History Archives - My Learning Springboard

Johnathan Appel

A graduate of Amherst College, Johnathan Appel has worked as a private tutor, classroom teacher, editor, and writer since his junior year of high school. He has worked with students of vastly different ages in several schools around New York City, a university in China, two public schools in Taiwan, and the Hampshire County Jail in Massachusetts. He loves helping his students find what they’re passionate about in their writing, reading, and research. In addition, as a high scorer on the SAT himself (2350), he’s eager to help with standardized test preparation or general study skills.

Born and raised in New York City, Johnathan Appel graduated from St. Bernard’s School on the Upper East Side and Riverdale Country School in the Bronx. He then attended Amherst College, graduating magna cum laude with a BA in Political Science and Phi Beta Kappa distinction. Within the major, he concentrated in institutions and the reproductions of inequalities and completed a senior thesis on rhetoric and domestic welfare policy. During the latter half of college, he became fascinated by theater and participated in four productions (three as the lead) as well as writing and performing in a solo capstone piece. After graduation, he jetted off to Taiwan on a Fulbright English Teaching fellowship where he worked with 2^nd through 5^th graders at two public schools. Johnathan also teaches writing workshops at public and private elementary schools across New York City with the Story Pirates, a theater dedicated to encouraging young creative writers.

Johnathan Appel is a successful humor and satire writer, with multiple published articles in the New Yorker, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and other online publications.

You might find Johnathan wandering around a bookstore buying everything in sight, hosting or performing in a comedy show, getting way too excited about Marvel movies. Johnathan Appel has spent his life trying to convince people that his first name isn’t misspelled, that his last name isn’t a fruit, and that he has no direct relationship with the hero of American folklore, Johnny Appleseed.

Elizabeth Schiff

Elizabeth Schiff is an enthusiastic Learning Specialist and private tutor with over 25 years experience teaching and tutoring reading, writing, math, science, French, and social studies for K-8th grades, as well as English, history and French for high school students. Elizabeth has an MS.Ed in Elementary Education from Bank Street College of Education, an AB in English and American Literature from Brown University, and she graduated from The Brearley School. Elizabeth has taught all grades from Kindergarten to 4th and has tutored many students in 1st through 12th grades. Moreover, she is trained in Orton- Gillingham based interventions, including PAF.

Elizabeth absolutely loves teaching and makes learning fun! She has taught at private, public and charter schools, and has extensive experience with a broad range of learning styles and differences, including: ADD/ADHD; executive functioning; dyslexia and decoding; graphomotor/fine motor; processing; short term memory; receptive and expressive language; visual-spatial and motor planning; and anxiety disorder. She focuses on improving students’ self-esteem by offering consistent positive encouragement and feedback, supporting them academically, and teaching them the skills and analytical thinking they need in order to be successful.

Through informal assessments, Elizabeth develops an individualized plan that addresses each student’s strengths, interests and needs, and she uses a wide variety of developmentally-appropriate methodologies, resources, games and activities specifically designed for each student. She gives frequent oral and written feedback to parents, and stays in close communication with teachers and learning specialists when appropriate. She generally works long-term with students, but she also does test preparation for the ISEE, the SHSAT and the SSAT, and she teaches interview skills.

Elizabeth has tutored students from Dalton, Chapin, Brearley, Ethical Culture/Fieldston, Columbia Grammar, Trevor Day, Rodeph Sholom, The Town School, The Dwight School, Professional Children’s School, United Nations International School, Speyer Legacy, Stephen Gaynor, Gateway and multiple public schools.

Avram Schlesinger

Avram Schlesinger — a private tutor and professional educator — is available to work with students from fourth through twelfth grade, and into the university years. He specializes in academic coaching, organizational and time management skills, personal essays as well as expository writing. Avram holds degrees from Occidental College, New York University, and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He also spent time studying at Harvard University and in Florence, Italy.

