what we do
Our services
We teach and help students, so they can accomplish what they need to and then move on – more competent and confident. How do we do this? Our motto guides our work: Simplify, Strive, Succeed.
Test Prep for High & Middle School
- SAT and ACT
- SSAT, ISEE, HSPT
- SAT Subject Tests
- AP Exams
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- The first step is to decide which test to take: the ACT or SAT. There is absolutely some content overlap between the ACT and SAT, but the two tests emphasize different content, require substantially different pacing, and each employs distinct, idiosyncratic, little tricks to bedevil test takers. On top of that, the ACT has a science section - ugh! Mastery here requires rigorous repetition.
- So, we start with a practice SAT and a practice ACT. In our experience, there is simply no shortcut here: hybrid tests really do fail to capture critical differences between the tests and, in attempting to save time, provide flawed data.
- Improvement is based on mastering content and on consistent performance, stemming from learning the essentials, dispassionate analysis of mistakes and from practice.
SSAT and ISEE
Should my child take both the SSAT and the ISEE, or just one?
- Students should plan to take and prep for only ONE test. Most schools will take either, though the SSAT tends to be the standard test, largely because of inertia. Please consult school admissions requirements, and feel free to discuss with your child’s tutor.
How many test prep sessions should my child have?
- 4-8 one-hour weekly sessions are ideal, though it truly depends on your child. Four sessions allow for one session devoted to each section of the test. More sessions are recommended if your child struggles with a particular test section(s), experiences any test anxiety, and/or simply finds additional sessions helpful. Multiple regular sessions do increase comfort levels and abilities, though it is also important not to overload your child as this can lead to test burnout.
When should my child take his/her first practice test?
- Some students prefer to take a practice test before getting started with a tutor; others like to wait until they have had a couple of sessions. Trust your child on this one. It is wise to take at least one practice test before taking the official SSAT/ISEE. We offer full practice tests at no charge in our office on Saturday mornings. It is a great experience for students as it provides them with a “real deal” feel for the SSAT/ISEE without it actually being the real deal, and it gives your child’s tutor a good view of strengths and weak spots to work on.
HSPT
How many test prep sessions should my child have?
- 6 - 8 one-hour weekly sessions are ideal, though it truly depends on your child. Six sessions allow us to devote 60 minutes to each topic of the HSPT and to tackle any outstanding problems. More sessions are recommended if your child struggles with a particular test section(s), experiences test anxiety, and/or simply finds additional sessions helpful. Multiple sessions do increase students’ comfort levels and abilities, though it is also important not to overload your child, leading to test burnout.
When should my child take his/her first practice test?
- Some students prefer to take a practice test before getting started with a tutor; others like to wait until they have had a couple of sessions. Trust your child on this. It’s wise to take at least one practice test before taking the official HSPT. They provide students with a “real deal” feel for the HSPT, reveal continuing gaps in knowledge and show how performance has improved. We offer complimentary practice tests on Saturday mornings.
Subject Tests are hour-long multiple-choice tests in a wide variety of subjects, including foreign languages, science, math, history and literature. Some colleges don’t require these. Others do, though the number they want can vary. Look at the list of colleges that you are considering and see if they require the tests. If they don’t, then no need to take them.
Eagle Eye prepares students for Subject Tests in:
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Literature
- Math I
- Math II
- Spanish
- US History
- World History
AP exams are held over 2 weeks in May, and each exam takes place on a specific day nationwide. The results come back in July. The exam score is generally not that important regarding admissions, though the course grade is. Some colleges will, however, give credit to students with high scores, allowing them to place out of introductory-level courses.
Eagle Eye provides tutoring for many AP Exams, including:
- Biology
- Calculus AB and BC
- Chemistry
- Comparative Gov’t & Politics
- Environmental Science
- European History
- Human Geography
- Literature & Language
- Physics (both kinds)
- Spanish (all kinds)
- US History
Tutoring & Organization Coaching
- Reading and Writing Coaching
- Academic Tutoring
- Organizational Support
Eagle Eye Tutoring offers reading and writing coaching for students in grades 3 through 12. Using a mixture of Whole Language and Phonics instruction and practice, we teach and grow reading fluency as well as improve students’ ability to annotate. We also teach students how to organize and express their ideas more effectively in both expository and creative writing, organize ideas effectively, while respecting their voice.
Eagle Eye Tutoring offers academic support in most grade school and high school subjects. We basically loved school and were pretty good at it, so we welcome the opportunity to help students see the value of what they are learning (and maybe even the beauty, too!) and improve their performance. Some students need help understanding the material. Other students need to learn how to prepare more effectively. By finding the cause of the struggle, our tutors get results. We provide long-term tutoring as well as last minute review sessions.
