Lindsey
Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Teacher & Tutor

Lindsey was born and raised in the Rogue Valley and has known from early on that she wanted to be a teacher. She spent many hours volunteering in local elementary and middle schools before earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education from Western Oregon University and her Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University. For the last 14 years, Lindsey has enjoyed being an educator in Southern Oregon as a substitute elementary teacher for several school districts, a Tutor/Educational Director/Center Director at Sylvan Learning Center, starting her own tutoring business and most recently a Preschool Teacher/Tutor/Educational Director at Rogue Valley Tutoring Center. She has worked with students pre-k through college in a variety of skills. As her own children have been attending elementary school, she has been involved in PTO at times as well as very involved in the IEP process.

Fun Fact: Lindsey has traveled to New York City twice, has been to the Statue of Liberty and to the top of the Empire State Building! In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, photography, traveling to new places, going to Disneyland and attending plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival!

Megan
Site Coordinator

Megan was born and raised in Grants Pass. She attended Boise Bible College where she obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Family Ministry. Megan has worked at churches in Idaho and Oregon in administrative and educational roles. In her free time, Megan coaches volleyball in Grants Pass and plays sports on co-ed teams for softball and volleyball.

Joyce
Preschool Teacher & Tutor

Born and raised in Iowa, Joyce moved to Oregon after graduating with an Associates Degree in Education from William Jessup Univ. in California. After starting her family here in Medford, she went back to college to become a teacher and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Eastern Oregon University, then a Master in the Art of Teaching graduate degree from Southern Oregon University. Upon the completion of the graduate program, she went on to earn an English Speakers of Other Languages Endorsement, also through Southern Oregon University. She’s taught children from preschool age up to 6th grade at one time or another, but has had the absolute pleasure of teaching the Preschool at the Rogue Valley Tutoring Center for the past 4 years. Fun fact: Joyce graduated with her Masters Degree a year before her older son got his! Her favorite hobbies are gardening, quilting/sewing, and reading up on history — all of which she enjoys incorporating into fun learning experiences for her students whenever possible!

Claire
Teacher & Tutor

Claire was born and raised in Denver, CO. She began teaching dance in the 7th grade and has been happily teaching ever since. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering and a Master’s degree in Mineral and Energy Economics from the Colorado School of Mines. After enjoying the Rogue Valley lifestyle she moved to Anaconda, Montana with her husband and two dogs. When Claire is not teaching she enjoys cooking, writing and drawing.

Kathleen
Teacher & Tutor

Kathleen’s favorite activity is to make sure her students have fun while they are learning. She grew up in southern California, is married and has four children. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and family services from Corban University and a Master’s in Teaching from Concordia University.
Kathleen enjoys gardening, reading, baking and her collection of animals.

Laura
Teacher & Tutor

Laura was born in Oregon, and spent the majority of her growing up years here. She was excited to return to Oregon a few years ago after teaching overseas in Asia for almost seven years. She taught in public and private schools in Japan and South Korea where she instructed students from age one through adult. Laura began her career in education teaching elementary school in private schools in the Greater Los Angeles area, where she also tutored for a year at a private tutoring agency. Laura holds a B.A. in Sociology from Pepperdine University, as well as an M.A. Theology from Fuller Seminary. She also studied in an M.A. Education program at Biola University, as well as UCLA’s post-graduate program in Interior Design and Architecture. Laura holds a TESOL certificate, and enjoys working with students cross-culturally. Laura’s hobbies include travel, piano, calligraphy, hiking, and exploring the arts. Fun facts: Laura has visited 23 countries and over half of the U.S.; she studied abroad for two semesters in London, U.K.; and she was a contestant in the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. during elementary school. Laura loves working with students and encouraging them to develop to the fullest of their potential!

Paul
Teacher & Tutor

Paul Kaveney holds an MA in Romance Languages from the University of Oregon and has taught Spanish for three years. Additionally, he has worked as an educational assistant, private tutor, and done volunteer work in middle school classrooms. He greatly enjoys working with students and getting them to realize their academic potential. He specializes in Spanish, French, language arts, and math.

