Math Tutors for Middle Schoolers
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
- Middle school math tutor
- 8th Grade Algebra 1 Tutor Needed - Alameda
- Making Math Real Tutor
- Need math tutor for middle school girl
- 7th grader is struggling with math
- Earlier Recommendations
Middle school math tutor
Nov 2013
Dear BPN friends, I need a recommendation for middle school math tutor! I am looking for a tutor who specializes in tutoring middle school math, pre- algebra through algebra. I have a 6th and 8th grader who both struggle with the subject and need a tutor who can explain and teach them in a way they understand. I'm looking for someone who is patient, creative, and has a unique way of working with each student. Looking in the Albany/El Cerrito/Richmond area. Thanks, Mom of frustrated math students
I recommend Marissa Meyers (510) 919-0843. As an educational therapist who specializes in language arts, I have referred numerous middle school math students to Marissa and been extraordinarily pleased with the feedback I have gotten from both parents and teachers regarding her skills and abilities as a math tutor. She has an approach of reaching and teaching students that is original, effective, and affirming to all students. She is adored and respected by the students that have been fortunate enough to have her as a tutor. In addition, parents have been thrilled with the progress and improvements their struggling children have made under Marissa's tutelage. Peggy
Aug 2013
I would strongly like to recommend Tralee Johnson as a math tutor. My seventh-grader worked consistently with Tralee since the mid-sixth grade and earned an A, even though in prior years she professed to absolutely hating math and not getting it. Tralee is gentle and patient in her approach and seems to make the material accessible, if not fun . . . I often hear them laughing during the tutoring sessions. We will definitely plan on continuing with Tralee in the eighth grade. Contact info: 415 508-MATH. www.TheMathematicsTutor.org
HL
8th Grade Algebra 1 Tutor Needed - Alameda
Feb 2013
My 8th grader has been limping along all year in Algebra 1. Up to this year was getting A's and now in the low B's. She needs immediate help in things like setting up equations, graphing etc. Don't want the year to finish without a solid background for math is cumulative. We live in Alameda and would like someone weekly though the school year and occasional refresher work this summer.The text book is McDougal Little within the Alameda Unified School District. Your recommendations and suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you. carol
I highly recommend Lizette Griebje of Proper Math as a math tutor. My 8th-grader was having a similar experience of struggling in Algebra 1--after working with Lizette she feels much more confident as a mathematician and she's regularly getting A's. We're really happy our daughter is working with Lizette this year (she is too!), and I can see that the benefits will pay off for many years to come. Lizette Griebje www.propermath.com 338-0103 Janet
Making Math Real Tutor
Nov 2012
I am looking for a math tutor who has been trained in the Making Math Real (David Berg) method. If you are such a tutor, or if you know of one, please either post or email me directly. Please let me know which level you are trained to (elementary school, pre-algebra, and/or algebra). Thank you!
My 11 year old son goes to a great tutor who uses the Making Math Real method. Her name is Leba Morimoto. Leba has done wonders for our son's math skills and his overall confidence in math. I would highly recommend her - she is soft spoken, encouraging, and delightful! Leba Morimoto: 510-528-8224, email: lebasline [at] gmail.com Kim
Need math tutor for middle school girl
May 2010
A friend of mine is asking about a math tutor for her daughter in middle school. She is especially interested in knowing of any female math tutors as a possible role model for her daughter. My daughter's tutor went off to college. Any suggestions? Thanks.