Eagle Eye offers tutoring in:
History
- US History
- World History
- European History
- NSL
Languages
- Russian
- Spanish
Math
- Pre-Algebra
- Elementary School Math
- Algebra 1
- Geometry
- Calculus
- Algebra 2
- Precalculus
- Statistics
Science
- Biology
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Environmental Science
Eagle Eye provides help with organizational and executive functioning skills. We work with students to help them organize, plan and prioritize.
Classes
- ACT English Review
- ACT Math Review
- Headstones and History
- Biology Review
- US HISTORY REVIEW
Get ready for the February ACT with a review session! Eagle Eye master tutor Garrett Lowe, Ph.D. has over 15 years of experience preparing students for standardized tests, and his students increase their ACT English scores an average of 8 points. This class session will focus on punctuation, pronouns, and style. During the session, Garrett will integrate slides with specific examples of how these rules are applied to the tests. This will be a great time to make sure that you completely understand how everything, particularly the punctuation (especially the commas!!), works. You will receive Eagle Eye's ACT English Cheat Sheet and a dose of confidence! Drop in for one of our biweekly sessions and get the tools you need to dominate the test!
Garrett has over 15 years of experience helping students crush standardized tests. His students increase their ACT Math scores an average of 6 points. This Zoom class will review the most important math topics and get you focused on test prep. The subjects covered are those with the highest likelihood of appearing on the test, based on our review of the past five years' tests. Garrett will integrate slides into the session, and Eagle Eye will provide you with an ACT Math Cheat Sheet. Remember, more than half the battle is to have these formulas, math facts, and topics in your head - bright and shiny and sharp and ready to use. Drop in for a session and get the tools you need to dominate the Math section!
Headstones and History:
Black Lives Matter(ed)
Tucked away behind some apartment buildings on a dead-end street is a cemetery that holds hidden information about the story of Black Georgetown. For nearly 300 years, African Americans were a vital force in Georgetown. They were physicians, chefs, real estate tycoons, draymen, business owners, artisans, coachmen, and laborers. Their community was a cocoon where they raised families, played, laughed, grieved, and loved – even as they helped escaping slaves, became the first African American voters in US history and fueled Georgetown’s growth with their labor and wit and produced two of our country's greatest tennis players. Their contributions and stories have largely been ignored, forgotten, covered up. It is time to fix that, and it starts in the Mt. Zion Cemetery Some 8000 African Americans from Georgetown and the surrounding region were buried in the Mount Zion Cemetery from the early 19th to the mid 20th century. Those interred show the economic diversity of the community. Using their names and dates of death, we will explore genealogical data and primary documents like the Registry of Free Negroes to learn about their lives and to celebrate them. No one has conducted this critical research from this perspective. Our students will be discovering and making history at the same time: they will be Citizen Historians, participating in ambitious and exhilarating crowdsourced research. Our class will begin with a site visit to the Mt. Zion - Female Union Band Cemetery, a Site of Memory associated with the UNESCO Slave Route Project and listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Using just the names and dates from the very fragile tombstones and surviving burial records, students will reconstruct the lives of three individuals. Each week, we will visit historic sites such as alley dwellings, churches, schools and local businesses, as well as former slave markets and pens, to gain an understanding of the larger community in which Black Georgetowners lived. During a weekly Zoom session led by avocational genealogists and historians Garrett Lowe of Eagle Eye Tutoring, Inc. and Tom Duckenfield of TDB Communications, Inc. students will learn how to use evaluate and genealogical data. Our results will be donated to the Mount Zion - Female Union Band Society Foundation, which is in the process of transforming this forgotten corner of Georgetown into a memorial park to honor the memories and celebrate the lives of the interred.
"We have been developing the concept of using the cemetery property to provide research and inspiration for young people, because it’s important to uncover the truth in order to have a better understanding of the present. The virtual/in-person Headstones & History - hybrid class has allowed us to maintain safety protocols and hopefully create a standard for how historic Black cemeteries can be utilized to bring history to life and provide context to the classroom." -Lisa Fager, Executive Director Mt. Zion-Female Union Band Society Historic Memorial Park, Inc.Sign Up for Headstones and History
Does your Bio class seem like a distant memory but you are taking the Biology Subject Test? Are you wondering how, after months of virtual learning, you will handle AP Biology or even regular bio this year? Let Eagle Eye’s Garrett Lowe, PhD bring you up to speed with interactive class sessions. This Biology booster shot will cover cellular and molecular biology, ecology, genetics, evolution and diversity, and organismal biology. Biology is fascinating, beautiful and frequently disgusting.
Clear out the cobwebs and sharpen up with Eagle Eye’s US History Review. This overview will prepare you to excel during this school year’s turbulence. Join master tutor Garrett Lowe, PhD for discussions on overarching themes from settlement to present day. Using slides, videos and original documents, Garrett will focus on comparison, causation, continuity and changes. History is a blast, a heartbreak, and an inspiration.
