Tutoring

April Garrett's Educational Services provides personalized, private instruction in the student's home throughout Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. We offer tutoring in all subjects from elementary through high school at all levels including Advanced Placement. Appointments are made at the student's convenience, accommodating busy schedules filled with athletic practices, community service, rehearsals, etc. Instructors, all graduates or post-graduates of top universities including Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Brown, UC Berkeley, and UCLA, are available seven days a week - mornings, afternoons, or evenings. 

April Garrett ensures that her instructors are all highly intelligent, experienced, responsible, and friendly. They inspire students rather than intimidate them. They are firm but flexible. 

The rapport and trust between student and instructor strongly influence the quality and quantity of learning that takes place. For this reason, April Garrett pairs students with instructors she deems best suited to each student's learning style and personality.

The SAT 

Our one-on-one program prepares students for the SAT I on three essential levels: intellectual, strategic, and psychological. Our program, designed by April Garrett,  is conducted in the student's home at his/her convenience. Instructors are available seven days a week - mornings, afternoons or evenings. Students will receive two comprehensive manuals, one critical reading/writing and one math. The manuals include detailed discussion of test-taking strategies, psychological preparation, step-by-step instruction for every kind of exercise on the SAT, and reinforcing practice drills. Diagnostic exams, all real SAT tests published by the College Board, are administered and reviewed in their entirety over the course of our 10, 14, and 20 session programs.
 

SAT II 

We prepare students for SAT II tests in all subjects at all levels through the administration of actual SAT II exams and the use of supplementary materials specific to the needs of each student. We use this approach rather than a one-size-fits-all approach because, unlike the SAT I, the SAT IIs are subject specific. In other words, the majority of students have studied anywhere between one and three years of the subject prior to taking the SAT II, so they have mastered most of the material. Time and efficacy are of the essence. Therefore, we focus each one-on-one session on the skills that an individual student needs to improve rather than on the broad subject. 
 

ISEE 

This course is also a one-on-one program and is tailored to the individual needs of each student. Sessions are conducted in the student's home at his/her convenience. Course work includes verbal reasoning, reading comprehension, essay composition, quantitative reasoning and mathematics achievement for students at each of the three test levels: lower (candidates for grades 5 and 6), middle (candidates for grades 7 and 8), and upper (candidates for grades 9-12). Instructors remediate areas of weakness, reinforce areas of strength and fine-tune test-taking skills through drills and practice tests designed by the Educational Records Bureau, publishers of the ISEE. We also provide effective methods for dealing with the anxiety that can be an obstacle to even the brightest student's performance on the test. Additionally, we prepare students for their interviews with private school administrators.

Let's go to college...

Applying to schools or universities can be an overwhelming task for both students and parents. There are endless decisions to make, piles of forms to fill out, and reams of essays to write. And all of it needs to be done meticulously and strategically. It's hard to even know where to begin. 

April Garrett provides effective assistance at each step of the way, including: 

•  Working in association with college guidance counselors. 
   
•  Organizing academic and extracurricular information into an impressive resume. 
   
•  Compiling an outstanding portfolio. 
   
•  Planning and editing compelling essays. 
   
•  Coaching for winning interviews with school admissions officers.

Home Schooling

April Garrett's Educational Services offers one-on-one, K through 12, fully accredited home schooling for students who need scheduling flexibility, more personalized attention, and/or a fresh start. Our program is accepted by national universities including University of California and the Ivy League. Ideal for professional minors, competitive athletes, students transitioning from one school to another, and students who would like to complete or repeat an academic year in six months. Our instructors meet one-on-one with students at whatever location is most convenient for the students - at home or on location. 

Academic Management 

This program is designed for students whose disorganization sabotages not only their grades but their peace of mind and that of their families. These are the students who do their homework but don't turn it in; who fully grasp the subject matter and even excel in it but forget to study for tests or to do assigned work; whose backpacks are crammed with crumpled papers, broken pencils, and half-eaten sandwiches. In addition to providing any necessary academic tutoring, our instructors teach methods of organization customized to accommodate the unique needs of each student; monitor each student's assigned work, assuring that all work is submitted on time; and collaborate with parents, teachers, and administrators in a coordinated program by which work is successfully completed and turned in. 
 

Reading Support

The rule of thumb is that children learn to read from kindergarten through second grade and read to learn from third grade on. In other words, by the time your child is eight years old, the academic curriculum requires fundamental reading mastery. As a result, a child who struggles with reading is at risk of falling behind in school. This has far-reaching consequences, most of which early reading intervention can prevent. Our Reading Support Program employs the best reading methods and educational games to create an effective and fun learning experience that gives children the confidence they need to succeed in school.