by Mary Knippel

Allen Furst. Photo credit: Mary Knippel.

Does your child like to read? Does your student seem to understand homework, yet do poorly on tests? Does your student have high anxiety about the SAT or ACT tests? Personalized lesson plans, one-to-one teaching and good communication skills are all common denominators three Coastside tutors use in solving the educational difficulties of local students. I spoke with them to learn more about academic coaching on the Coastside.

With extensive experience interacting with children — both in the classroom as a teacher, and on the playing fields as an organizer of the Half Moon Bay Instructional Baseball League and as a Coastside Youth Soccer Association coach and referee — Allen Furst knows how to build confidence and make learning fun. “Since retiring,” Furst said, “I decided I wanted to give back to the community and do something with kids. My knees won’t allow me to get back into the game as a referee, but I’m a very good communicator. My background of 20 years in biotechnology has led me to be very skilled at explaining technical things to non-technical people. Nothing is assumed.”

Furst focuses on high school and intermediate school students, offering personalized learning plans tailored to each student’s needs — whether that involves developing study skills, improving critical thinking, or learning how to take a standardized test. Furst has written practice SAT and ACT tests, which have been published in Morrison Media’s student guides. “A lot of kids don’t know how to take notes,” he said. “I can help them learn how to extract material from a verbal presentation or blackboard presentation. I also would like to inspire kids,” Furst said, “with the potential that they have in their lives … and show them where this kind of stuff (studying math and science) could lead when they get out of school.” Contact him at afurst@allenfurst.com, or call 650-207-1947.

Susan Lydon. Photo credit: Mary Knippel.

Susan Lydon is an education specialist who works with students — from first graders to college students — who have learning difficulties. With a master’s in special education and a medical degree, Lydon can do cognitive testing in schools to diagnose a learning disability. “A lot of the difficulties the kids have are language-oriented or diagram-oriented,” said Lydon. “I have worked with kids on reading comprehension, dyslexia, learning to read. I really try to find out what is that child’s learning difficulty and help with that.”

Lydon’s personal goal is to get students to develop pattern recognition and become aware of what they’re getting and what they’re not getting. Sitting with students while they do their homework twice a week, Lydon watches how they are learning. “Sometimes there are gaps in their learning,” she said. “Something may be missing in their math or science knowledge. I like figuring out what … makes learning work for them. It benefits them to know how they learn.” Lydon says that students who understand that addition and subtraction are opposites and that multiplication and division are opposites are well on their way to understanding the mystery of math. Contact her at mlydon8@gmail.com, or call 650-743-3981.

Victoria Skinner Photo credit: Mary Knippel.

“Education is what I know,” said Victoria Skinner, who has been an educator in the Bay Area and the director of Creative Learning Strategies for over 20 years, “and I love teaching kids. I believe in working with the whole child.” Skinner develops individual tutoring plans for students in kindergarten through 12th grade and often goes to their homes to work with them. “It gives you an idea of what their home environment is like,” she said. “You develop a rapport with the entire family. We’re all partners in education, looking out for the child’s welfare together. I also think working in their own workspace is really important. A lot of kids don’t have their space organized. I don’t teach separate study skills, but I incorporate study skills into everything they do.” Students working with Skinner establish short-term and long-term goals, allowing them to feel a sense of accomplishment and boost their self-esteem. Contact her at victoriaskinner@creativelearningstrategies.com, or call 650-747-9351.