Andrew M.

Andrew is a compassionate, dedicated educator with a passion for helping young learners build confidence and realize their full potential both inside and outside the classroom. A graduate of Tulane University with a degree in Elementary Education and Sociology, Andrew holds a Louisiana Teaching Certificate and completed specialized coursework in Reggio Emilia child-centered teaching methods in Italy. Andrew was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he spent much of his youth leading children’s karate lessons and working as a head counselor at a local summer camp. Through these endeavors, Andrew gained the experience and patience necessary to create safe and supportive learning environments. When he isn’t in the classroom, you can find Andrew losing his voice while seeing live music.

Janel R.

Janel has 29 years of experience teaching children in the Early Childhood realm, 23 of those years have been spent teaching children with a variety of exceptionalities. The other 6 years were served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans as a Kindergarten Teacher at St. Matthew the Apostle school in River Ridge. She holds an undergraduate degree from Louisiana Tech University and a master’s degree from the University of New Orleans in Non-Categorical Preschool Handicapped which certifies her in the education of students ages birth through age 6 with a variety of disabilities. In order to help a child reach their potential, she determines the child’s learning style and provides fun, engaging activities to learn new material. She uses a multisensory approach to learning which includes enhanced tactile, auditory and kinesthetic techniques. Having the training and knowledge of recent research regarding the science of reading, she is able to assess pre-reading skills to find what particular skills a child may be having difficulty with and break those down into smaller chunks of success in which to build a strong foundation for learning new skills. Beginning math skills are taught with hands on manipulatives for children to gain concrete representation of concepts being taught. This is then paired with real life word problems to help beginning addition and subtraction skills. When learning to write, her philosophy is that children need to develop the necessary fine motor and visual motor skills as a preliminary means to writing. She uses many alternatives to learning beginning writing strokes to simply putting a pencil in a child’s hand. Using “sing-songy” rhymes, children can recall basic writing strokes to become more proficient with writing letters and numbers as they progress through the stages of writing. She then includes beginning steps to the writing process of formulating thoughts and ideas to lead to written language. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, house plants, crafting, and crocheting.

Beth R.

Beth is a certified Early Childhood teacher, a Montessori Lower Elementary Guide, and a Positive Discipline Classroom Educator. She is entering her 30th year in education. Beth’s practice reflects her years of experience as well as her commitment to ongoing professional learning and growth. She believes learning occurs when all parties feel safe and respected. Beth prioritizes relationships with families and children, and works to see and serve the individual learner. Born in Missouri and later a resident of Austin, Texas, she’s been a proud citizen of New Orleans since 2004. In her free time, Beth enjoys gardening, traveling, her pets, and laughing with family and friends.

Amanda D.

Amanda is a dedicated educator and human resources professional with a passion for helping students build confidence and achieve academic success. With experience working with students across multiple grade levels, Amanda creates a supportive, engaging, and encouraging learning environment tailored to each student’s unique needs and learning style.

Her approach to tutoring focuses on strengthening foundational skills, improving study habits, and fostering a love of learning. Amanda believes every student has the ability to succeed when given the right guidance, patience, and encouragement. She is committed to helping students reach their academic goals while developing the confidence and independence needed for lifelong success.

Cynthia S.

Cynthia is a Certified Academic Language Therapist who works with students in grades 1–9, providing dyslexia therapy and individualized reading instruction. Her teaching journey began at Louisiana Key Academy Northshore, where she spent two years teaching Social Studies Composition to 3rd graders and Structured Language Arts to 3rd and 5th graders.
Her commitment to literacy is deeply personal. When her child was diagnosed with dyslexia, Cynthia, who also has dyslexia, immersed herself in learning everything she could about effective reading instruction. This led her to pursue IMSLEC‑accredited training and ultimately earn her CALT certification through ALTA in February 2026.

Cynthia is also an author. Her poetry collection, Present Peace, explores her connection to nature and her search for her authentic voice. She also writes Mom poetry and is using her CALT certification to write decodable readers for older students.

Before becoming an educator, Cynthia built a successful career in accounting, earning her CPA license and working for Deloitte & Touche, LLP and PoolCorp. She holds an M.S. in Accounting from Louisiana State University and a B.B.A. in Accounting with a psychology concentration from Millsaps College.

Outside of working with students, she enjoys time with her family and is currently developing a middle‑grade werewolf series using graphic organizers.

Olivia B.

