My kids have been attending Ms. Wang's classes (Both Math and English, both group and private) in…read morethe past 4 years. There is no push needed from me at all as kids just want to join and learn from the engaging sessions. Ms. Wang also would give feedbacks and updates on progress and findings which I highly appreciate. Ms. Wang is a caring educator as I know during Covid she offered free group lectures online to support kids in community that have less access. I am glad our kids are thriving with support from Ms. Wang

We have used Karen for years for our two boys. Before we found her one of my sons was struggling in…read moremath. After finding Karen consistent A's. She also stays on top of what's being taught at school to keep them ahead of the curve. I highly recommend her.

How can I condense my 6 years of tutoring at the Center on Yelp? Perhaps through an anecdote from…read morelast year: I was a junior in high school, commuting to a rigorous college prep school in SF. My grades were good, but my PSAT scores were pretty pitiful. I decided to take the SAT 1s anyways, towards the end of junior year. 1950. Not bad, but not acceptable for the schools I wanted to attend. Immediately after getting the devastating news that I would have to retake the SATs and forsake much of my summer, I contacted Hamayoon and the Tutoring Center. I received tutoring from them for the SSATs and my experience was very positive. I also was receiving math help once a week at the time. Hamayoon and I worked on math together for a month and a half. Diana and I worked on grammar and reading together for the same amount of time. Each week, I'd spend 4-6 hours studying and I took four free full length SAT 1s in the month before taking the test. My scores ranged, but I knew I had improved my math score from 610 to at least 650 and my writing score from 660 to the low 700s when test day came. I was aiming for 2100 though, and the week before my test I scored in the high 2000s. Test day came, and I felt pretty good about my performance. The day I received my test scores back was one of the proudest of my life. My score was 2130-- 710 in math, 730 in critical reading, and 700 in writing. My SAT 2 scores were also impacted by my work with the Center. English lit went from 630 to 700 and US history--710. How? The tutors at the Center and my intense studying. Hamayoon made the math especially fun--our sessions were actually interesting and we had our share of laughs. Diana and I read poetry aloud as a creative way of overcoming my difficulties with middle English. Do not hesitate to try out the Bay Area Tutoring Center. YOU GET THE FIRST SESSION FREE IF YOU MENTION YELP! -D

I just got my SAT and got a 1550 which is all thanks to this tutoring center. I can't thank…read moreHomayoon and Shanna enough for all their help. Definitely recommend going here

Jayne was extremely patient and supportive with my 6 yo's struggle with reading. He didn't want to…read moredo tutoring but liked her enough to no longer complain about it as the sessions continued. She spent time to share with me her thoughts on techniques, resources and approaches we could use with him to identify and work with his learning and speech difficulties. I very much enjoyed working with her

Jayne has been my son's tutor for almost a year, and the progress he's made has been amazing. When…read morehe started kindergarten, he wasn't reading yet and now he's reading confidently, ahead in phonics, and even starting on math! Jayne is patient, kind, and truly talented. With her background in education, she's also given me great advice and insight as a parent. I really think having a tutor is one of the best decisions we've made, with all the hoops kids have to jump through at school, having such a seasoned tutor like Jayne gives them a real head start. We're so grateful for her!

My son has been going to Alpha College Prep for almost 2 years utilizing chemistry and math…read moretutoring with Robert, SAT test prep with Taylor and now college essay writing with Jennifer. Both of us have been quite happy with the tutors and staff at Alpha. Academically, my son has raised his gpa, test scores and equally important, learned the subject matter. The tutors understand how to work with teenagers and my son feels more confident in the subject areas after his tutoring sessions. Lastly, their rates are reasonable and hours are flexible to suit the needs of students. We've been to other tutoring centers in Berkeley and El Cerrito, but none of them has produced as great a result as Alpha.

During my senior year of high school, I went to Alpha College Prep to seek help with my college…read moreapps and help with the overall process that can be very overwhelming. I worked with Jennifer, who was absolutely wonderful, and she managed to help me write my college apps that got me into top universities like UC Berkeley, Northeastern, and UCLA. With this, I also got scholarships from other universities I applied to and had an overall amazing college application experience. She helped me facilitate and better explain my ideas on paper which helped a lot. Also, before the SATs got cancelled, I used the Alpha College Prep to mainly help with the math portion of the SAT and after the first session my score improved by 50 points. I would recommend Alpha College Prep for students who are looking for some guidance during the college admission process or looking for overall tutoring in any area. I will be a freshman at UC Berkeley this fall and thank Alpha College Prep for helping me write and formulate strong essays as I couldn't have done it without them.

Communication with the center and staff is great, my daughter says she likes the center and the…read morereward system. I see her confidence and her reading improvement.

I am happy that I am able to go to sylvan I have improved a little but I know that I will improve a…read morelot more and more if I stay longer and all the teachers and Admins are nice.