For more than twenty years, Avram Schlesinger has been a teacher in both the Middle and Upper Divisions at one of the city’s most prestigious private schools. He teaches disciplines associated with both history and the humanities, he directs an interdisciplinary independent research program for graduating seniors, and he has taught English and Literature courses as well. His work extends beyond the classroom as an admissions interviewer and committee member. He spends time helping Middle Division Students after school once a week and has tutored throughout his career — even assisting students who are applying for graduate dental programs. During Avram’s tenure, he worked with the highly respected college counseling office at the school where in addition to meeting with colleges, he assisted running summer essay workshops and he served on the admissions committee of a highly selective liberal arts college. He works with the institutional equity office as a teacher and parent educator. He has attended seminars and conferences focusing on teaching humanities, essay writing, college counseling, adolescent brain development, listening and advising skills to name only a few.

In his career, Avram Schlesinger has written hundreds of recommendations and has coached families through academic and personal concerns. Avram remains a deeply committed advisor and a mentor to students and faculty. Avram is an avid outdoor person, flyfisherman, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt and a devotee of dark chocolate. His lives in Manhattan with his wife Jackie, their child Al and their dog Beau.

Jacob Backer

Since graduating Yale University in 2014, Jacob has been providing private tutoring in the greater New York City area including both acceleration and remediation. Jacob’s strengths rest in his ability to encourage students to achieve their academic potential and ease the anxiety that comes with standardized testing.

Jacob thinks it is important to create a comfortable learning environment for students. Students need to be encouraged to push themselves and will never do so if they are afraid of failure. He believes in a steady and encouraging approach that focuses on building a student’s confidence as well as their academic skills.

For over 4 years, Jacob has helped students prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, SSAT and ISEE. He has worked in a wide range of subjects including Algebra, Geometry, US and Global History, Living Environment, and English.

Jacob also has extensive experience working with struggling students and helping seemingly unmotivated or apathetic youth to reengage with academics. He is able to skillfully assess students’ academic needs and fill in gaps in their education. Jacob helps struggling students build the confidence necessary for academic success; once a student believes they can handle the work they have been assigned, they are far less likely to avoid it. His work with students includes supporting and developing enhanced skills for organization, essay writing, and note taking.

Jacob was a strong test taker in high school, earning a score of 5 on all of his AP exams as well as several perfect and near perfect SAT scores. He earned his undergraduate degree in History from Yale University and graduated with honors.

Outside of tutoring, Jacob is a musician and producer. He is a multi instrumentalist, composer and songwriter who records his own music and performs around New York City. He approaches teaching with the same passion and energy that he brings to his music.

Angeline Gonyea

Angeline Gonyea began privately tutoring nine years ago in college, guiding first generation Latino students through their homework and teaching their parents conversational English. She has been tutoring youth ever since ranging across a wide range of subject areas, including the humanities, math, biology, chemistry, and Spanish. Through her training in a mentoring program, Angeline practices the importance of praising youth for the work they do, instead of praising youth for how smart they are.

Angeline graduated with a triple concentration in Economics, International Studies, and Spanish from the University of Michigan. After learning about quality of life through a broad lens, Angeline wanted to improve people’s lives in a more direct and healthful way. She went to a health-supportive culinary school, Natural Gourmet Institute, and worked as an allergist specialist and personal chef. She segued into teaching early morning pilates classes and was rated on Classpass as Top Ten Pilates Instructors in NYC for 2018. Currently, Angeline is taking science classes in order to apply to medical school.

Angeline’s goal is to teach material in creative and productive ways. She divides material into manageable pieces, goes through lots of practice problems, and recaps material to finish. As a continuing student herself, she has many test taking strategies, and specializes in Chemistry and Biology at the high school and college level.

She has worked extensively with students with autism and ADHD, which has included executive function coaching. Angeline incorporates motivational interviewing techniques into tutoring. By using reflective listening and open-ended questions, she gives students the opportunity to speak about their motivations and discover how important their goals are to them. Angeline helps students develop unfaltering patience with subject matter and staying focused for longer periods of time with genuine interest and enthusiasm.

In her free time, Angeline enjoys reading, meditating, yoga, and embroidering. She also leads a Mind Body Hour with psychiatric patients at Weill Cornell, and she serves as a health coach for veterans in NYU Langone’s Goals for Eating and Moving Lab.

Elizabeth Schiff

Jacob Backer

Angeline Gonyea

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