STEPHEN C.

Stephen Carter has a BA, MA and PhD (ABD) in English literature. He was a University Teaching Assistant for five years at two Canadian universities, and he has taught and tutored elementary, high school, and college/university students for over ten years. As a teacher, Stephen helps students cultivate a love for learning, achieve academic success, and develop advanced skills in reading, writing, analysis, critical thinking and speaking.

Christina G.

While completing her undergraduate studies at McGill, Christina tutored on behalf of the Sociology department, preparing students for upcoming exams and assignments. As well, Christina volunteered at the essay writing center, where she edited and assisted students with papers.

Christina is passionate about literacy and believes that skills in reading and writing are fundamental to success in any subject. She has worked extensively with students with developmental and processing problems, working to help the students overcome difficulties and obstacles. She is trained and very experienced in SAT and SSAT preparation as well as assisting students with writing personal statements of excellence. She teaches students studying skills, test-taking strategies, and how to overcome test-related anxiety. As well, Christina specializes in preparing students to transition from public to private schools. Her preparation is exhaustive, including test-taking prep, interview prep for the student, and interview prep for the parents.

Christina believes in developing and fostering relationships with each student to create a comfortable environment that allows the students to flourish and learn. She is a firm advocate for different learning styles and tries to incorporate a variety of techniques that deviate from standardized education, as she considers each student’s learning style to be unique and accommodable.

MARIE CELESTE F.

Celeste graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston with a Bachelor of Honours in Arts and Science. She majored in Global Development Studies, a cross-disciplinary department teaching courses exploring politics, philosophy, economics, environmental justice, public relations, global governance, religion, history, geography, and social justice. Celeste was also a concurrent education student working to complete her teaching certification alongside her undergraduate degree. She is entering her final year of teacher’s college, completing three classroom placements and fulfilling her teachable subjects, history and geography. Celeste has been engaged in teaching since she began coaching volleyball at fourteen. This sparked her love for teaching and encouraged her to seek further opportunities. She has worked at Olympia Sports Camp as a counsellor and a summer schoolteacher for their outdoor ed high school leadership credit. She has taught grade nine English, science, and geography, as well as grade twelve English, grade ten world religions, grade ten civics and careers, and grade eleven world history while on placement. Celeste has experience working with elementary school students through her responsibility of caring for students from junior kindergarten to grade five at Pickering Colleges After Care Program. She has worked with the Helen Tufts Society in Kingston, where she was paired with a grade four student whom she met with once a week for tutoring. In her free time, Celeste enjoys being outside with nature, whether walking her dog Aussie, going for a bike ride, or playing pickleball. Celeste is honoured to be a part of a student’s success and learning in the same way her tutors were for her.

Nazia M.

Nazia Mahmood holds a Master’s of Teaching degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, where she also completed an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree. Over the last five years, she has worked alongside students from both primary and secondary schools in both English and Social Science subjects. Her extensive experience encompasses work in community centers, private tutoring, and online synchronous tutoring, where she has meticulously developed individualized lesson plans to address the unique academic goals of each student.

Nazia’s pedagogical approach is rooted in Culturally Responsive and Relevant teaching methods, as well as the principles of Universal Design for Learning. These frameworks ensure that her instruction is inclusive and adaptable, catering to the diverse needs of her students. Throughout her practicum experiences in her Master’s program, Nazia taught both Social Science and English subjects, working in both group settings as well as one-on-one work sessions.

Nazia is deeply passionate about her students’ well-being and academic growth. Her commitment to fostering academic success is driven by her genuine care for each student’s individual journey. Nazia’s dedication extends beyond academics; she is dedicated to creating a supportive and nurturing learning environment where students feel valued and empowered to reach their full potential.

CLAIRE R.