Our child was really struggling with the adjustment to high school. The support he received from…read moreClassroom Matters was invaluable in helping him succeed that first semester of high school. Also, I saw Lisa Miller for assistance with my parenting and her assistance was also very helpful!

Classroom Matters is the best! Tatiana and Lisa are wonderful members of the community who truly…read morelove to see kids succeed and enjoy school. The tutors here are awesome and helped my daughter with her confidence and competence in math in a very short period of time. Highly recommend, even if your kiddo just needs a little push to believe in themselves.

I began individual virtual lessons with PLA to learn Tagalog. I have been on the search for…read moreeffective Tagalog learning methods for years, and it took me long enough to decide that individual tutoring may be the only way for me to make progress. PLA's Tagalog tutor Joy is definitely one of the best things to have happened in my Tagalog learning journey. She has extensive experience with educating military personnel, and our focus together has been on conversational fluency. Her lessons are thoroughly challenging and she breaks down grammar concepts in a visual and understandable way. I have also seen her go more slowly for students at a more beginner level. While I still make constant errors, I can feel my progress growing in such a way I could have only hoped for before these lessons. I cannot really speak for any other language classes, but this remains one of the only local Tagalog learning sources in the Bay Area and I am very grateful to have found it! I will keep my eye out for more advanced group classes, as it seems like the academy is consistently expanding their class offerings.

I have been taking Italian language and literature classes with Polyglottist Language Academy off…read moreand on since 2017. I initially started taking classes because I had planned a trip to Italy for the summer, but after my trip I was motivated to continue. I have since returned to Italy 2 more times. I've taken Italian classes with several instructors including but not limited to Sole, Valerie, Cinzia, Oscar, and Francesca. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every class. The instructors are knowledgeable, patient, and eager to create a positive and enriching learning environment. Olga has been even more accommodating in light of the difficulties that arose with COVID-19 social distancing protocols, even allowing classes to take place on Zoom. I would 100% recommend taking classes with this academy!

Benji has been tutoring my daughters for a few years now. He's covered everything from Math 1 to AP…read moreStatistics (with a little bit of Spanish thrown in for good measure). I cannot recommend him enough. He explains things in a way that just makes them click. He is knowledgeable, thorough, and just fun to be around. Whether it's for ongoing tutoring or test preparation, if you have a student that needs some extra guidance you cannot go wrong with Benji. He's the best!

I highly recommend working with Benji for your tutoring needs. I recently worked with him for…read moresupport with a college level math class. I had not taken a math class since high school so I did not feel very confident in my ability and my skills. Benji not only helped me understand complex concepts clearly which resulted in my doing well in the course but he also helped me gain confidence in my ability to do well and understand math concepts that typically felt intimidating to me. Benji also brings a kind and patient energy to all the sessions and incorporates humor, making working with him very enjoyable.

We could not be happier with Firecracker Math. My kiddo began working 1 on 1 with Ali last spring…read morewhile they were in 4th grade. At the time, they had an enormous amount of math anxiety, thought they were "bad at math," - working on math frequently resulted in tears. Because of all the anxiety, they were also at least a year behind in math! My kiddo spent the summer working with Ali for an hour once a week, and by the time school started in the fall, they were completely caught up to grade level! Even more importantly, their math anxiety vanished! Ali gave my kiddo such a sense of confidence and helped impart a true joy of math - honestly it was like a miracle to me. Ali is incredibly kind, patient, rigorous and has such a good way with kids who are struggling. We continue to work with Ali occasionally to help my kiddo stay on track in math at school, and now they are one of the best math students in the class! Math homework is a breeze - we haven't had a fight about it in months. We feel so blessed to have found Firecracker Math! It has truly been a gamechanger!

My son 10 year old went to first day of camp after getting info from 510Families and he had a…read morehorrible experience. I told them at registration he needed a review of math skills this was told to the man who was his teacher and it was completely disengaging for my son.

I've referred students to Dabral for over a decade. All rave about him and learn enormous amounts…read more I count on him as a colleague who has the very best interests of students in mind at all times and who thoughtfully reaches them where they are to help them understand the thorniest math problems in all high school through many of the most advanced college courses offered. SAT... ACT...GRE...GMAT math? Pshaw! Dabral calmly, cooly guides students to better practices on these exams with ease. Dabral is a great listener - so attuned to students' thinking that he knows not only what they need in the moment but also just what steps to take so they'll leap ahead to top test scores and grades as fast as possible. I enjoy our collegial discussions of best practices in this profession to which we both devote ourselves. You'll find him filled with integrity, intelligence, and energy to help you reach your learning goals as I count on him to constantly improve my teaching chops

GMAT Score: 720 Wharton 2014 MBA Candidate…read more Dabral is a phenomenal tutor. His exacting, systematic approach pinpoints your areas of weaknesses and he helps to resolve them. I am an impatient student who tends to lose focus very quickly. Dabral offers an efficient and effective strategy to reach your target score.