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TESTIMONIALS

From the Berkeley Parents Network:

I have a great tutor!
I continue to have conversations with other parents about tutors. There are many reasons to have a tutor for a child, particularly a teenager. Not all kids are great in every subject and simply need tutoring. Other kids at this age have trouble focusing and need guidance and homework assistance to stay on track. It's also wonderful to turn over the parent / child / homework relationship to a tutor. Or perhaps a child actually has learning disabilities and needs extra help. I have searched for tutors and had many. Now as my kids are getting older I want to recommend and pass on a great tutor named Kevin Arnold. He has been able to bring out the best in my kids. Teaching them, supporting them, understanding the right moments to push and expect more from them (also when to let up). Kevin is fun. He relates well to my kids. He has figured out how each of my kids works best and gets the most out of them. Kevin is an excellent tutor for English, History and independent writing projects. He is a great homework coach. He will give your child study skills and help them organize their writing. He increases his expectations at appropriate times. Kevin has been a teacher at both public and private schools so he knows the curriculum and understands the demands. He also worked for the Berkeley High Independent Study Program. He is currently working as a private tutor and as a teacher at Tilden Prep School. Grab Kevin while you can. He has put a smile on my face, but more importantly, my kids love him, they are doing great in school and feel proud!
~Tracy Child-Phillips, Berkeley

I didn't read the original post but wanted to jump in with a recommendation of Kevin Arnold, the tutor who has worked with my son throughout his high school years. Originally I wanted someone who would be a sort of homework helper or coach so my son would stay on task with his assignments. Kevin has proven to be so much more. Although his manner is very personable and casual, he is strongly grounded in academics. He has been able to help my son learn to articulate complex ideas for essays in both history and English. Kevin never makes my son feel rushed, but they do cover a lot of ground during each session. In my son's words, Kevin is the perfect balance of enthusiasm and focus.
~Debbie, Berkeley

I highly recommend the tutor my sons have worked with over the past 3+ years. His name is Kevin Arnold. He came highly recommended by other BPN members, and we initially spoke at great lengths after my son was evaluated to rule out ADHD. (While meds were an option, his pediatrician recommended an organizational tutor as a start). Kevin was GREAT! He is warm and friendly, and my son related to him immediately. Kevin began working with him at the beginning of his 7th grade year after switching to a large public middle school. Under his 'care', my son gained confidence as a student, developed excellent writing skills, and was able to prioritize his homework load- something he had much difficulty accomplishing. He was no longer overwhelmed and frustrated by the work, even as more was demanded of him in middle school.My sons see Kevin as 'hip and cool', and relate very well to him. He is an accomplished musician, and he even worked with them on guitar and drum lessons. He recently began working with my other son, as well, on his high school history research paper, and has helped him learn how to be a better writer.

I cannot say enough about his skills as a tutor, not to mention, mentor. Kevin is also very patient, and has a knack for fostering independence, and critical thinking skills. I am impressed by how my son has grown as a student: once frustrated and overwhelmed by the challenge, he is now able to master the demands of high school with more ease. I attribute this to his work with Kevin over the years. I am relieved that I didn't need to rely on medication, but instead finding him a tutor who had the patience and expertise to work with him.
Kevin is also very flexible with his schedule, something I very much appreciated, given our hectic schedules.
~Dawn Morris, Berkeley

We completely agree with the posting about tutoring from Kevin Arnold. Our 13-year-old suddenly developed test anxiety and his grades dropped. He seemed totally unmotivated and exhibited the same apathy and seemed only to be interested in video games, etc. We hired Kevin for weekly sessions, and we're very happy with the results. If you can afford a private tutor, Kevin is great and seems to win the trust and confidence of his students.
~Wendy, Oakland

I would like to recommend Kevin Arnold as an excellent tutor. He has a way of communicating with teens that gets them engaged and motivated to learn. He worked with my son for a few years in high school and got this teen to begin to care about history and the world around him. He was also very good at teaching writing and my son tells me now that he wants to be a writer. It was Kevin more than his school classes that inspired him to think critically. Kevin came to our house to tutor (a big plus) and was flexible and friendly to work with.
~Amy