Anne Swinson is our April Tutor-of-the-Month!

AnneCongratulations to Anne Swinson, our April Tutor-of-the-Month! In the time that Anne has been a tutor with Educational Connections, she has continuously made a great impression on the people she works with and is one of our top tutors and educational coaches. We are lucky to have her on our team!

Anne’s Bio

Anne has been with Educational Connections for only a few months but has over 20 years of experience as an educator. She has worked with students of all ages in various settings from a residential wilderness program to a self-contained classroom in both public and private schools.

More recently, Anne spent the past 7 years as the supervisor of a before and after care program with Arlington Public Schools. She graduated from James Madison University with a degree in special education and a minor in psychology. She is an area native and was fortunate to have had a top quality education at parochial and public schools in Arlington. Anne was also very lucky to have parents who placed a high value on knowledge and who exposed her to excellent books and experiences from an early age.

The many good teachers she had throughout her schooling have served as great role models for Anne in her career. She strives to bring the same level of dedication exemplified by those exceptional women and men to her tutoring. She loves being a member of the tutoring staff at Educational Connections. Helping a child experience academic success and realize the joy of learning is giving her more professional fulfillment than she’s had for many years.

Anne’s Tutoring Tips & Strategies

As our leader, Ann, and other EC colleagues have stressed, the most important element of being a successful tutor is the relationship you establish with each student. Without that foundation in place, you are on very shaky ground when trying to help a child – especially one who is struggling to be successful at school. As professionals, we are well aware of the importance of being positive with the student and acknowledging their every success.

I start each session reviewing what we accomplished the previous session and what we planned for this one. At the end of the session, we discuss what we accomplished during the session and what we plan for next time we meet. I call it the “what I did, what I’m doing, and what I will do” checklist.  It’s also a great tool the student can use on their own for homework and study sessions.

I believe that no one formula works for every student every time. To provide the best support to our clients, it is critical to be consistently adding to one’s repertoire of skills. That is why it’s so important to take advantage of all the resources provided for tutors on EC Link and other sites. I’ve found great articles, seminars and workshops on ALISON, The Muse, and Understood to name just a few online sources.