I highly recommend Linda Van De Wall (rivergirl2 [at] gmail.com). She tutored my daughter from 7th grade through high school and still occasionally assists my daughter in organizing papers for her community college classes. For math, Linda tutors through algebra 1 and geometry. She's worked as a resource teacher and does private tutoring from her home in north berkeley. She's flexible and makes herself available as needed for special projects in addition to regular tutoring times. Her rates are quite reasonable (though I'm not sure what they currently are). There were so many times when my daughter would start a session completely unfocused and uninterested and Linda was always able to engage her and get her moving in the right direction. Most important, Linda's interest in my daughter and her progress is genuine and not limited to her tutoring sessions. I guess the greatest testament to her is the fact that after more than 6 years of working together my daughter still calls Linda on her own whenever she needs help. jody
7th grader is struggling with math
March 2009
I have a 7th grader who is struggling with math (math concepts, math facts, math everything...). She might understand the math itself, but not what she is doing or why. I am interested in math tutoring, as well as some over-the-summer help to get her ready for 8th grade. We also have a fourth grader who could use some math intervention as well. We are located in El Cerrito. ms
I would recommend Classroom Matters for your 7th grader for Math and they also have an excellent summer writing program for teens. Both my daughters have benefited trememdously from these offerings. Classroom Matters is located on Sacramento St in Berkeley-540-8646. Karen
I would love to recommend a wonderful math tutor in the East Bay (San Ramon, Danville, Alamo), who tutors students in middle school and high school. He is a high school math teacher, so he has great credentials. My daughter had him as a tutor when she was home sick, last year, for an extended period of time. He is a very nice person, easy to understand, and very thorough. I'm sure that your student will really like him! His name is JP Singh, and he can be reached at 925-785-2635. Kirsti
Earlier Recommendations
Inspiring math tutor for middle schooler
April 2007
I am looking for an 'inspiring' math/academics tutor for my middleschooler who has a hard time keeping up with school. Please let me know if anyone had any good experience on this. thx laura
In response to the request for a great middle school tutor, we have been working with Syretta Watkins. She graduated from Cal in December 2006 with a B.A. in Applied Mathematics and she is fantastic. She has alot of experience working with all ages. I really like her approach as she has the child do the work so she can see where the problem may be. She is really reasonable, really sweet and very comforting. I really like her approach. My 8th gradeer loves working with her. You can email her: swatkins[at]berkeley.edu or phone: (408) 595-7865 Cindy M
Paul Osborne (Paul The Tutor) is a great tutor and works with lots of students from Piedmont. His office is actually on Piedmont Ave., though he does do some house calls as well. He is a great tutor. He charges $100/hr in his office and $125 to come to your house. He also has other tutors who work for him who are less expensive ($50-60/hr in the office and a bit more in your home) and whom he has trained. You can find out more or send him an email on his website www.paulthetutor.com or give him a cal at (510) 301-5302. I hope this helps, - - a Parent and a Teacher
Leba Morimoto is an outstanding math tutor - perceptive, positive, patient and a gifted teacher. She utilizes the ''Making Math Real'' technique, which is really an exceptional way of teaching math, empowering students who are struggling with retaining math facts, and giving students a deep understanding of how our number system works! Leba has over 10 years of experience as a math tutor. She may be reached at 528 8224 or lebasline[at]yahoo.com Anon
I can reccommend my father, who tutors math and science subjects. His name is JIm Scott and his phone is (510) 847-3948 or (510) 525-1759. He has worked with students from the Piedmont school district before. He lives in El Cerrito and tutors at his house. He has worked with several middle school math students recently. His rate is $40/hour for middle school students. His email is eurekajim[at]aol.com Sarah D
My daughter started tutoring when she went to Julia Morgan School for Girls. She is now a Freshman at Bishop O'Dowd; she primarily tutors middle and elementary school students. She works to help kids who are stuggling with Math to connect the dots... often times they are missing one important concept which makes going forward difficult. Some students find it helpful to work with someone else close to their own age. Call her if you are interested. Her fee is $15.00 per hour. Kate Drew (510 339-3787
Jan 03 2006
I would like to enthusiastically recommend our math tutor, Leslie Bryan.
In eighth grade our kids were getting good grades in math but clearly did not understand math concepts. By teaching our kids to UNDERSTAND math concepts instead of just memorizing them, Leslie enabled one son to test into Geometry at one of the best high schools in the Bay Area and the other (already in High School) to be able to transfer math concepts to other subjects.
Leslie assesses learning styles, holds students to their highest standard, and is very helpful in coordinating with school teachers and helping us (the parents) assess what is working at school and what is not. She teaches study skills that apply to all subjects.
