Teaching Executive Function & Study Skills for Middle and High Schoolers

More frequently, teachers, schools, and parents are discussing organization and study skills under the umbrella term, “Executive Function.” If your child’s academic struggles involve a lack of organization, our tutors are experts in Executive Function coaching in both the physical and planning realms. In terms of physical organization, our executive function tutors will help your child clean out their backpack or locker and set up a workspace at home that is maximized for focus and ensuring effort relates directly to accomplishments. In terms of planning, our executive function coaches excel in teaching students how to make nightly lists; use a planner, physical calendar, or Google calendar; and backplan large assignments, creating smaller goals that are more easily accomplishable.

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TWT’s Executive Function Coaches Specialize in Helping Students:

  • Manage their time
  • Study for tests and quizzes
  • Plan ahead
  • Limit distractions

Our teachers are experts in teaching students to take large assignments and break them down into their components. Nothing is more frustrating than realizing, the night before an important essay or lab report is due, that your child hasn’t begun. That’s when panic sets in for both student and parent.

With the right executive function skills, a student learns to see large assignments as a series of more easily accomplishable goals and gain control of those goals across curricula so each night is manageable, as opposed to overwhelming.

No one is born with executive function skills, but as adults we have learned how to balance our professional, parental, and all other responsibilities. Children need help with it comes to managing and prioritizing tasks, and the tutors at Teachers Who Tutor LA are the city’s best at help students reach their maximum potential.

Meet Our Executive Functioning & Study Skills Tutors

Erica Nicholson

Erica is currently a 5th grade math teacher in Pacific Palisades, California. Erica’s approach to math is based on her training in Cognitive Guided Instruction and building a deep conceptual understanding of mathematics principles.  She has a background in history with a Bachelor’s Degree from California State University Fullerton and a Master’s of Philosophy in history from Trinity College Dublin. She has also completed some doctoral work at the University of Sussex in historical geography and is currently finishing a Master’s of Science in Curriculum and Instruction.  She enjoys surfing with her husband and reading in her free time. 

Jen Fitzgerald Headshot

Jen Fitzgerald

Jen Fitzgerald has been teaching in independent elementary schools for 10 years. She currently teaches Kindergarten at the John Thomas Dye School in Los Angeles. Jen has a BFA in Acting from the University of Minnesota and completed her M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin in 2016. As a classroom teacher, Jen has taught at every grade level K-3. Additionally, she has taught acting, improv, playwriting and movement to students K-12. Jen is passionate about creating meaningful, multimodal learning experiences. She lives in Hollywood with her husband and their two dogs, Honey and Beef.

Jordan Greenwald

Jordan Greenwald graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in psychology. That drive to understand and connect with people initially led him to the high school classroom for six years, during which time he earned a Master’s in Literacy to help students access complex texts and tasks in Creative Writing, Debate, English 12, and AP Literature. A constant explorer, Jordan has spent the years since coaching incoming ELA teachers with Teach for America, supporting 6-12th grade ELA teachers to create a relationship-centered curriculum, and tutoring students with a variety of learning differences as young as elementary school. 

Whether working with child or adult learners, his approach is informed by an ADHD diagnosis he received in middle school, which forced him to learn systems of organization and focus while maximizing engagement and enjoyment for learners across a wide spectrum of needs, skills, and interests. For some students, school learning comes easily, but for many of us, it takes a dedicated and responsive team. Toward that end, the author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, captures Jordan’s essential approach: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

Sarah “Sid” Solomon

Sid taught at the high school and middle school levels for nine years before becoming Director of Student Supports for three years at a middle school in Brooklyn, NY. She recently relocated to Los Angeles and pivoted to full-time tutoring. Sid is passionate about the science of learning and is confident in her ability to find strategies and tools that work for each individual student. She especially loves to work with students on executive functioning skills, reading comprehension and analysis, and writing. Building relationships is the key to working with young people and Sid loves to do so by connecting one-on-one with students through tutoring. In her free time, Sid finds new hikes, restaurants, and gardens around LA to explore.

Shawn Hill Headshot

Shawn Hill

Shawn is a special education specialist teacher with fourteen years of teaching experience in the areas of history, science, math, and resource support. He is fully credentialed in the State of California and he earned an additional Master’s degree in education. Shawn has strong organizational skills, a thorough educational background, and the ability to work well and communicate effectively with students and parents. He particularly enjoys supporting students who struggle with any reading, writing, and processing difficulties. Shawn uses a diverse set of teaching strategies to accommodate a plethora of learning styles and learning abilities to support each student in reaching their full potential.