Welcome to Math Success.  I am Laura Hathaway and I am your coach at Math Success.  I have a unique background and approach in working with students, which has led to a very high success rate in my work.  I have a Ph.D. in Math and Science Education, and M.S. in Counseling and a B.S. in Physics.  This education and background enables me to work with all of the aspects that can affect a student's performance and attitude in math and science.  I address the issues of self-confidence, math and test anxiety, past deficiencies, learning styles, conceptual understanding, and standardized test preparation.  All of these areas are vital in improving a student's performance on exams, their attitude towards math and science, and their college and career choices. 

Math & Science Coaching:
· Improves grades
· Raises standardized test scores
· Motivates students to learn more advanced levels of math including honors
· Adapts to students' learning styles
· Develops self-confidence
· Increases reasoning abilities
· Improves attention span
· Applies math to everyday situations and areas of student interest
· Teaches students to trust their own approach to problem solving
· Identifies and assesses areas of math deficiencies and resolves them.

Laura Hathaway, PhD, draws from her expertise in the fields of math and science education, physics and psychotherapy, to create a program based on each individual's unique learning style and personal goals. Laura is gifted at recognizing the underlying issues obstructing a student's progress in math and science and then successfully resolving these issues.

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"Laura's skill as a tutor goes far beyond the average 'some extra help with the math homework.' Laura has the professional expertise to truly provide diagnostic assessment of a child's learning style, enabling her to offer personalized guidance that has literally turned our son's grades from failing to a 4-point this semester. When we found Laura, our son had been kicked out of an accelerated math class. He had been promoted to the class because he had somehow managed to survive, by his wits, during a number of years of very minimal math instruction. Math homework hung like a cloud over every evening. So Laura not only had the task of preparing him for a rigorous honors math class for his freshman year in high school – she first had to discover what methodology he'd developed on his own to do math. Within two sessions, Laura helped him clear up problems that had been years in the making. He has gone from ‘out of the class' to achieving consistent As in his honors math class. Laura is patient and approachable and, in our household, it is no small miracle when our son chooses to do his math homework first , because he finds it the easiest work in the stack."
     ~Carol Kelly, Lecturer, Seattle University

"Our son began working with Laura shortly before beginning his 10th grade school year. He has gone from a "C" in Algebra I to an "A" in Algebra II. More importantly, his relationship with her has been so comfortable and nurturing that even grades in his other courses have improved. Better than A's, our son believes in himself. His success in math has impacted his whole school experience. Truly money and time well spent."
     ~Susan Richardson

     "As a result of Laura's tutoring, my crying turned from tears of despair to tears of joy! After just a few sessions, my daughter's math grade shot right up from a "C" to the "A plus" that she was capable of. She started really doing well in all of her other classes too. Laura taught her how to organize her studying and her notebook - and how to take the tests properly. In addition to the attention, my daughter seems to get a lot out of seeing a strong, independent woman who loves math. She has seen that it is cool for a girl to excel at math. She doesn't feel like a geek anymore. In fact, she plans to take an accelerated math class at summer school.
      It is easy to justify the expense of Laura's excellent tutoring services. Her kind, gentle tutoring is just what my overwhelmed freshman needed." 
    ~Regina, mother of Shoreline high school freshman

     "My son was failing math & was going to be moved to a lower math & have to retake the course next year. Now he has a high "B" average & is looking at taking honors math classes. His attitude changed from "why try, nothing is helping" to a good attitude & "this is easy for me." He's more confident in his ability to be successful. He is doing better in all his classes."
   ~Father, Ballard high school sophomore

     "My daughter, a 15 year old high school sophomore started working with Laura at the beginning of her sophomore year (9/2003). We've seen significant improvement in her math skills, test scores, and grades in that time. Most importantly, we've seen a return of her confidence in math…she knows she can do math! Recent proof, she offered to tutor another child who is currently struggling in math!"
     ~Terry, mother of Edmonds high school sophomore

     "You have been working with our son since August 2000. At that time he had just been removed from the honor curriculum at Garfield High School because of low grades. In addition, he was slated to take a remedial math semester before he could re-enter the integrated series of classes. How well we remember seeing your brochure that read "I can take students from failing grades to A's".
      It has been two and a half years since you came into Zach's math life and you have made a big difference. Zach did, indeed, complete the remedial class, reenter the integrated series at the honors level, and is now enrolled in pre-calculus - he has received an 'A' grade each semester. We have also seen improvement outside the math realm - chemistry, physics, and his SAT scores are all strengthened.
      You have a gift when working with students. You are able to quickly figure out the gaps in skill level, and fill those in while moving forward. You are also masterful at building self-esteem and confidence. Zach wrote one of his college essays about you…he says you "made math make sense"… We thank you for all you have done in guiding our son during this important time in his life."
     ~Meg Horrigan and Terry Foster, 1/10/03

     Laura Hathaway's success has been remarkable. Our daughter came to her as a junior taking pre-calculus. L. had not felt confident in her math skills since early elementary school and now felt over her head. As a bright, motivated, articulate student on a college track, we were concerned for her self-confidence as well as her GPA!
     During second quarter L. began hourly sessions with Laura two-three times a month. The change was immediate and sustained. What had been difficult suddenly became comprehensible and even fun. Our daughter ended the year with an A, a recommendation for AP Calculus, and a 4.0 GPA!
     She and Laura are now working on identifying the gaps that will make a difference on the math SAT.
     We are grateful and highly recommend Laura Hathaway to anyone seeking a skilled, compassionate, and insightful tutor/mentor for their son or daughter.
     ~Tony and Linda Robinson

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Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, SAT Prep, Physics and Chemistry.

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Professional Background