Chelsea G.
Chelsea Geier is a Certified Teacher. She received her bachelor’s degree in English Education and Spanish from Colorado State University. She currently lives in Boulder, where she is completing her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Naropa University.
For the past seven years, Chelsea has been a public school teacher. She has extensive experience teaching middle school students; however, she enjoys working with students of all ages. For example, for a year and a half, Chelsea was a volunteer English teacher for the Peace Corps in Costa Rica, which dramatically improved her Spanish language skills.
Beyond teaching literacy skills to students, Chelsea values relationship building most of all, because learning can’t happen without a solid student-teacher connection. Chelsea also supports the development of the whole child, especially with regards to self-esteem and confidence. She firmly believes that self-esteem makes the biggest difference when it comes to helping students learn.
Chelsea grew up in Parker, Colorado and loves spending time outdoors, camping, running, and hiking.
Jillian D.
For the past two years, Jillian Davis taught first and fifth grades in the Howard County Public School System in Maryland. She takes joy in helping children build their confidence by providing them with the right resources to help them succeed.
Jillian earned her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education, as well as her teaching Certificate, from Towson University. In addition, Jillian has five years of experience tutoring students from young children to young adults. She also worked at summer youth camps for several years, where she developed a creative and interactive approach to teaching and lesson planning. She is also certified in first aid and CPR.
Jillian recently moved to Boulder to pursue a career in the culinary arts. When she is not teaching, tutoring, cooking, or exploring the Colorado outdoors, you’re likely to find her reading, crocheting, or braiding hair.
Elizabeth M.
Elizabeth is currently a kindergarten teacher in Glendale Heights. She graduated from Concordia University-Chicago in 2019 with her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with an endorsement in English as a Second Language. From there she went on to teach preschool, second grade, and now kindergarten. In the Fall of 2019, she went back to Concordia University-Chicago to earn her Master’s Degree in Special Education. She recently completed that program and now is a certified Learning Behavior Specialist. While teaching through a pandemic, she saw first-hand the toll it took on her student’s learning. This is when becoming a tutor really became her passion, so she could help students close any gaps they may have in their learning. Elizabeth is the oldest of five and grew up encourging her siblings to come to her classroom she created in the basement of her Oak Park home. Being a teacher has always been a dream of hers and she is very happy to be able to live her dream today!
Chelsea G.
Chelsea Geier is a Certified Teacher. She received her bachelor’s degree in English Education and Spanish from Colorado State University. She currently lives in Boulder, where she is completing her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Naropa University.
For the past seven years, Chelsea has been a public school teacher. She has extensive experience teaching middle school students; however, she enjoys working with students of all ages. For example, for a year and a half, Chelsea was a volunteer English teacher for the Peace Corps in Costa Rica, which dramatically improved her Spanish language skills.
Beyond teaching literacy skills to students, Chelsea values relationship building most of all, because learning can’t happen without a solid student-teacher connection. Chelsea also supports the development of the whole child, especially with regards to self-esteem and confidence. She firmly believes that self-esteem makes the biggest difference when it comes to helping students learn.
Chelsea grew up in Parker, Colorado and loves spending time outdoors, camping, running, and hiking.
Kayla H.
Meet Kayla Hicks, a Speech-Language Pathology graduate student. Kayla grew up in Oklahoma City where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Oklahoma State University. There she taught high school students from Phnom Penh, Cambodia formal grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation of spoken and written English. She also tutored college students in English, Essay writing, and Psychology. Kayla then moved to Illinois to work toward her Graduate degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Midwestern University where she is expected to graduate in May of 2023. Kayla has gained professional experience as a Speech Pathology graduate student who has facilitated evaluation and intervention in neurodegenerative disorders of communication (TBI/ABI, Parkinson’s Disease, Stroke, Cognition, Aphasia, etc.) and children with unique communication needs (Expressive/Receptive Language Disorder, AAC, Autism, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Articulation, Language, Social learning, etc.) Through speech and language intervention, she has been able to foster her love of teaching and support students and adults with unique needs across multiple subjects to meet their educational goals. She has been able to make her students feel more confident in the classroom and their personal life by supporting improvement in writing, reading, vocabulary, language, speech, and math.
Kayla’s experience has allowed her to be flexible and adaptable with all students. She offers a calm, yet welcoming demeanor, infectious joy, candor, and positivity. In her spare time, Kayla loves going on walks, playing games, laser tag, and dancing. Kayla also spends her time helping out at a local dance studio, where she gets to share her love of dance. You can catch Kayla with a big smile on her face, helping someone become their best self.
Carolyn P.
My name is Carolyn Paschen and I am a lifelong learner and teacher. I come from generations of teachers who were dedicated to being a part of student learning. I taught in Boulder Valley Schools for 21 years before I retired in 2018. Literacy is my greatest passion. Helping children discover the joy that comes from reading and writing is something I have missed since I retired. I look forward to working with children as a tutor at Prep Academy.
Brenda K.
Brenda Kahn graduated from NYU with a degree in political science. After college, she followed her passion for music, was signed to Columbia Records, recorded several albums, and toured across the US and Europe.
After starting a family in 2008, Brenda transitioned from her professional music career to teaching. She fell in love with teaching when she ran a tutoring company in Center Valley, PA that helped students with reading and writing challenges. She also expanded her educational offerings to include middle school creative writing workshops and elementary special ed support.
In 2018, her family relocated to South Salem, NY where she taught middle- and high-school English and History at Fusion Academy in White Plains, NY.
Fusion Academy caters to students with learning differences, and Bren excels at finding creative learning paths for students with special ed needs including ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, giftedness, ASD, and anxiety. In 2021, she was promoted to Director of Homework Cafe at Fusion, where she was responsible for helping students hone their executive functioning skills, while working with teachers to adopt and tailor best teaching and learning practices.
In 2022, Brenda’s family relocated to Boulder, CO. She is thrilled to be working with Prep Academy Tutors where she will continue to foster joy, creativity, and connection with every student.
JOAN C.
Joan is a veteran teacher with a Master’s degree in Elementary Education. She spent 14 years teaching, both in elementary and middle school classrooms. She has tutored privately in Westchester and Fairfield counties for the past 15 years. During Covid, Joan homeschooled families in the local area. Currently, she works with elementary students in all subjects as well as middle and high school students in English and history. Joan also supports students’ writing, study skills and executive functioning.
Omar N.
Omar is currently a second-year medical student at Rush Medical College. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics and minor in biology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has been tutoring one on one for more than 6 years now, and has experience with elementary through college aged students. Omar has tutored a variety of subjects, including math, economics, science, English, ACT subjects, and Arabic. He has also taught classes of 20+ as a Sunday School instructor for 4 years and is comfortable with all types of students and settings. Omar’s time tutoring and teaching have taught him that everyone has different learning styles, and teaching methods must be adjusted accordingly.
SARA L.
Sara has been tutoring for over thirteen years. She received her Bachelor of Arts in History from Eastern Connecticut State University, and a Master’s in Education from Sacred Heart University. She is currently working on her EdD. in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Sara has been teaching elementary education for twelve years and is currently a second-grade teacher. She has written curriculum for her district and is currently a lead literacy teacher for the district.
Her mission as a tutor is to ensure that every student succeeds. Her goal is to instill in children the passion to be lifelong learners. The students Sara has worked with have ranged in age from three years old to eighteen years old. She has worked on skills including phonics, number recognition, math facts, and test preparation. She creates individual tutoring plans for each of her students based on their skills. Sara creates meaningful bonds with all of her students as well as their families.
When Sara is not working, she loves reading, spending time with her three children, and traveling.