History Archives

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 Schiff 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 Schiff 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.

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

A graduate of an Economics triple major at University of Michigan and a Post-bacc in Chemistry, Angeline Gonyea uses a skills based approach to teaching and learning. As a private tutor, she has more than 10,000 hours of experience coaching hundreds of students to their target test scores. As a lifelong learner taking challenging quantitative classes, Angeline has developed a system of learning with action based plans that decrease overall study time and increase long term learning.

Angeline has tutored multiple students to perfect ACT/SAT scores and 98th percentile scores; she sees test preparation as a vehicle to help students practice brain function endurance, accuracy, and focus. She has tutored statistics, chemistry, economics, all levels of math, Singapore math, standardized testing, writing, as well as numerous humanities classes. With this wide range of subject matter and test preparation work, she helps students navigate quantitative or qualitative critical thinking exercises through the guiding light of, “What is the question asking for?”

Her shared goal with students is to help them learn it the first time. She shows students that we can learn any seemingly difficult subject by breaking it down into a map. Angeline has studied auditory and visual memory, and emphasizes active over passive learning techniques with her students. She consistently reviews subject material with students by having them ‘teach back’ the material to her. With students questioning the importance of any given subject, Angeline demonstrates the relevance of framework application, and discusses how we are the cumulative of every assignment we complete, every paper we read, even everything we eat.

She also has worked extensively with students with autism and ADHD as an executive function coach. Trained by NYU in motivational interviewing, Angeline Gonyea uses her experience as a health coach to help students discover their internal motivations. 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. She helps students with time management skills, goal setting, and scheduling. Furthermore, she helps students set up ergonomic workstations with ideal lighting that allow them to move their body to move their brain.

When not tutoring, Angeline has continuously studied since 2009. At University of Michigan, she studied a triple concentration in Economics, International Studies, and Spanish alongside tutoring Spanish-speaking students in Ann Arbor. Her teaching goes hand-in-hand with her continuing studies: she continuously improves her methodology for breaking down difficult subjects, and teaching students how to learn. After learning about the concept of quality of life in her macro classes, Angeline went on to study at a health-supportive culinary school and a post-baccalaureate in Biochemistry.

After finishing her biochemistry post-baccalaureate on the Dean’s List, she moved to San Sebastian, Spain to study a Master’s in Food Science entirely in Spanish. For her thesis, she plans to explore ancient food preservation techniques to find better alternatives to food additives. She also hopes to gain colloquial fluency in Spanish during her stay. Learning language has been the final sector of learning she intends to master.

Gabe Nathans

Gabe Nathans has over three years of private tutoring experience from the elementary school to college level in both test preparation and academic subjects.

Gabe Nathans received his B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University, where his studies also included high-level courses in math, physics, and history. An avid musician, he played the double bass in the Yale Symphony Orchestra (including a performance at Carnegie Hall), the electric bass in a number of musical groups, and and has continued to play in musical productions and venues across New York City. Currently, he studies comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Training Center and performs stand up and improv comedy around the city.

After graduating from Yale, Gabe spent two years as a full-time academic subject and SAT/ACT tutor working with middle and high school students in foster care, where he helped multiple students pass Regents exam they had failed repeatedly, worked with a student to raise his SAT Math score by 150 points, and guided another student from C’s and D’s to B’s and A’s the following school year. He has also tutored privately, helping to prepare students for the SAT, ACT, ISEE, and SSAT, and has coached high school students in college essay writing. He is a kind and empathetic tutor who draws on his sense of humor to help students through challenges and make tutoring sessions a fun experience. Parents and students have praised his patience, as well as his knack for breaking down complex topics in a clear and engaging way.

Gabe specializes in SAT, ACT, and ISEE/SSAT preparation, as well as academic subject tutoring in middle and high school math (Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II/Trigonometry, and Geometry). He also tutors students in English and U.S. and Global History.

When he is not tutoring, Gabe likes to write and perform comedy and music around New York City, and enjoys spending time with his family.

Alex Jacobs

Alex Jacobs is a private tutor who specializes in history, elementary math and language arts.

Alex was born and raised in Manhattan where he attended the Horace Mann School from Kindergarten through twelfth grade. While in High School, he tutored elementary school students both privately and through school-run programs. His experience at a rigorous New York preparatory school has given him insight into the unique challenges and pressures that students in that world face.

Alex then attended Oberlin College, where he earned his B.A. in Sociology. During college, he continued to educate elementary and middle school students, first as an assistant teacher at The Grace Church School’s summer program and later as a math and literacy tutor at Goddard Riverside Community’s Star Learning Center.

Alex is now a professional musician and music writer. His music has been covered by SPIN and Interview Magazine and his writing has been featured in the Huffington Post. He also teaches established producers and composers how to use the latest audio production software and gives lessons in percussion and digital synthesis to musicians of all ages. Most recently, Alex has led workshops for 3rd – 7th grade students in environmental education, music and nutrition for Arts in Parts, a nonprofit after-school and summer program in Far Rockaway.

Whether helping young readers navigate their first novel or coaching graduate school hopefuls through their applications and admissions tests, Alex’s spirited demeanor makes seemingly mundane work fun and fulfilling for learners at every level. In his 13 years as a tutor and educator, Alex has helped students excel in a broad range of subjects, including literacy, writing, mathematics, geography, history and the study of religion.

When he is not teaching or tutoring, Alex can be found collecting antique maps, building musical instruments or conducting ad hoc trivia competitions among friends.

Elizabeth Schiff

Jacob Backer

Angeline Gonyea

Gabe Nathans

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