Dana
Experienced, knowledgeable, Professional for struggling children
Thank you so much for visiting my profile!!! At times, we feel our children will not advance due to challenges at school. Well, that's a misconception that you can change by utilizing one on one interaction with a professional tutor!! You know how bright your child is and perhaps feel like they're not doing well with the challenges presented at school or other activities! However, your child can easily overcome these challenges and have confidence and success at school. My experience in...
ADD/ADHD
During my 16 years of teaching, I have encountered many students each year with ADD or ADHD. One year I had six of 20 students with the disorder. My tolerance and patience level with the children with ADD/ADHD is extremely high as I learn what worked for each individual. Varied strategies worked differently with individual students. There had been many years that I worked with ADD/ADHD children where I had complete success with their learning goals; when the following years, teachers filed paperwork to send them to specialized schools for behavior problems or had them put into special day classes. You can imagine the deep seeded sadness and disbelief I felt when I had had such success with them in my classroom.
autism
I have been an Autistic Tutor through Butterfly Effects for the past year. I have had training and experience in Applied Behavioral Therapy, Child Abuse and Developmental Delays, Hippa Training Course, Strategies of ABA, Data Collecting, Aggressive Behavior, Strategies for an Effective Session, Behavioral Implementer Course, Respite Provider Course, Behavior Instructor Basics Certification. For each of these courses there were exams with 10 - 15 questions that I passed without err. Each course also gave me the tools to work successfully with autisic children from the ages of three to twelve. I work with them on building self-esteem, language, appropriate behavior for different situations, phonics, math, reading, writing, and the components of each.
reading
Spanish
writing
English
ESL/ESOL
proofreading
elementary math
elementary science
elementary (k-6th)
phonics
study skills
special needs
ADHD
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
prealgebra
vocabulary
grammar
Common Core
Aspergers
The last three years of my teaching gave me the experience of working with students with special needs. Each year I worked with and taught a minimum of three Asperger students. Asperger's is an Autism Spectrum Disorder and the students I taught were very high functioning. In fact, instead of coming to me from a Special Day Class, they had been placed in a regular education classroom and transferred to my class for direct instruction at a level more comprehensible to them.
ballet
I have been a professional ballerina for the past five years. I had always taken lessons as a child but decided to go ahead and try my luck at dancing and the implementation of dance. I became professional when I fell, got up, and continued dancing. My teaching coach looked at me and said, "Yeah, she gots what it takes, sign her up!" My life has never been the same and I love what I do.
handwriting
Sandi B. from San Marcos, CA
My daughter sees Dana twice a week to help get her prepared for fourth grade. At first she hated the thought of having a tutor. Then came Dana! They work on reading & math. My daughter really likes all of the fun games. Now instead of crying that she doesn't want a tutor, she waits by the door for Dana to arrive! I highly recommend her!!
Eric R. from Oceanside, CA
Dana is wonderful. She is a great tutor that cares about what she does. She is very knowledgeable and tailors her approach to my child. My child, who is often aloof when trying to learn, is fully engaged with Dana and actually looks forward to her visits. He asks me every day when his "teacher" is coming again. I am very happy with Dana's professionalism and care.
Drew P. from Fallbrook, CA
We have had both private tutors and specialty instructors for swimming etc and Dana is by far the best. I am a very critical CEO so that is really quite an unusual commentary for me. Dana is an A+ and I would recommend her to any family with a focus on their child and a solid american upbringing and education. Updated 02/28/2014 We have had many sessions and Dana is now communicating directly with my son's Transitional Kindergarten instructor. The instructor lets Dana know if there are issues and she addresses them directly with my son. Again, she is an A+. I have had not one single problem and her ability is amazing. THANK YOU DANA!
Suann M. from Escondido, CA
Dana is very patient with my daughter. We also have seen results with my daughter at school. My daughter's teacher sent a note home and said that my daughter was participating better in class. That was very nice. Thank you, Dana.
Ramon M. from Oceanside, CA
My son has difficulties wrapping his mind around some math concepts and I'm not good at math or very patient either. I decided to look for a tutor on wyzant. I asked my son today how things were going and he said "she helps me understand math so it makes sense to me." I'm very pleased with the progress he’s made. Thank you Ms. Dana!
Laura F. from San Marcos, CA
Dana has been tutoring our third grader in math twice a week for the last two months. We are very pleased with her techniques and have seen a huge improvement in our daughter's math confidence and ability to problem solve. Right away Dana recognized that our daughter is a kinetic learner and adapted her teaching techniques accordingly. Dana always shows up to each lesson with something new and exciting to work on which keeps our daughter's attention. She is very easily distracted and Dana is able to keep her on task in a firm and loving manner. Dana has showed us techniques to help our daughter learn that have enabled us to help her throughout the week and in between tutoring sessions. We plan on continuing to have Dana work with our daughter long-term.
Rosalie D. from Temecula, CA
My 8 year old daughter loves Dana because she is really patient and makes learning a fun experience. Making it fun is part of what makes her a unique tutor. Dana is very good at what she does, which is hard to find nowadays. Thank you Dana for driving to Temecula to help our daughter!!!
Seiji N. from San Diego, CA
Dana is a wonderful tutor for my sons. She is very kind and patient to teach my sons. My family loves her very much!! She is a part of my family. I really appreciate her effort and hard work to improve my son's academic ability. I would recommend her to all of you if you are looking for a nice tutor.
Sheila A. from San Diego, CA
Dana has been working with my son in mathematics and I can say she is just awesome! Love having her, her teaching techniques are interactive and actually fun for my son. Thank you Dana!
M. Catherine B. from Oceanside, CA
Dana is working well with my student, she is teaching the concepts using interesting materials.
Asia M. from Poway, CA
Dana showed up one time and then by email said she could not make it anymore. She did not replace herself or give us the a phone call and talk in person. I find this unprofessional.
Leslie M. from Oceanside, CA
Dana has been providing Spanish tutoring for my 9 and 6 year old children for some time now. We have been very pleased at how she interacts with them, keeps them engaged in learning, and tailors her lessons to make them age appropriate. She spends individual time with them to work at each reading level but also incorporates games that the can play with her together to keep it interesting and fun. She is a dear person on top of being a creative and thoughtful teacher. We are delighted to see her each week and highly recommend for Spanish or other subject matter!
Erinn K. from Valley Center, CA
Dana is truly an excellent tutor. She has been tutoring my 5 year old who is diagnosed with autism going on about one year now. I have really grown to love her tutoring services, my son has grown to love her and gets excited when she comes over, but what's most important is I think she has grown to love my son. She cares about his progress and understands him and works with him well. Most importantly she challenges him without pushing him beyond his limits. She is extremely patient and knowledgeable. Not only does she help my son but she even helps me learn new techniques to accommodate his learning style. She has a lot of experience with children of all ages and their learning development and in multiple subjects. We plan to keep her for as long as we can over the next years as he continues to transition into his elementary school years
Kristen P. from Carlsbad, CA
Our first tutoring session went fantastic. Our daughter took to Dana immediately and is very excited about continuing with Dana. Looking forward to see how she grows from this experience.