Andrea Caserta
Exceptional Writing Coaching - Achieve Lifelong Success
Stamford, CT
Expertise
*Experienced, professional teacher and writer with a background in social studies education, literacy (reading, writing, and analysis), and college admissions.
*Skilled mentor, strategist, writing coach, dissertation editor, humanities tutor, college admissions consultant, lesson planner, research analyst, and project manager
*Successful track record of improving student grades and guiding families throughout the college admissions process
*Proven ability to establish a personal connection, to effectively improve young adults' writing, reading, and study skills, to guide students throughout the essay writing process- brainstorming through revisions, to make historical content "come alive," to customize my instruction to best fit students' diverse needs, and to provide customized mentoring
*Highly skilled at applying creative research techniques, analysis, and strategic thinking to the tutoring and consulting process
*Permanent teacher certification for grades 5-12 in New York State + initial certification for 7-12 in CT
*Degrees from Georgetown and Columbia; former staff at U. Cambridge, Georgetown, W&M, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, and UConn.
*Admissions client acceptances include BC, Carnegie Mellon, U. Chicago, U. Colorado-Boulder, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, U. Denver, Duke, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, U. Michigan, NYU Stern, UNC Chapel Hill, Penn State, Purdue, Redlands, Rollins, San Diego State, Stony Brook, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UConn, U.Virginia, and W&M.
Teaching Methods
In tutoring, my first task is to determine where students are stumbling, then to address those problems, and finally to ensure stability at the new, higher level of performance. Students work on different activities during each session. This includes feedback on previous assignments, modeling of new tasks, guided instruction, and detailed explanations of potential improvements. Each activity is customized for each student’s ability, learning style, interests, etc. I am a huge fan of visuals, graphic organizers, creative projects, writing to learn, multiple sources, student presentations, and worksheets. My homework tends to depend on the course and grade. Often, it includes writing summaries and testing yourself on the material learned.
In college admissions, I help students to identify topics, assist with brainstorming, edit to improve their grammar and rhetoric, and help condense wording.
Education
- Certificate from Stony Brook U., SUNY in Middle Childhood Education in 2010
- MA from Columbia U. (Teachers College) in Social Studies Education in 2009
- BA from Georgetown U. in History (and International Affairs) in 1995
Professional History
- Humanities Teacher and Writing Specialist at Greenwich Education Group in Greenwich, CT from 2014 - 2016
- Educational Consultant - Writing, History, Social Studies at independent in NYC Metro Area from 2009 - Present
- Humanities Instructor at Center for Talented Youth, Johns Hopkins U. in from 2009 - 2011
About Me
*Experienced professional with a background in both higher education and secondary education, especially social studies and literacy education
*Skilled mentor, strategist, writing coach, humanities tutor, college admissions consultant, lesson planner, research analyst, and project manager
*Successful track record of guiding families throughout the college admissions process
*Proven ability to establish a personal connection, to effectively improve young adults' writing, reading, and study skills, to guide students through the essay writing process- brainstorming through revisions, to make historical content "come alive," to customize my instruction to best fit students' diverse needs, and to provide mentoring
*Highly skilled at applying creative research techniques, analysis, and strategic thinking to the consulting process
*Permanent teacher certification for grades 5-12 in New York State
*Initial teacher certification for grades 7-12 in Connecticut
*Admissions client acceptances include BC, Carnegie Mellon, U. Chicago, U. Colorado-Boulder, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, U. Denver, Duke, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, U. Michigan, NYU Stern, UNC Chapel Hill, Penn State, Purdue, Redlands, Rollins, San Diego State, Stony Brook, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UConn, and U. Vermont
*Degrees from Georgetown and Columbia
References
(4)
Barbara B.
14:50 PM 29/Nov/16
Relationship: Educator
It is with great pleasure to record Andrea Caserta. Andrea workd as an independent contractor under my supervision at GEG. Andrea was always extremely welll prepared for her lessons. She consistently sought feedback from parents and students, and closely monitored her students' practice test performance, tweaking her sessions accordingly. Andrea was one of 5-6 top tier tutors. constantly being requested by parents - - - -- repeat business as well as new clients responding to feedback from other satisfied students and parents. Andrea's love of the subject area, fierce commitment to her students, and ability to put her students at ease, make her an exceptional tutor for high level AP curriculums as well as basic HS level content.
Carol H.
