Success Stories
Kim, mom of an Edmonds high school student
"Our daughter struggled through honor's pre-calculus almost her entire sophomore year. Group study sessions at school were ineffective. When we met Laura in May we scheduled one-hour, weekly tutoring right away. After just a few sessions with Laura, our daughter’s grade and confidence improved dramatically. It has been an amazing transformation. Laura’s positive attitude combined with patience and kindness made learning difficult math enjoyable. I only wish we had found Laura sooner!"
Laura Barnes-Johnson
Proud parent of Bianca Johnson, 6th grade student at Lynnwood Elementary
"Thank you for everything you did for our daughter. When she arrived at Math Success in the fall she had closed her mind to math and was lacking confidence in herself to solve the math problems presented to her in the 6th grade. Your teaching methods and positive attitude brought out the best in her. Now she can complete her homework in a reasonable amount of time on her own. She has shown significant improvement in her math grades and no longer freezes up during quiz time. Your coaching has made a world of difference to both her and our family. Thank you again."
Carol Kelly, Lecturer, Seattle University
"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."
Susan Richardson
"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."
Regina, mother of Shoreline high school freshman
"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."
Father, Ballard high school sophomore
"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."
Terry, mother of Edmonds 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!"
Meg Horrigan and Terry Foster
"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."
Tony and Linda Robinson
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.
