Whether you're looking for expert test prep for the SAT or ACT, or tutoring to improve critical thinking, reading comprehension and/or essay writing, you've come to the right place.

Meet Cherie:
Known locally as a "writing coach, tutor & editor extraordinaire," Cherie brings her years of experience and expertise with language and literature to every student, client and class she teaches. She welcomes the opportunity to inspire your son or daughter with a love of reading, and to promote his/her ability to write thoughtful, intelligent, well-organized and compelling essays.

More about Cherie: 
She comes from a long line of teachers: both her parents and her grandmother taught in California public schools. Cherie has a B.A. in English, Summa Cum Laude, and  Masters' Degrees from both Stanford and Brandeis Universities--one in English and one in Creative Writing.
She's taught Freshman Composition and she ran the Stanford Tutorial Center while at Stanford.
She's been tutoring students privately for many years, helping to raise their test scores and guiding them to become clearer thinkers and better writers.

Says retired master teacher Donna Garner, who worked on education commissions for two presidential administrations and was a key writer of the Texas Language Arts Standards, "As an experienced English teacher myself, I am amazed at Cherie's resourcefulness in creating new-but-vital courses for her students.  Not only does she help to increase students' academic knowledge, but she also ties her lessons into historical and contemporary events, helping students to become better writers and better thinkers. Every student will benefit from learning under Cherie's tutelage."

                                           Cherie Zaslawsky

For many years, it has been my joy to help young people blossom into fine writers, deeper thinkers, and appreciative readers.

A Word about My  Philosophy and Methods:
As I often say to my students, "Writing is thinking on paper." Consequently, I work with students at the level of their thought, often using skillful questioning to challenge students to develop their critical thinking abilities.

Rather than using the one-size-fits-all style of tutoring and test prep so prevalent today, I relate to my students as individuals. I try to find unique ways of communicating with them.

For example, a student of mine who played football had a habit of writing occasional convoluted sentences that marred his essay writing. I decided to use a football analogy, asking him to think of each sentence as a strong but simple forward pass. He understood perfectly what I meant, and was able to take his writing to the next level almost overnight.

Another student had difficulty with the  ACT reading comprehension test. I had him read aloud, and noticed he spoke in a low monotone. I asked him to walk across the room and read a passage out loud, projecting like an actor on stage, and using inflection to communicate the sense of each sentence to his imagined audience. After several tries, he had a breakthrough, and, coupled with another exercise I gave him, he soon both increased his reading comprehension and dramatically raised his ACT score. More importantly, he became a better reader, which will open doors of opportunity for a lifetime!

Here are a couple of my favorite testimonials:
"We are so grateful for the help you gave Charlotte with her writing skills. To go from scoring a 6 on her SAT essay to scoring the perfect 12 just about says it all. Her confidence in writing has increased dramatically. Writing has been the weakest of her subjects. Now she writes essays with ease. Homework goes so much quicker; she writes essays in a fraction of the time it used to take her, and she feels focused and on track - it's marvellous!" --Selena Fowler

"Thank you for all your help! It was awesome to work with you! You are a great teacher, but an even better person." --Daniel N., High school student