English teacher with 10+ years of experience

Kelly A.

Hi, I'm Kelly! After almost 14 years of experience teaching high school English, I believe that working one-on-one with students truly leads to developing strong working relationships that equate to success. I pride myself in being a patient listener. My hope is to encourage those I work with to reveal areas of strength to build those skills further. And, in turn, figure out where the struggles are so we can comfortably talk about them to improve through practice.

I have a strong background in teaching grammar, literary analysis, reading comprehension, thesis-based writing, rhetorical analysis, and research skills. I can help with test prep for the SOL, WorkKeys, and SAT. I am confident in helping to support students to identify specific areas in their readings to study closely to analyze and spark their own thoughts and reactions to write and speak about. I also thrive in working with students as they write, isolating their central message and working to ensure the writing supports that. My teaching practices are grounded in isolating skills being practiced and assessed. My goal is to help my students understand how to show their thinking, similar to how to solve a math problem. English can feel very subjective, but my hope is to embrace that and encourage critical thinking and analysis of a text and to translate that via writing or speaking.

I graduated with a Bachelors in English, concentrating in nonfiction writing and editing. I also have a Masters in Education, both degrees from George Mason University. I have taught honors, co-taught classes, and ESOL students throughout my career in high school. I am always looking to make strong relationships with parents and guardians, too, in the hopes they can make any suggestions or resources for strong outcomes as well. I am easy to reach and will respond in a timely manner. Feel free to contact me with questions or to schedule a session!