Her number at the Abelian Group Math School is 510 841- 0784
Katie
June 2004
I would like to update contact information for a fantastic math tutor. Brian has tutored my children in middle school Algebra and will be continuing to do so for Algebra in BHS. He is very engaging and manages to make math really cool. Brian Tucker has an MBA and has taught for a number of years, most recently teaching college level business and mathematics. He may be reached at 510-923-1078 and briantucker94612 AT yahoo.com Thank you. Karen
I have mathy kids so I have tried all of the above and more. If your kid can do well with online, or with paper and pencil, then it's worth starting with Beast or Khan Academy, as they are low cost (Beast) or free (Khan) and can be done at home. Beast covers grades 1-5, but goes into very significant depth. The problems on Beast, especially the starred and two starred ones, are really creative and hard. I would start with free Khan Academy, and also purchase a $100 Beast online subscription. Mathnasium and AoPS are pricey! Mathnasium is great for drilling, and may be really nice if your kid does well in the presence of other kids (body doubling) and likes rewards. It doesn't go deep. AoPs/Beast is the same company, but there's a huge discontinuity between the 5th grade, covered in Beast, and AoPS (all grades). The difference is the format. You lose all the games and cartoons, and most of the videos, and instead have a math casebook. I wouldn't start with AoPS for a kid that is behind the regular 6th grade program. I would probably instead start with Khan (5th or 6th grade), Beast (the online subscription covers 1-5, so I would have my kid start with grade 3, to gain confidence), and maybe hire a tutor if needed. I've had good luck with Caltutors. They charge $60 for online, and $65 for in person, which to me is pricey but a much better deal than mathnasium at $400 a month for up to 10 sessions I think. AoPS, FireCracker Math, and Russian Math are regular math courses, and those are options too, costing something less than mathnasium (but for fewer classes).
While I can't tell you what works for your daughter, we've been using beast academy for 2 years for my 6th grade daughter and 4th grade son. My kids both felt the school math was boring and the lack of homework in the early elementary years was concerning to me because I didn't want them to fall behind, especially in the summer. There are a couple of options that I like about Beast Academy, one is the sequence in which they can play through the games. You can set up specific topics (locking all the other ones), or make them do the whole game in the recommended order (no skipping ahead, must pass every level before the next one opens), or open up the whole game so they can do whatever math problems they want. With my son, I set it so he has to do them in order- he's at grade level competency. However, after a year, my daughter started performing above grade level, so I opened the whole game up for her. She likes to be challenged, so she skips games she finds too easy. This summer, we also bought her high school level math workbooks, because she said some of the beast academy is now too easy. I think it's supposed to run through 6th grade curriculum, so this is likely her last year using it. My kids say it's fun as it's a mix of lessons, quizzes, games, video explanations, and math puzzles.
I also like the reports. When my son is getting a bunch of things wrong, it emails me and tells me where he is struggling, so then I can go and help. It also shows them why they got the problem wrong and has a detailed explanation of how their solution didn't work and how to fix it. I have them do 30 minutes a day on non-school days, and only occasionally on school nights, because of activities and school homework.
I should note, we do the asynchronous beast academy online and have the physical graphic novels- I bought them as a bundle. There are also live online classes and physical locations for classes, but they never worked for us due to the timing of them. I like the asynchronous one, because we can do it when we have time. Other thing of note- you must have an internet connection when using Beast Academy, because it's adaptive to your kid, there is no offline mode. When we took a road trip last summer, I rented a hot spot from the public library so the kids could do it in the car.
I noticed some math frustration happening when my kid was in 5th grade. Online did not work for my easily distracted kid who is plenty smart but who isn’t super mathy. He did Mathnasium for 3 years and it was great for him. Does Mathnasium not go deep? I don’t really know, but they have their own curriculum that they go through that is independent of what is being taught in class as they want to make sure they fill in any pre-existing gaps (although your kid is welcome to bring in schoolwork that they have questions about). What worked for my kid was that it was in-person, one on one, and done by hand. Yes, it's expensive (we paid $325/month) when compared to Khan but probably less expensive than the same amount of private tutoring. To my mind, anything you practice regularly, you will get better at and if online works for your kid, Khan is great and free, but if online does not work, we personally had good results with Mathnasium. I have no experience with AoPs or Beast.