Kathy
Kathy began her career in education 25 years ago. Currently, she is a 2nd grade teacher in the West Aurora School District. Kathy earned a degree in Elementary Education from Aurora University. She then went on to complete her Master’s Degree, also in Elementary Education from Northern Illinois University. Learning effective methods of helping students develop a strong sense of self-confidence is a passion for her. Kathy truly values all the benefits of being a tutor. She finds it very rewarding to see her students meet and exceed their learning goals! When Kathy isn’t teaching, you may see her bike-riding with her family along one of the Fox River Bike Trails or in her yard working in her vegetable and flower gardens.

Laura
Laura’s career in education includes varied experiences in teaching as well as administration, in preschool through Middle School. Teaching is her life’s work. Her passion is showing students how to apply their strengths and interests, access strategies, and make real-world connections with their learning experiences. She continues to assist parents and families with resources to support their children along their journeys, and is grateful for the opportunity to do so with the Learning Ascent team.

Sandy
Sandy has over three decades of teaching experience in public and private schools. For 17 of those years, she was a technology coordinator and facilitator for a school newspaper. She retired in 2014 and began tutoring four years ago. She enjoys teaching a wide variety of subjects, and tutoring at Learning Ascent allows her the freedom to be creative while helping students to gain self-confidence and to improve their study habits. She is patient, a good listener, and believes that learning should be challenging as well as fun. Besides being a certified teacher for the state of Illinois, Sandy is also certified in Plant Materials/Identification and as a Therapy Dog team with her Golden Retriever, Maisy. In her free time, you’ll find her at the Elburn Library doing genealogy-related research. She is a member of the Family History Writer’s Group, writing her memoir.

Kelly
Kelly has been tutoring private students and/or teaching in high school/college classrooms since the fall of 2002. Most recently, she taught chemistry and math for Chicago Public Schools, and she has been working for Learning Ascent since December, 2019. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, with a concentration in biochemistry, from Carleton College and a master’s degree in secondary STEM education from the University of Minnesota. She specializes in Math, upper elementary – calculus; Science, middle – high school; test prep, including (P)SAT, ACT, CogAT. She enjoys working with students one-on-one, helping them find a way to make challenging content align with how their brain works. She loves when she can see the lightbulb come on and students can explain ideas back to her. She believes deeply in educational equity – every student should have access to an education that thoroughly prepares them to confront 21st century challenges while addressing their own academic and social-emotional needs. When she isn’t teaching, she is either reading, doing fiber arts (especially cross-stitch), completing board games & puzzles, or running speculative fiction conventions.

Evan
To Evan, compassion informs education and vice versa. At Learning Ascent since 2019, Evan has worked to form a personal connection with each student and create individualized solutions for their areas of difficulty. Although he tutors multiple subjects, Kindergarten through college, his specialties and passions lie in all things English. Whether it’s helping emerging readers to discover and harness the power of language, or mentoring incoming seniors on writing an honest and effective admissions essay, Evan uses his degree in film and writing every day.

Nick
Nick has been at Learning Ascent since 2015, and he has assisted students through all types of math. Nick has a Bachelor’s degree in Math/Statistics from Northern Illinois University. He enjoys working with high-school and college students, where his main goal is to help them learn new approaches to problem solving and boost confidence in their skills, both in math class and beyond. In his free time, Nick enjoys playing video games, watching movies, and going to the zoo.

Dana
Dana has been working with students for over 14 years. She has experience in a variety of settings including high schools, learning centers, and private tutoring. Dana graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in English Education and a minor in Cinema Studies. Her favorite part about teaching is guiding students to make learning connections and watching the spark when they realize their true potential. Most importantly, Dana understands that each student is a unique learner who may truly thrive with individualized instruction in a supportive and enlightening environment. When not teaching, Dana enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, reading,  and working in her yard. Dana also admits to having a fascination with everything to do with dinosaurs.

Alexis K.
Alexis has been a classroom teacher since 2019. She has taught within the Geneva and Plainfield school districts. She earned a degree in elementary education from Eastern Illinois University. She specializes in working with elementary aged students on all subject areas. Alexis enjoys creating fun experiences for her students where they take ownership of their own learning. In her free time, she likes to exercise, cook, and spend time with her dogs.