably. We are grateful to you for giving our daughter confidence and for assisting her greatly in improving her performance. Thank you again for all your help."

                                                                                                                                                        - 1st grade parent

"Coming from a very different kind of education system, Dana was always there for me, making the transition to college very smooth and easy to understand. Dana is very knowledgeable and offers advice and strategies to stay on a path to educational success by focusing on someone's skills, strengths and passions. I'm so happy to have worked with her during my course of study at CUNY Laguardia Community College."  

                                                                                                                                                          - Jenny, student

"Dana taught me the skills I needed to know to prepare for my college classes and my future career as a Registered Nurse. The Nursing program is demanding and time management is important. Dana helped me to prioritize my time, set achievable goals and create a plan for success. Although, I was skeptical about registering for my nursing prerequisite classes, with Dana's coaching, I felt confident going into my first semester of college."

                                                                                                                                                          - Cynthia, student