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Experienced Elementary/Special Needs Teacher
Mary K.

4.9 (795 ratings)

5,497 hours tutoring

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Hourly Rate: $55
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Response time: 8 hours

About Mary

Bio

I have 13 years of teaching experience. I received my BS in Elementary education and taught in Des Moines, Iowa Public Schools as a basic skills teacher 4-6th grade. I also have a Masters degree in Special Education, Learning Disabilities/Emotional Disturbance K-8th. My experiences have included resource classroom and also self-contained. I have also taught in the Chicago Public Schools.

I am permanently certified in Iowa and have been certified in California. In addition I have been...

I have 13 years of teaching experience. I received my BS in Elementary education and taught in Des Moines, Iowa Public Schools as a basic skills teacher 4-6th grade. I also have a Masters degree in Special Education, Learning Disabilities/Emotional Disturbance K-8th. My experiences have included resource classroom and also self-contained. I have also taught in the Chicago Public Schools.

I am permanently certified in Iowa and have been certified in California. In addition I have been background checked by the state.

My philosophy of teaching is that every child can learn to his or her ability. I believe that one needs to engage the child so that they have pride of ownership. The child and I set realistic goals and together decide how we are going to achieve them. This gives the child a sense of control and bolsters his or her self-esteem.

In addition to text book learning, I like to incorporate technology in the curriculum to allow the child a variety of sources from which to gather information. Since technology is such a big part of our lives today it gives the child transferable skills beyond the lesson being taught.

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Education

Drake University
Elementary Education
Drake University
Masters
  • Licensed teacher

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Approved Subjects

ADHD

ADHD

I have my MS in ADD/ADHD from Drake University.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

I have my master's degree in special needs, including autism. Having tutored a number of autistic children I understand the child's needs based upon where they are on the spectrum. I have had success moving the children forward in their learning and aiding with emotional issues they may encounter.
Dyslexia

Dyslexia

I have my MS in Learning disabilities, Dyslexia from Drake University and have taught 9 years in this environment.
Elementary (K-6th)

Elementary (K-6th)

I have a BS in Elementary Education (K-8th) from Drake University. I did my student practice teaching in 1st grade, substitute taught K-3rd grade for one semester, and I had my own classroom teaching 4th-6th grade basic skills in the Des Moines, IA public schools. I hold permanent certification in Iowa. In addition, I have my certification from the State of California also.
Elementary Math

Elementary Math

I have taught elementary math for many years, both in a regular classroom and as a special needs teacher. Most students that are having problems with math is because somewhere along the line they have missed concepts. Math is a subject that builds upon itself. If an earlier concept is missing, children will have problems going forward.
Phonics

Phonics

Having worked with students with learning difficulties in reading, I have found that in some instances phonics is a great way to help a child learn to read. By breaking down the word, into parts and tackling each part the child can learn to "sound out" the word. This is a method that is transferable to almost all words that the child is unfamiliar with. This method of learning to read is also a great moral booster. When a child sounds out a word and comes up with the correct pronunciation, there is great pride that one can see on that child's face.
Reading

Reading

Children that are having difficulty with reading fluency need to be assessed as to their best method for learning. The child may be a sight learner, a phonetic learner, or a tactile learner. If the issue is comprehension, one needs to ensure that the child really understands the meaning of vocabulary words. As the child's confidence builds, so does his or her reading fluency and comprehension.
Special Needs

Special Needs

I have my Masters Degree in learning disabilities and emotional disturbance. I have taught children with mild to profound learning problems in many different types of situations, from resource room to self-contained classroom to integrated regular classroom. The age range I have taught has spanned K-6th grade AD/HD resource, 4-6th self-contained learning challenged, and 7th and 8th grade self-contained. The 7th and 8th grade classes were a mix of children with severe learning problems(struggled to read at a 1st grade level) to emotionally challenged to children with physical issues that impacted learning (profound hearing loss). The integrated classroom teaching was an 8th grade class that had been self-contained and were being integrated back into the regular classroom before going on to high school. This took coordination between myself and the classroom teacher to understand the skills that were being taught and how best to impart this knowledge to my children.
Study Skills

Study Skills

Training on study skills was a large portion of my certification process in education. Since children learn in different ways, each child needs to find the best process for him/her self. I have worked with students that were auditory learners and we would sit and read aloud in order for them to comprehend the material. Other students were visual learners. Once a concept was presented and they could see it, example being fractions represented by a cake, they comprehended. In addition, I also find that students need to understand where they can locate information, what are their resources, be it text books, notes, libraries, or online. With this knowledge, studying is no longer a chore but a easy way to gain the information that is needed.
Financial Accounting
GED
Grammar
Managerial Accounting
Vocabulary
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Response time: 8 hours

Ratings and Reviews

Rating

4.9 (795 ratings)
5 star
(769)
4 star
(19)
3 star
(3)
2 star
(0)
1 star
(4)

Reviews

Knowledgeable and patient

Mary takes the time to figure out what motivates each child and then makes learning fun for each individual while accomplishing goals. We love Mary! And highly recommend her.

Christine, 553 lessons with Mary

Mary is fantastic!

She has been incredibly patient with our student, and also great at getting him to calmly look at his work

Will, 35 lessons with Mary

Patient and Kind

Mary has been working with my granddaughter that has ADHD and is holding this kids interest, which is something that I can't do. Mary arrives on time, doesn't waste any time and teaches with skills that work! I am so happy to have found Mary. My granddaughter looks forward to her coming and what a relief it has been in my life.

Cindy, 198 lessons with Mary

Knowledgeable and patient tutor

Mary is very knowledgeable in what she does. She knows the different types of learning and finding out what type of learner our son is. She knows where our son's weakness is and knows how to connect with him to get him learning / working.

Priscilla, 60 lessons with Mary

Knowledgeable and Amazing!

My son went from no reading to reading within weeks. Everyone said he had dyslexic tendencies. We found that wasn't the issue really fast. Her approach and technique has proven to be amazing. Her background in education is amazing and hard to find! We continue to see huge success is such little time. Very kind and sweet with my son. We love her!

Lisa, 77 lessons with Mary

excellent treacher

Mary is wonderful with Stella. Stella is doing so much better in school, and very proud of herself that she is reading

Marcia, 173 lessons with Mary

Patient and Jovial tutor

Mary is a patient tutor who has a nice spirit that gels with kids. My daughter enjoys her tutoring. Mary helps teach the child organization (which is very important for the student to be successful), and this helps with executive functioning development.

Nadine, 23 lessons with Mary

Fun, Engaging, Knowledgable

Mary is amazing! She and my daughter hit it off instantly. My daughter has a hard time sitting still and concentrating on academic tasks. Mary makes the learning process fun with games and rewards. I would absolutely recommend Mary!

Samantha , 147 lessons with Mary

Love Mary!

Mary has been assisting my daughter for months now. My daughter absolutely adores her as do we! Highly recommend!!

Katherine, 155 lessons with Mary

Patient and knowledgeable

Mary has been fantastic with my son. I home school him but we have specific lessons and/or topics that he and I struggle with and which can take us hours to work through. Mary works with my son once a week and they focus on our trouble areas during the lesson. Mary can help my son overcome the weeks difficulties, in a number of different subjects, in that one lesson. Our online school does provide teacher support but it is through a virtual meeting and not in person. Having Mary sitting next to my son and being able to see his body language has meant that Mary can easily tell if he really understands or is just saying that he does. Mary has made a huge impact to my son and I am delighted that we found her.

Tina, 24 lessons with Mary
Hourly Rate: $55
Response time: 8 hours
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