Teaching and Tutoring for Elementary School Students
The most important qualification a tutor can have is to be a classroom teacher with years of experience working with your child’s age group. Our tutors are all classroom teachers with Masters Degrees in whatever grade level and subject they teach. When working with students in grades one through five, educators must rely on a working knowledge of curricular norms, as well as the stages in life that the students are entering. If your child is coming home from school frustrated, if you’ve heard from an administrator that your child could use a bit of extra support, our elementary school teachers, some of the very best in Los Angeles, are here to help with reading, tests, math, homework, organization, and skill development.
What We Promise You
We state our reputation on the quality of educator we match your child with. All of our teachers are kind, smart, and expert when it comes to imparting academic skills and best practices. Our students do not become addicted to tutoring; instead, they learn how to manage their own work, develop skills, and use tutoring as a temporary boost back into what can sometimes be the difficult terrain of Los Angeles academic life.
Our Los Angeles tutors provide parents with reports that include strengths, areas of improvement, and goals for the future, and if you’d like, your child’s classroom teacher can work with your Teachers Who Tutor tutor in order to make sure all the adults in your child’s life are on the same page.
Los Angeles’ #1 Elementary School Tutors Work with Teachers Who Tutor | LA
Our tutors are some of the most respected lower school teachers in LA. We perform background checks, interviews, sample lessons, and reference checks before we ever assign a teacher with a first client. Contact us now for more info or to set up your first session!
Meet Our Elementary School Teachers
Abby Green
Abby Green has been teaching elementary school students for 30 years. She is currently in her 23rd year in Kindergarten at Brentwood School. She has experience working one-on-one with students and is skilled at online teaching as well. Abby is especially interested in helping younger students overcome challenges in both literacy and math, and she has extensive, research-based training in both areas. She has a BA in Spanish from Grinnell College and an MA in Teaching from National-Louis University. Originally from the Midwest, Abby now lives in the South Bay with her two children and her dog, Millie. Outside of work, Abby enjoys the outdoors and likes to hike, fish, and ride horses.
Amalisa Abels
With over 20 years of teaching experience, Amalisa creates positive and nurturing environments where students feel valued and encouraged to engage in their own learning process. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of cultivating resilience, flexibility, and self-reflection. Amalisa has experience teaching diverse learners, accommodating their needs, and inspiring them to reach their full potential. She is currently a kindergarten teacher at Pilgrim School. When not teaching, Amalisa enjoys hiking, reading, and going to lots of Dodgers games!
April Gregory
April has taught grades K-4 at private, charter, and public schools in New York City and the Bay Area for ten years. She earned both her BA and MA from Stanford University, where she also received her California Teaching Credential in elementary education. April has extensive training in early childhood math and literacy instruction and served on the Instructional Leadership Team at her most recent school, assisting other teachers in their practice by modeling effective instructional strategies in her own classroom. In 2023, April received a Marin County Office of Eduction Golden Bell Award for exemplary teaching in her district.
While rigor and high expectations are an important part of April’s practice, she believes social-emotional skills are the real key to academic success. April is passionate about helping young children develop resilience and self-confidence that will serve them long past their early years. She brings joy, playfulness, and unconditional positive regard to her work with children and establishes a learning environment where mistake-making is positive and productive. April is delighted to be on the TWT LA team and looks forward to helping your little one thrive on their learning journey!
Ben Charles
Ben has been a teacher for over nine years and has spent time teaching in Cambodia, Brooklyn, and East Los Angeles. Ben has taught at both the elementary and middle school levels. Currently, he works at an education nonprofit called SubjectToClimate creating original lesson plans about climate change. Ben is a passionate educator who can tailor his pedagogy for any learning style. He loves spending time in nature, going for walks, and spending time with friends and family.
Carl Lyons
Carl has worked as a 3rd-5th grade teacher at the Willows Community School in Los Angeles for the last 4 years, teaching all subjects including Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts. Previously, Carl also taught both Maker and Gardening courses to Lower School students. Carl started tutoring while he was still in college, tutoring 1st and 2nd grade students in reading. Carl earned two bachelor’s degrees at San Francisco State University. He is currently working on learning Spanish, and in his free time he enjoys making art and working on cars.
Erica Nicholson
Erica is currently a 5th grade math teacher in Pacific Palisades, California. Erica’s approach to academic support is based on her training in Cognitive Guided Instruction and building a deep conceptual understanding of the 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.
India Military
India’s teaching journey began at Boston University, where she studied early childhood education and taught preschool and grades K-2. After moving back to Los Angeles, her hometown, she taught 1st grade at Brentwood School. Currently, she is thrilled to be teaching kindergarten at Carlthorp School in Santa Monica. Beyond her work as a classroom teacher, India has provided small group work intervention and offered one-on-one tutoring for children in kindergarten and beyond! Her passion for teaching rests in the belief that how we shape the minds and hearts of young children has a lasting, powerful impact on the global community. Her approach to learning respects, appreciates, and celebrates each aspect of children’s identities through a strengths-based lens. When India is not teaching, she enjoys reading, trying new recipes, exercising, and spending time with friends and family.
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.