Claire has a BA with a French literature major from U of Calgary and is in her last year of the BEd program at St Mary’s University. She is a New Brunswick native who moved to Calgary when she was 3 and learned English at school. She has taught numerous adults in Continuing Education at Mount Royal College and in the Corporate sector and is returning to her first love, teaching children. She has a passion for reading and writing as well as studying, in her spare time, history, governments, and citizenship. By her bedside you’ll currently find books by Charles Dickens, Thomas Sowell, a random book on the American revolution (it’s better than it sounds) and her favorite dog Tessa. Her husband and 2 boys are into hockey, so obviously, the TV is always on during Stanley Cup finals.

GRIFFIN H.

Griffin graduated from Humber College in 2022, receiving a Bachelor’s of Music with honours. Griffin is currently enrolled at the University of Toronto completing his Master’s of Teaching, where he is set to graduate in April 2025. Griffin is 24 years old and has been teaching music and mentoring students for over 5 years and has experience working with students of all ages.

Griffin graduated from Kelowna Secondary School in 2018 receiving a diploma with honours, as well as the Holland-Rusk Award, the BC Achievement Scholarship, and the BC District Scholarship for Fine Arts. During his time at Humber College, Griffin was awarded the Bernie Piltch Memorial Scholarship and the Yamaha Canada Music Award.

Griffin has recently completed two placements in TDSB schools and has extensive knowledge of the Ontario curriculum, with a focus on the Junior/Intermediate division.

JAMES S.

James Schultz found his passion for writing as the editor of his high-school newspaper. Under his direction, it fell prey to censorship battles and published only one issue. At university, he spent his time writing bad dystopian novels, and paid a heavy academic price for it. Returning to Toronto to pursue a career in screenwriting, he co-wrote ​Disappearance at Clifton Hill​ with director Albert Shin for Rhombus Media, starring Tuppence Middleton and David Cronenberg. After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019, it was picked up for North American distribution by IFC Midnight and reached #1 on US Netflix. Between his screenwriting and story editing duties, he still finds time to work on his next bad dystopian novel.

Rayan B.

Rayan is currently in teachers college and in the process of completing his Grades 7 – 12 teaching certification at York University with English and Dramatic Arts as his declared teachable subjects.

In the past, Rayan has excelled in his time working at Kumon as a Math and Reading Tutor where he taught learners in pre-school and Grades 1 – 6 and successfully helped them improve their foundational literacy (reading and writing) and numeracy skills (basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

Outside of school and work, Rayan has also volunteered at the Christian Centre Church’s after school homework club, and Inner City Outreach. Here he helped at-risk Grades 6 – 8 children from the Jane and Finch area gain both the skills and confidence that they needed to perform at their very best, across a variety of different academic subjects.

When he is not busy tutoring his super cool Prep Academy students, Rayan loves to watch movies and shows (he’s a big into cinema), read comic books (he’s also an unapologetic geek) and play chess and poker (not very well though).

Susie G.

Susie G. is a K-12 BC certified teacher who specializes in secondary Humanities (English Literature, Social Studies, Political Science), Literacy (especially for young and/or struggling learners), Special and Inclusive education as well as Teaching Speakers of Other Languages.

I began my teaching career in South Korea where I eventually opened an English language academy that grew to have over 200 learners ages preschool to adult. I completed a diploma in Teaching Speakers of Other Languages in that time. Upon my return to Canada, I completed a Bachelor of Education degree and a diploma in Special and Inclusive Education. I have much experience teaching literacy at all levels and recognize the benefits of structured reading programs for struggling readers. I also believe that creating engaging lessons based on learner interests, strengths and needs is key to motivating learners as well as realizing goals. Playful, engaging, goal-driven lessons is what you can expect from my teaching.

Andrew K.

Andrew completed his Bachelor of Arts at the University of British Columbia, before acquiring a Master’s of Teaching at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Andrew has taught in most subject areas while specializing in English, History, Social Studies and Technologies.

With a further background as an electrician, he also has a strong understanding of calculus, algebra, trigonometry and foundations mathematics. Throughout his trades and teacher education, Andrew has participated in tutoring a wide variety of students, including first and second-year undergrads. During his time as a teacher, he has found that curating the subject to meet the unique and individual needs and interests of the student is key to their learning success.