We have been so blessed to work with Jayne. I have a fifth grade daughter, who has struggled with…read moremath for the past several years and we have worked with a handful of tutors-each of them have been great-but I would say, Jayne is truly exceptional. She has a very natural and sincere rapport with my daughter, which has helped to reduce much of the frustration and anxiety that can contribute to her math struggles. I believe that her approach has allowed my daughter to cultivate more optimism and confidence in her abilities and capacity.

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!

Tralee is a wonderful tutor. She has been helping my daughter with her High School math class,…read moregiving her a better understanding of the concepts and more confidence in her skills. She enjoys working with Tralee and feels that Tralee provides her with a depth of understanding she wouldn't have otherwise.

Tralee did a great job helping my daughter get through her online Math credit recovery course…read more ADHD made it very hard for my daughter to stay focused and keep up in the classroom. Her first tutor basically gave up and recommended anxiety therapy. Tralee's tutoring skills, good humor and encouragement helped my daughter make it through the class without tears, fears or drama. She will need to take another course next year, and we will certainly go to Tralee again if the going gets rough.

I called Piedmont Tutoring looking for help in Chemistry. My course at Berkeley was not unusually…read moredifficult but after a month in I had a high C, no not the drink. The regional manager was very knowledgeable and took some background info in order to assign someone for me. The tutor ended up working out really well. Alex was able to meet me at the school library around once a week (sometimes more for tests and quizzes). He actually graduated from Berkeley and had taken the same course before. Sometimes scheduling didn't work but he made sure I was taken care of at least once a week. Never hired a tutor before so the experience overall was enjoyable. I believe they do offer to change tutors if you aren't happy but I didn't have to deal with that. Will call again but hopefully won't have to!

My daughter Angie wasn't doing well in her calculus course during her first year of college. We…read moreweren't sure if we should drop or continue. I reached out to Piedmont Tutoring for a tutor that can help us out. Andrew was our "first responder" and helped us right away. Our assigned tutor worked well with Angie and has improved her confidence and her grades over the last few months. He has been flexible and easy to communicate with. We kept a consistent schedule throughout the year which was best for both parties. Would recommend to others looking for tutoring in the area.

My son worked with Alex on his post-graduate schools and doctoral program applications, and working…read morewith Alex made huge difference. He was extremely knowledgeable about the process and easy to access at any time. My son accepted to a fully funded program.I highly recommend Alex if anyone looking for a coach to help with their writing . Thank you Alex!! I m grateful for your dedication and availability

Dr. Blum worked with my son on his college personal statement. Coached him over 5 sessions on how…read moreto organize, edit, transition and finish his statement. What we really appreciated was Dr. Blum did not write or direct the paper. He helped my son through the writing process. Strategies my son will use long past college. Highly recommend his services.

We enrolled at Sylvan to assist our daughter with her transition to 6th grade and the increase in…read moreschoolwork that came with it. They have really helped her with the fundamentals of the math and writing that she was struggling with upon arriving to Middle School. The teachers are nice, friendly and give her the motivation that she needed to power through. Thanks Sylvan!

I enrolled my child at Sylvan hoping to get real academic support, but after months of sessions and…read morepaying $71 an hour, her progress actually declined. Her latest school assessment came back lower than when she first started Sylvan, despite being told she had "mastered" certain skills. A reassessment outside of Sylvan confirmed she made very little improvement, which was extremely disappointing. The recent staffing changes also caused major issues. My child struggled to connect with tutors due to high turnover and even left sessions upset. She eventually told me a tutor was being mean to her, which was the final red flag. Between the lack of progress, inconsistent staffing, and my child's emotional discomfort, I decided to withdraw her. I had high hopes for Sylvan, but the results and experience did not match what was promised.