Olivia B. is a Certified Teacher who has been working in Jefferson Parish School District for the last four years. Olivia grew up in Harvey, Louisiana. She graduated from Mount Carmel Academy in 2009 and received her Bachelor of Science Degree from Louisiana State University. Prior to teaching, Olivia was a stay-at-home mother to her two daughters. Her youngest daughter’s “terrible twos” led her to apply for a middle school teaching position. Since then, she has not looked back! Olivia was selected in 2023 to complete her Alternative Education Certification through Jefferson Parish’s Embark Program. Olivia grew up in a large family whose parents were both educators. Olivia has always been a natural-born mentor, leader, and role model. Understanding students’ needs and how they learn best is what drives Olivia in the classroom each and every day. Olivia evaluates students on an individual basis and plans lessons accordingly. No one student learns the same. The success of each student is truly important to her. Olivia loves building relationships with her students because it helps build a positive community in the classroom. Teamwork is key to the positive environment Olivia strives for in the classroom. Working together to solve problems and investigate questions leads to growth not only in the classroom but also outside the classroom.

Theresa R.

Throughout her many years at school, Theresa R. worked to create a learning environment where ideas can flow freely and expanding knowledge is the name of the game. She learned to share her values and teaching experiences with others all the way back in high school, when her English teachers allowed her to begin tutoring other students in the ways of reading and writing. Following this, she graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a degree in English, alongside a minor in History. From there, she went on to get her Master’s in Literature at the University of Texas at Dallas, where she not only focused on writing, literature, and grammar, but also took several classes in history, from Native Americans in the U.S. to women’s place in Europe during war times. Though her focus these days has been on her job in generative A.I. for Google’s Gemini, helping and tutoring others has been a passion that she wants to pursue once more. She plans to bring her excitement for learning, as well as her skills in American Sign Language (ASL) that she picked up while in Lafayette, to help young people in today’s educational environment. She provides a hands-on learning experience for those who may be struggling and brings a passion for literature and history that is infectious, all while fostering a safe and fun environment for children of all ages.

Jenna C.

Jenna C. is a certified teacher with a strong academic background and a passion for helping students succeed. She grew up in a suburb of Dallas before moving to New Orleans to pursue her undergraduate studies at Loyola University New Orleans, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in 2017. Following graduation, Jenna began her career as a full-time tutor, specializing in ACT/SAT preparation as well as a wide range of secondary-level subjects. During this time, she developed a deep understanding of individualized instruction and the strategies students need to build confidence and improve performance. Her success as a tutor inspired her to further her commitment to education by completing a teaching certification program in 2022. Since becoming a full-time classroom teacher, Jenna has gained diverse experience teaching everything from middle school English to advanced high school math. This versatility allows her to adapt her teaching methods to meet the needs of learners at different levels and across subject areas. Jenna thrives on building meaningful relationships with her students and believes that understanding each student’s unique learning style is key to mastering new material. She is dedicated to creating a supportive and engaging learning environment where students feel empowered to ask questions, take risks, and achieve their academic goals.

Linda M.

For the past almost-five years, Linda Monacelli has been a certified teacher of middle school Spanish at Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy. Prior to teaching Spanish, she taught high school ESL/ELL for four years and high school English Language Arts (ELA) for two years. Linda was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to New Orleans to begin her teaching journey in May of 2015. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Northeastern Illinois University and will be completing her Master’s degree in Spanish Language Teaching this summer in Guanajuato, Mexico. Linda has been working on this degree for the past two years through Southern Oregon University’s Summer Language Institute, and she has loved every minute of it, especially being able to study and speak Spanish in Mexico! She has also taken classes in Cadiz, Spain. Spanish is Linda’s third language, with Italian being her second, and English her first. Linda comes from a big Italian family who initially immigrated to the United States from the forested and mountainous regions of Abruzzo and Molise. When she is not teaching or working on her Master’s thesis, Linda loves to travel and immerse herself in other cultures, including language, food, music, dance, traditions, art, site-seeing, and making new friends. She also enjoys reading, spending quality time with her family, cooking, and playing PC games.

Hannah G-C.

Hannah is certified in English- Secondary Education and Mild to Moderate- Special Education and has been working in education for over eight years. She has taught and supported students at every level, from pre-k, elementary, middle, and high school, and currently works as the Instructional Specialist over the Humanities Department at a local high school. Born and raised in New Orleans, Hannah earned her degree in English Literature from LSU before completing a dual M.A.T in Secondary Education and Special Education at Xavier University of Louisiana. She believes that every student learns differently and is passionate about meeting students where they are, building confidence, consistency, and the skills they need to reach their goals, including preparation for state and standardized tests such as LEAP. Outside of the classroom, Hannah loves spending time with her dogs at the park, trying new restaurants, traveling, and indulging her passions for fashion and antiquing.