All Articles tagged Teacher

Ian Cheung

September 28, 2025

Ian Cheung got his start in education as a sophomore in high school, where he peer tutored his classmates in English, Calculus, and even Constitutional Law. That experience, combined with his time captaining his tri-state math team to a top 3 finish nationally at the 2018 ARML, inspired him to bring his leadership and communication skills to university and beyond.

However, during his first year studying finance at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, COVID-19 forced the world to transition from in-person activities to increasingly online ones. Ian, struggling to find meaningful internships now that he was in a separate country, returned to his roots as a teacher and leader. It began with online tutoring family friends, then gradually expanding his base of students, his modes of tutoring, as well as his repertoire. By the time he was allowed to return to Canada and finish his studies, Ian had successfully tutored students in math (helping several students get a 5 on AP Calculus AB), English (including one student going from a C in their Honors class to an A), and standardized testing (where his students gained 250 points on the SAT on average).

As the University of Waterloo finally returned to in-person classes late in Ian’s junior year, he resolved to finish his finance degree while continuing to develop his tutoring enterprise. This allowed him to balance the growth of his hard and soft skills and become a more well-rounded individual. After graduating summa cum laude in 2023, he committed fully to building his own teaching brand. He built lasting relations with students and families across the northeast while also leading classes in several math circles around New York City. This includes both Math-M-Addicts and New York Math Circle, where he has led both classes and seminars on discrete math. As of 2025, he has 8 years of experience tutoring and teaching students ages 9 to 19 in topics ranging from prealgebra to multi-variable calculus, Physics 1 to Physics C, and the SHSAT to the SAT.

Throughout Ian’s time on both ends of the teacher-student relationship, he was able to fully appreciate the intricacies of mentoring. He learnt how to learn and, ultimately, how to teach. Far from the crowded blackboards, erudite subject terminology, and over-worked staff, education entails a process of self-maturation that extends beyond merely getting a good test score. He recognizes that many different students all process information differently (some visually, some with hands-on examples, some with independent inquiry) and tailors his teaching accordingly. Through private tutoring, Ian gives his unique students the personalized, distinct teaching style they deserve.

Eliana Levey

September 28, 2025

Eliana Levey is an experienced elementary educator and literacy tutor who specializes in supporting students in grades K–6 with reading, writing, and mathematics. She has extensive training in evidence-based instructional practices and is committed to helping children build strong academic foundations while developing confidence and independence as learners.

Eliana currently teaches second grade at SAR Academy in the Bronx, where she designs and implements differentiated lessons that meet the needs of diverse learners. In addition to her classroom role, she works privately with students to provide individualized tutoring that is structured, systematic, and engaging. Families appreciate her ability to combine warmth with rigor, creating an environment where children feel supported while also being challenged to grow.

Previously, Eliana taught kindergarten at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community Day School in Baltimore, where she fostered both academic and social-emotional growth through individualized and play-based learning. She also taught kindergarten at Brilla College Prep Elementary School in the Bronx, where she implemented a structured curriculum, monitored student progress, and adapted lessons to ensure each child’s success. Across these roles, she has been recognized for her thoughtful communication with families and her ability to create learning environments where children feel both safe and motivated.

Eliana’s tutoring practice reflects her expertise in structured literacy and conceptual math instruction. She is trained in multi-sensory, research-based approaches aligned with the Science of Reading, including Orton-Gillingham and Fundations. In literacy, she supports students with phonics, decoding, fluency, spelling, comprehension, and written expression, tailoring lessons to each child’s learning profile. She also incorporates principles of the Hochman Method (The Writing Revolution) to strengthen sentence structure, paragraph development, and written clarity. In mathematics, Eliana draws on the Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract (CPA) approach, most prominently seen in Singapore Math, to guide students from hands-on exploration to visual modeling and finally to abstract reasoning. This developmental framework helps children not only master math procedures but also understand the underlying concepts and apply problem-solving strategies with confidence.

Eliana also incorporates her training in Responsive Classroom and Culturally Responsive Teaching to create learning environments that are inclusive, encouraging, and student-centered. She continues to pursue professional development in both literacy and math instruction to remain aligned with the most effective, research-based practices, ensuring that her students benefit from approaches that are both current and impactful.

She earned her Master of Arts in Education for Grades 1–6 from Relay Graduate School of Education in New York and graduated magna cum laude from American University in Washington, D.C. Her academic achievements reflect the discipline and intellectual curiosity that now shape her teaching and tutoring practice.

As both a classroom teacher and private tutor, Eliana is deeply committed to helping her students discover their own potential. Whether she is guiding a beginning reader through phonics, supporting a young writer in expanding sentences with vivid detail, or coaching a child through a challenging math concept, she brings patience, creativity, and expertise to each lesson. For Eliana, the most rewarding moments come when a child realizes they are capable of more than they believed. She takes pride in helping students not only master academic skills but also develop resilience, curiosity, and joy in learning.

Mayra Licera

September 20, 2025

With over 14 years of experience in both independent and public schools, Mayra Licera is a dedicated and passionate educator specializing in early childhood and elementary education as well as Spanish language instruction. She holds a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Manhattanville College, with dual certification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Her teaching journey is deeply rooted in a family tradition of early childhood educators, and her commitment to fostering a love of learning is evident in every aspect of her work.