Emily and her staff have helped our family through both high school homework help, organizational…read moreskills, and college SAT prep in uniquely professional and thorough ways. The process for understanding who your child is, who your family is, what is at the core of the need, and adjusting and checking in along the way are beyond compare. I am an educator, and worked with many tutors and tutoring services over many years, and these folks, with Emily at the mast, really find a unique and effective balance. They have a no nonsense approach, are goal oriented, target with professional skills, and have a human approach. They know how to meet families and kids where they are, wont shy from giving advice, and they really know the landscape of all the different schools in the area, even down to the curriculum expectations; they know students they serve well. This experience of local schools alone is a huge experiential leg up. I am an elementary educator, but they helped me with my two very different high school kids journeys. I am VERY confident they can do it all, K-12! This place is the BEST!

Study Smarter was terrific in helping our daughter (and her parents!) through the college…read moreapplication process. Everyone we worked with -- Ariel, Joel, Mel -- was professional, thoughtful, and connected well with our daughter. They built trust with our teenager, coached her throughout the process (school selection, test prep and essay writing), listened to her and evolved their recommendations as they got to know her. The bottom line: Reduced stress in the process and (we firmly believe) better results in admissions and financial aid offers than our daughter would have achieved without their help.

I recently started volunteering with Reading Partners, and it's a great organization. They pretty…read moremuch say that if you're an adult and you can read, then you're qualified to volunteer. They have impressive results and their program really helps kids! I read to my student twice a week and help improve his reading fluency and comprehension. Most students start the program reading below grade level, and after about 30 hours of the program they read at or above grade level! Too many kids come from low-income areas and live with only one parent, or their parents have to work many hours and can't spend time reading to their children or buying them books. That's where Reading Partners comes in. It is so helpful for students, and you can really make a difference! If you can spare 45 minutes once or twice a week, you will help.

Reading Partners is one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences I've had in the Bay Area…read more Reading Partners matches a student who is behind their grade level in reading proficiency with a tutor for one-on-one reading sessions (about an hour). I didn't have prior teaching experience to speak of, but they provided the training. I only tutor once a week, since I need to sneak out from work around lunchtime, but they can accomodate different schedules. Reading Partners have simple lesson plans ready for each week, and it only takes 10 minutes of prep time when I get there to quickly scan the lesson and be ready for the session. Mostly I think the one-on-one time is helpful for the students. Teachers just don't have the time to give special attention to each and every student while managing an entire class. As I mentioned earlier this is one of the most rewarding volunteer opportunities around in the Bay Area (another good one is Refugee Transitions). Because you usually work with the same student, you can really see the progress as their reading improves. By the way, Reading Partners has programs in several schools around the Bay Area. I tutor at one of the San Jose schools, not the Oakland address listed here.

I am not very good with math. She helped me make it through my class so I could move on. Thanks…read moreNicole you're great.

Nicole is very good at adjusting her style to match the student's ability and understanding. She is…read morepersonable and works well with a variety of ages and abilities.

I had an amazing experience working with Gourdy. He helped raise my ACT score a ton and was super…read morehelpful with all my college essays, from private schools to UCs. He really knows what he's doing and made the whole process way less stressful. He was also a big reason I got into UC Berkeley, which I'm super grateful for. On top of that, he's really knowledgeable but also funny, so sessions never felt boring. Definitely recommend if you want someone who actually makes a difference.

Gordy is an exceptional college counselor! He kept my son on tack and met all the deadlines even…read morewhen we had limited time. He was encouraging and used virtual services effectively. I also liked how he created google folders and made the whole process of essays and tasks easy and even fun! I would highly recommend Gordy!

Hi, I highly recommend this Academy and in particular our great teacher Francesca Lorenzon…read more Francesca is an excellent teacher, who truly cared about me and the rest of our class. She made sure that we learned about culture, geography and language. She always welcomed our questions and was just fun to be around. This carried forward into the overall classroom experience where all had a good time and ended up going out to lunch every few weeks. I studied Italian for eight months to prepare for my trip to Italy and highly recommend Francesca and the Academy. Joe

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!