Experienced Yale Graduate: Warm, Dynamic Communicator

Maria R.

Elementary (K-6th)

I attended Yale University for my undergrad degree, and throughout my four years in New Haven, I tutored 40+ different students one-on-one, mostly pre-k to elementary school ages, on a long-term basis. I worked for several hours a week (almost 400 hours total) at a non-profit organization called "New Haven Reads" (newhavenreads.org), which serves over 500 local students for free (mostly struggling public school students from immigrant families). New Haven Reads focusing on reading and critical thinking skills, but we also worked on homework and projects of all subjects with our students -- whatever they needed help with, including math. As tutors, we were trained to work with Lexia (computer program), as well as utilize various workbook series, and collaborated with New Haven Reads staff on more personalized methodology and techniques to utilize with students that we worked with on a consistent, long-term basis. Many of the students had learning disabilities and/or needed a lot of encouragement and convincing to tackle their work. I have a lot of experience in finding unique ways for children to understand their assignments and subjects, and be able to accomplish work they had no confidence in before! I also have some further experience working with young children. In high school, for my senior year project, I worked as a volunteer science presenter at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and in the summer of 2014, I conducted Early Childhood Education research at the internationally acclaimed CENDI (Center of Childhood Development of the “Frente Popular Tierra y Libertad") in Monterrey, Mexico.

Study Skills

I attended Yale University for my undergrad degree, and throughout my four years in New Haven, I tutored 40+ different students of various ages, including several high school students. I worked for several hours a week (almost 400 hours total) at a non-profit tutoring organization, which serves over 500 local students for free (mostly struggling public school students from immigrant families). I met with my students once weekly, working with them on homework, test-prep, and projects in various subjects, helping them develop the study skills required to tackle their work independently for the rest of the week. I have a lot of experience in finding unique and creative ways for children to learn confidently and successfully, both during our one-on-one sessions and, afterwards, on their own. Many of my students did not know where to start with tackling their schoolwork, but in our sessions, I successfully provided them with "toolboxes" of skills and approaches that they could then use to complete their homework and study for tests/exams in the future.