12:56 PM 07/Sep/16
Relationship: Parent
Andrea was an invaluable tutor for my son during his senior year of high school. She worked with him once or twice a week in his English and Social Studies classes. His area of weakness is writing and Andrea was able to not only help him with all of his papers in these classes, but also to teach him to write confidently on his own. When the year was done, both teachers commented on how much my son's writing had improved - both in and out of class. In addition, i would like to mention how flexible Andrea was... whether it was a last minute change of time,or a date change, she always tried to make it work. She really seemed to care about my son, above and beyond the role of a tutor. Her patient and calm demeaner will be missed by all of us this year.
Hilary S.
12:55 PM 07/Sep/16
Relationship: Educator
Andrea and I worked together with students helping them write essays for their college applications. Andrea relates extremely well to students and they, in turn, relate well to her. She is kind, patient and very talented at drawing out the best in her students. Many times, students come in and say they have nothing to write about. Andrea is always able to get them to talk about themselves in a positive way--something that is very hard to do with teenagers. She is also very careful to never do their work for them, but encourage them to be the best writers they can be. I have read multiple essays that Andrea assisted with and they were, very clearly, all written by the students. I have also had tremendously positive feedback, not only from the parents who are so pleased with the work, but also from the students who want to continue to work with her. It is very rare to have students compliment a tutor and it seems to happen a lot with Andrea.
Chad W.
14:49 PM 25/Jul/16
Relationship: Parent
Andrea did a terrific job tutoring our 13-year old son! She worked very patiently with him to understand his level of reading and writing. She not only helped him during the tutoring sessions but also designed specific programs for him to improve with he was not at the teaching center. What's more, she motivated our son to actually do the work and challenged him to find ways to improve. As a result of their work together, our son tested into advanced English for his freshman year of high school. I believe his achievement was directly linked to Andrea's skills, dedication and hard work!
Barbara B.
14:50 PM 29/Nov/16
Relationship: Educator
It is with great pleasure to record Andrea Caserta. Andrea workd as an independent contractor under my supervision at GEG. Andrea was always extremely welll prepared for her lessons. She consistently sought feedback from parents and students, and closely monitored her students' practice test performance, tweaking her sessions accordingly. Andrea was one of 5-6 top tier tutors. constantly being requested by parents - - - -- repeat business as well as new clients responding to feedback from other satisfied students and parents. Andrea's love of the subject area, fierce commitment to her students, and ability to put her students at ease, make her an exceptional tutor for high level AP curriculums as well as basic HS level content.
Carol H.
12:56 PM 07/Sep/16
Relationship: Parent
Andrea was an invaluable tutor for my son during his senior year of high school. She worked with him once or twice a week in his English and Social Studies classes. His area of weakness is writing and Andrea was able to not only help him with all of his papers in these classes, but also to teach him to write confidently on his own. When the year was done, both teachers commented on how much my son's writing had improved - both in and out of class. In addition, i would like to mention how flexible Andrea was... whether it was a last minute change of time,or a date change, she always tried to make it work. She really seemed to care about my son, above and beyond the role of a tutor. Her patient and calm demeaner will be missed by all of us this year.
Hilary S.
12:55 PM 07/Sep/16
Relationship: Educator
Andrea and I worked together with students helping them write essays for their college applications. Andrea relates extremely well to students and they, in turn, relate well to her. She is kind, patient and very talented at drawing out the best in her students. Many times, students come in and say they have nothing to write about. Andrea is always able to get them to talk about themselves in a positive way--something that is very hard to do with teenagers. She is also very careful to never do their work for them, but encourage them to be the best writers they can be. I have read multiple essays that Andrea assisted with and they were, very clearly, all written by the students. I have also had tremendously positive feedback, not only from the parents who are so pleased with the work, but also from the students who want to continue to work with her. It is very rare to have students compliment a tutor and it seems to happen a lot with Andrea.
Chad W.
14:49 PM 25/Jul/16
Relationship: Parent
Andrea did a terrific job tutoring our 13-year old son! She worked very patiently with him to understand his level of reading and writing. She not only helped him during the tutoring sessions but also designed specific programs for him to improve with he was not at the teaching center. What's more, she motivated our son to actually do the work and challenged him to find ways to improve. As a result of their work together, our son tested into advanced English for his freshman year of high school. I believe his achievement was directly linked to Andrea's skills, dedication and hard work!