Kelly Gresalfi
Kelly grew up in Long Island, New York, where she came to love the sea and fresh air. She studied at Kenyon College in Ohio and developed a fondness for farming, fresh food, and round-table discussions. During her junior year of college, she studied in Southern Spain, making sure to hike her way across Europe and Northern Africa. After college, Kelly worked as a bookworm in Washington D.C. before returning to New York City for a Master’s program, studying literacy and education at Bank Street College. During that time, Kelly taught at the School at Columbia University, a progressive K-8 lab school, while also tutoring for TWT and working for NYC Farmers Markets. After a few years of NYC life, Kelly was drawn back to the ocean and now happily resides in Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles. She has taught for 6 years at her current school, PS1 Pluralistic School, a progressive elementary school in Santa Monica.
Lauren Blumenfeld
Lauren has been working with children for over 15 years. After graduating from New York University with honors, Lauren focussed her attention on early childhood education while also developing an after school arts curriculum for students attending public school in lower Manhattan. After moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles in 2017, Lauren joined John Thomas Dye School (JTD), an independent elementary school in Bel Air, where she has served as a Fourth Grade Teacher, After School Care Coordinator, and Library co-teacher. Lauren also has a background in the arts and loves to infuse her lessons with creativity. She is a company member of Story Pirates, an award-winning organization committed to celebrating the words, stories, and ideas of young people from diverse backgrounds. Lauren is passionate about supporting students in underserved communities and has volunteered at the 52nd Street Project for over 15 years. She also tutors students experiencing homelessness through School on Wheels.
Lexie Holden
Lexie currently teaches Second Grade at Pilgrim School in Los Angeles. She has experience with teaching Early Childhood students, and she has taught first and second grade. Lexie received her Master’s Degree in Educational Studies from Loyola Marymount University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. Lexie has worked as a private tutor for many years, and she loves helping her students. She believes that everyone is capable of learning, and she focuses on finding a way to make learning fun for everyone. Lexie believes in the power of choice because it provides students with a strong sense of empowerment thus leading to stronger engagement. Her hobbies include baking, going to the beach, spending time with animals, reading, and crafting. She looks forward to working with new students to help them with anything they might need!
Natalie Kaplan
Natalie teaches third grade at Wildwood School. She is a passionate and creative elementary teacher with a certification in both General and Special Education grades 1 through 6. Previously, she was a special education teacher in a first grade ICT classroom at The River School in Manhattan. Before that, Natalie was the Special Education teacher in a 4th grade self-contained classroom in the Bronx and also taught Pre-K at Dwight’s Early Childhood Division. Natalie attended NYU undergrad and received my Master’s degree in Elementary Education and Teaching Students with Disabilities from Columbia’s Teachers College. She has experience working with students with autism, as well as with speech and language processing disorders. Natalie works hard to tailor her instruction to students’ interests and design learning tools to support their specific needs.
Pete Dymock
Pete was born and raised in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and moved to New York City in 2009. Pete earned a Bachelor of Applied Science from Federation University and SUNY Cortland, and completed his graduate teaching studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast. In New York, he taught at City and Country School before heading west in search of a new adventure. In Los Angeles, Pete taught at the John Thomas Dye School, Mirman School, and most recently, PS1 Pluralistic School in Santa Monica. Pete is particularly interested in interpersonal relationships, the intersection between creativity and mental health, and what positive adult role modeling looks like in a teaching and tutoring environment. In his free time, Pete enjoys playing basketball, writing, reading, editing videos, and spending time with his daughter, Sabina, and partner, Eva.
Pualani Armstrong
Pualani is currently a 4th grade head teacher at Brentwood School. She attended college at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, earning a degree in Elementary Education, Special Education and Political Science. She has taught in various public and independent schools in Hawai’i and California, in grades including 3rd, 4th, 5th.
Pualani has always been a lover of the performing arts, taking part in chorus, jazz band, multiple plays and musicals, public speaking, pageants, along with dancing hula and competing in many competitions. She is a proud mom of four fur babies, Scarlet, Tony, Jellybean and Eleanor. She is also a foodie and enjoys trying new recipes or restaurants.
As a tutor, Pualani’s hope is to support students’ learning in any subject area and also help them develop an excitement for learning, challenge their thinking, and build their confidence as a learner.
Sophia Fandel
Sophia is currently a 4th grade teacher at the Brentwood School in Los Angeles. She received both her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and her MA in Educational Studies with a focus in literacy, as well as her Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential, at Loyola Marymount University. Sophia believes in the importance of developing independence, curiosity, and problem-solving skills. She enjoys finding creative ways to help students build conceptual knowledge and be able to apply their understanding in various situations. When she’s not in the classroom, Sophia enjoys reading, cooking, being outside, and spending time with her friends and family.
Tina Evans
Tina B. Evans is a Lead Teacher and Equity + Inclusion Lower School Division Specialist at Brentwood School. Dr. Evans earned her bachelor’s degree in African American Studies and Educational Studies and a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She has taught in elementary and middle schools for almost 20 years and is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher. She has tutored students in all subjects in grades 3-8; her students have found great success with her math and humanities instruction. Most recently, she earned a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) from the Educational Leadership for Social Justice program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. She has also worked to establish and support multiple parent affinity groups to promote the cultural affirmation and education of students of color in independent schools. Dr. Evans believes every student deserves to feel a sense of ownership in their learning. She works hard to connect with her students and build positive rapport. In her spare time, Dr. Evans enjoys spending time with her family, shopping, and enjoying live music and time with friends.