Throughout her career, Mayra has specialized in kindergarten readiness and has extensive experience teaching Spanish to students from Pre-K through Grade 12. Her work in the kindergarten admissions process at independent schools has provided her with valuable insight into early learning benchmarks and developmental expectations. She is also a skilled tutor in all core academic subjects and brings a wealth of knowledge in both formative and summative assessments for Pre-K through Grade 3.

A seasoned literacy and math interventionist, Mayra has received training in Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Fundations, Sounds in Motion, and Heggerty—programs that enhance phonemic awareness and foundational literacy skills. In mathematics, she is well-versed in the TERC Investigations, Bridges, EngageNY, and Contexts for Learning curricula, allowing her to meet diverse learning needs with research-based strategies.

Currently serving in New York City’s District 3 on the Upper West Side, Mayra leads both small and large group instruction for English language learners. She collaborates with colleagues to develop developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive curricula that support newcomers in building both academic language and confidence.

Previously, she spent nearly a decade in independent schools on the Upper West Side, where she also taught Spanish to English-speaking students. Her approach is student-centered—she takes time to understand each child’s interests, using them to inspire curiosity and engagement in the classroom.

In her free time, Mayra enjoys traveling, learning new things, and spending quality time with her husband and their five-month-old baby. She brings the same sense of joy, curiosity, and care from her home life into the classroom every day.

Rohen Shah

May 23, 2025

Dr. Rohen Shah is a Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Yale University. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago, where he specialized in behavioral economics. He has previously worked in Ed Tech, and his YouTube videos on mathematics, statistics, and economics have collectively received millions of views. He deeply believes that any complex subject can be broken down and understood by any student, with the right tutor.

Rohen has spent the past 20 years mastering the craft of tutoring, having had over 15,000 hours of experience working with over 1,000 students. He tutors all levels of math from middle school through calculus, including the quantitative sections of standardized tests such as the ACT, SAT, DAT, GRE, and GMAT. He specializes in tutoring for the AP Exams in Statistics, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Calculus AB, and Calculus BC. He has also served as an instructor for courses at the University of Michigan, University of Chicago, and as a middle and high school math teacher. He was the winner of the National Tutoring Association’s 2018 Tutor of the Year Award.

In addition to his deep content expertise, Rohen has a master’s in education from the University of Michigan, enabling him to employ evidence-based teaching strategies. He customizes the tutoring plan based on the learning goal: improving a standardized test score in a given amount of time requires a different approach than doing well in a year-long course. He believes in starting with “why does this matter?” when explaining a new topic, and connecting it to students’ prior knowledge. He teaches quantitative topics in layers: a concept is first discussed intuitively in full, followed by overlaying math onto this foundation, and finally applying it so that students can transfer the concept to other contexts.

In his free time, Rohen enjoys playing video games (such as Zelda) and plays the Tabla (an Indian musical instrument). He enjoys mentoring young entrepreneurs to develop their business ideas. From 2016-2019, Rohen co-founded a non-profit organization where he wrote and performed educational rap songs around the country.

Abigail Jenson

January 23, 2025

Abigail Jenson is patient, calm and supportive. Her experiences in education range from PreK to middle and high school students. She is from Utah, where she studied Family and Consumer Science Education at Brigham Young University. In June of 2024, she left her beloved job teaching child development, early childhood education, sewing, and fashion design to high school students to pursue a master’s degree at New York University in Environmental Conservation Education. She currently holds a teaching certificate for the New York State Education Department for Family and Consumer Science Education. Within her teaching experience, she has assisted in curriculum development, spoken at leadership and educator conferences, collaborated with colleagues creating learning resources, and participated in professional development opportunities. She genuinely enjoys being a teacher in formal and informal settings and values her students and relationships built in the process of teaching and learning together.

As a private tutor, she meets her students where they are at. Her approach begins with the student: their goals, understanding, challenges, and diverse learning needs. She incorporates scaffolding techniques that support student learning at a comfortable pace and yet challenging enough to promote greater understanding. Abigail has a strong understanding of developmentally appropriate practices that contributes to her ability to support student learning across a broad range of ages and learning needs. She has strong executive functioning skills, including adaptability, organization, problem solving, planning, and prioritization.

When she isn’t teaching, she is making and creating! She stays busy altering and making wedding gowns for clients, as well as running a business making and selling apparel and, more recently, technical outdoor gear she designs and sews from recycled materials. Her true colors shine when she is in the creative process, whether it’s designing a functional bag, making a Claymation, or writing a poem. As a lover of nature, she is passionate about educating people about the environment and motivating people to act for the conservation of the planet. Some day she hopes to run a business of her own teaching people how to sew and repair their own clothing and understand the complex impacts clothing production and consumption have on the environment.

All Articles tagged Teacher

Ian Cheung

Eliana Levey

Mayra Licera

Rohen Shah

Abigail Jenson

Company Overview

School Planning

Private Tutoring

Test Preparation