Why Ali Reiss?

I connect directly and deeply with what a student needs. I am fully engaged during each session allowing me to tune into student’s verbal and non-verbal cues. Each student’s work is personalized to their learning needs. Students play an active role in their learning while getting the support they need to be successful and confident.

Ali is an exceptional tutor who partners so well with the student, parents and school to help ensure student success. She is kind, patient and compassionate, and she builds great relationships with her students. Ali is always thinking of what her students need and collaborates with parents and teachers to help students improve. It is a pleasure working with Ali.

Tracy Ross, Ph.DLaura Cushman Academy Director

I have been referring kids to Ali for 15 years. Ali is a superb tutor. She has thorough understanding of what a child needs to succeed. Her approach is tailored to the individual child and their needs, including teaching organizational and study skills.

Liliana Retelny, M.S. LMHCPsychotherapist

Ali tutored my son on the verbal portion of the SSAT for his entry into middle school. From my perspective, Ali was punctual and easy to communicate with regarding scheduling as well as topics that they covered. Ali always had good feedback for me, which helped me to help him at home.

VickiZubin’s mom

Ali makes learning fun. She is thorough in her assessment of your child’s needs. She provides regular feedback on your child’s progress and lessons plans to enhance your child’s academic development outside of the tutoring sessions.

My daughter always looked forward to tutoring sessions with Ali. By making learning fun and using positive reinforcement, we saw our daughter’s reading skills flourish.

RenattaNeve’s mom

Ali was a good tutor. She helped me improve my grades. The subject we worked on the most together was science. In addition to science we also worked a lot on language arts and literature. Ali is very kind and generous. I recommend Ali as a tutor because she helped me a lot.

Maxine MaercksStudent

Ali has been a wonderful resource for my daughter Vienna. With Ali’s technique, Vienna has been able to improve significantly with her reading, memorization, and sounding out words — making the transition to kindergarten much smoother. I highly recommend Ali; she’s also very patient and my daughter absolutely adores her!

GloriaVienna’s mom

I love Ms Reiss, she is fun! She helped me improve my reading and now I can read out loud without fear. Thank you.

BettiElementary student

Ali was fun, the environment was nice and she taught me tricks to remember words I was having trouble with. My verbal score improved and got into the school of my choice. I couldn’t be happier and highly recommend Ali as a tutor!

ZubinMiddle school student

As a psychologist and parent, I highly recommend the academic remediation services provided by Ali Reiss, M.S. I have referred clients to Ali for the past 15 years and parents have been extremely pleased with the progress following interventions. She is trained in Orton Gillingham, Lindamood-Bell, Wilson and various reading programs to address learning disabilities. Ali has also successfully worked with many clients on executive functioning skills. Ali has a wide range of experience with students with learning differences and has demonstrated expertise in academic remediation.

Sheri SilvermanPSY.D., P.A.

Ali worked closely with my daughter on math skills. She was patient, kind and was able to present the fundamentals of math in a way that was fun for my daughter and clear. Ali was keenly able to asses which skills needed improving and give instruction that was easy to understand and digest. I would highly recommend her services!

JenniferIndia’s mom

Ali Reiss was a very nice and helpful tutor. She helped me understand concepts of math that I had difficulty understanding on my own. I think she must be very smart and really likes math because she knows everything about math. She patiently explained things when I didn’t understand and helped me with the parts of math that I didn’t understand in class. I think I am doing so well in math now because of her help in the past.

Monroe MaercksStudent

In the short period of time my son Skyler tutored with Ali we saw such a difference. Ali clicked with him right away and my son enjoyed each session because she made it interactive and fun. My biggest concern was his reading comprehension. Thank you Ali for teaching Skyler tricks and tools to understand what he is reading and remember the information. Best of all is he passed his FSA!!!

MorganSkyler’s mom

What I do

I provide competent one on one individualized instruction to students in need of remediation in math, reading and writing skills.

I identify learning issues, correct poor habits, and create strategies for academic success.

I empower children to reach their potential so learning can be mastered.

I inspire students to jump to the next level.

I create extraordinary results through a heartfelt, holistic and connected process.

How I work

I strongly believe in working closely with professionals and families in order to meet my students’ needs. All of my students are provided with a personalized curriculum based on their strengths and weaknesses. I offer a creative and personalized approach utilizing certain aspects of the following reading and math programs:

Orton-Gilligham Approach
Focuses on the word level by teaching the connections between letters and sounds. Readers will use sight, sound, movement, and touch to help link language to words.
Read Naturally
Repeated reading of text will develop oral reading fluency and comprehension.
Great Leaps
A reading and math practice program designed to build fluency. In Great Leaps Reading, students follows story words visually. In Great Leaps Math, students practice simple number skills of numeration, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimals.
Lindamood-Bell
A visualizing and verbalizing program that develops concept imagery. This skill improves reading and listening comprehension, memory and writing.
One size does not fit all!
Most students benefit from a combination of the different teaching methods along with several other self created techniques.

How I teach

My specialized tutoring is for families who want more than just a typical tutor. I teach kids how to develop a growth mindset. My students learn to think positively, overcome challenges and build confidence. One of my many goals is for students to make a positive impact on society while having fun.

Teaching methods:

Questioning Method- Aids learners in connecting concepts, increasing awareness, encouraging creative and imaginative thought.
Simulation Method- This method entails a real life activity in a simple manner that communicates the idea to the students.
Demonstration Method- Showing, doing or telling the students the point of emphasis. Later the student repeats the act with a thorough understanding.
Role-Playing Method- Hands-on approach to learning. Students learn through active involvement in role-play.

About Me

I was born to teach and problem solve. As a child, I always loved playing teacher and mommy. At a young age I knew that I wanted to help students become a better version of themselves. Being a mother of three has enabled me to put my skills to use. On a day to day basis, I guide my 11 year old twins and 14 year old to assess their goals and values in life as well as teach them the importance of education. Acquiring a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Varying Exceptionalities connected my two passions together. I taught in the classroom for eight years before starting my own practice as a Learning Specialist. I have been serving my community for over nineteen years and follow research developments in order to keep current. Being an active mother, together with my formal education, allows me to generate positive and efficient results.

Learning Principles

1. Students learn best by being actively involved in learning activities.
2. Positive or reward reinforcement is more likely to result in students’ learning than negative reinforcement.
3. A situation which offers fresh and stimulating experiences is a kind of reward that enhances learning.
4. Meaningful material is easiest learned and best retained.

Availability

I offer weekday, weekend and evening appointments in person or Skype. I keep my caseload small so that each student receives the individual focus and attention they deserve. I am in constant communication with parents and teachers. I take pride in developing long-lasting relationships with my students.