ACT Reading and GRE tutor

About Damian

I graduated from Montclair State University with a Bachelors in English with Teacher Certification (P-12). For over a decade, I've been counseling and mentoring youth develop intellectually and emotionally. I'm an avid reader, writer, researcher, teacher, and believer that literacy is the pathway for one's education and future goals. I am currently studying at Monmouth University to receive my Masters in English with a concentration in Creative Writing.

At the age of 12 in the year 1830, Frederick Douglass learned how to read from his master's mistress. She gave him lessons on the alphabet, forever changing Douglass's mindset. His master claimed that reading would spoil the best slave, and he was right: Douglass's desire for freedom was born. Douglass went onto escaping slavery, founding the first black schools, and becoming the national leader of the abolitionist movement. Literacy was Douglass's pathway to freedom. It made him aware of his enslavement, and it also gave him the confidence to take action. Douglass's story teaches us that literacy can educate us better than any teacher can. As much as I understand the demand for my tutoring services, I also wish to teach my students to the extent that they no longer need to depend on me. Rather, my goal is to make students I teach into independent readers.

I've been a teacher at a range of school districts: a public high school, a private catholic high school, and a public charter middle school. I thrive to instill self-respect and self-discipline in every reader. The way I do this is by identifying dependent reader behaviors and scaffolding independent reader behaviors in their place. I've accommodated English Language Learners, students with IEPs, and struggling readers of all ages. Moreover, I developed extensive lesson plans, curriculum maps, and individualized reading plans that align with Common Core ELA standards. I've assessed student progress on specific learning objectives and Student Growth Objectives for the PARCC assessment. Although I engage students with fun and dynamic lessons, I'm firm with expectations and high standards of excellence. In addition, I've also tutored at Sylvan Learning Center where I had one-on-one experience to best reach my students' individual learning goals.

I started working with children when I was a counselor at the Boys & Girls Club in the year 2008. There I held a number of positions: a Youth Development Specialist, a reading mentor, and a treasurer (of the Keystone Club National Teen Program). I've counseled, mentored, and led youth to becoming better versions of themselves by implementing habits of success. I want to inspire youth to discipline and motivate themselves to be better readers, but more importantly, to become active and engaged learners.

Thank you for reading, and I look forward to working with you to achieving your educational and life goals.