Ruth
Teacher & Tutor

My philosophy of teaching revolves around the core idea that teaching is a science, not an art. I believe in teaching to the whole child in a holistic fashion. It is also important for the instructor to determine how different students acquire knowledge. Using problem-solving activities and cognitive games students use a higher brain function. It teaches them “how to learn” and gives them the skills they need to think critically. Students should actively read, write and talk about local events and activities that affect their daily lives. I believe teaching reading is one of the most important jobs of an Elementary teacher. Reading is essential to functioning academically in all subjects and necessary to becoming a global citizen. It needs to be taught in-depth taking into account all of the big five components to include phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension accompanied with continuous monitoring and assessment. Having a daily literacy routine will allow students to know what is expected of them, minimize behavior management and meet the needs of diverse learners. With each lesson I teach I am constantly evaluating students understanding.

My philosophy of teaching mathematics and STEM is similar in that I believe it is not a passive activity. It too requires active engagement from teacher and student. I subscribe to the research put forth by Jo Boaler of Stanford University. People are not born mathematicians, it takes practice to train our brains to think using a growth mindset. Using math applications and games students are able to see patterns and connections. Students’ often express mathematics understandings differently it is important to embrace this. I believe in multiple representations of mathematical ideas (Boaler, 2010). First, students learn in different ways. Second, knowing multiple representations and methods makes it easier for students to problem solve. Arming them with different ways to solve a problem makes them less likely to give up and more likely to succeed in solving it. Using multiple assessment tools allows me to evaluate my students much more accurately such as interviews, portfolios, quizzes, writing assignments and asking learners to write and solve their own problems which leads to higher
level thinking skills.

Ryan
Teacher & Tutor

After years of leading backcountry trips in outdoor education, and working with at-risk youth in behavioral health, Ryan became a middle school science and math teacher in Northern California. He also taught guitar, STEM, and PE classes. His goal has always been to make learning fun and engaging through the use of experience-based education. Ryan is especially adept at delivering the right amount of challenge as to straddle the balance between difficulty and engagement. He also loves answering the question, “When am I ever going to use this math?”

In 2019 he moved to Grants Pass with his wife and son. When he is not tutoring, he is practicing real estate, doing recreational math problems, gardening, rafting, and restoring old trucks and motorcycles.

Sarah
Teacher & Tutor

Sarah fell in love with teaching while working as a reading tutor for three years at a K-8 charter school in the Portland area. She went on to get her Master of Arts in Teaching with an ESOL endorsement from Multnomah University. She then had the amazing experience of teaching third grade at an international school in Malaysia. Upon returning to the US and settling in Medford, Sarah stepped out of classroom teaching as she and her husband welcomed their sweet daughter into their family. Sarah is thrilled to be back in the role that first drew her to teaching – working one-on-one and with small groups of students to help them develop as learners. Sarah enjoys getting outdoors with her family, cooking (and eating!) Indian food, and reading late into the night.

Monique Streit
Teacher & Tutor

Monique was raised in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona and has spent much of her life in Arizona. She knew from an early age she wanted to be a teacher and loves helping students discover the fun of learning, especially math and science. Monique holds a BS in Elementary Education and taught 4th grade in Flagstaff, Arizona before moving to Ashland to pursue her Master of Science in Environmental
Education from Southern Oregon University. She loves taking students outside where they can learn through hands-on, experiential learning activities. In her free time Monique enjoys hiking, backpacking, practicing yoga and barre, skiing, and exploring new areas. Monique loves working with students to help them grow academically over time!

David
Teacher & Tutor

David is a left-handed, Spanish-Italian American who grew up in Central Point. He has a background in classical piano, wood-working, and chess which gives him an analytical viewpoint built around self-reflection/self-improvement. He relies on these skills daily in order to maintain an effective and fun learning environment for his students.

In 2011, he taught English and Piano in South Korea and has been teaching private piano & guitar lessons since. In 2019, he received a Masters of Education from the University of Oregon in Curriculum and Teaching with an Endorsement in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. David is currently a long-term substitute at Orchard Hill Elementary.

Shayla
Teacher & Tutor

Born and raised in Southern Oregon but received her education in Utah at Brigham Young University receiving a degree in Special Education and a TESOL minor. She worked at an elementary school in Provo, UT before moving to Eugene, OR where her husband attended school. While there she taught at an alternative high/middle school as the SpEd Coordinator and multisubject and grade teacher. Once her husband finished school she took a job at the Medford School District as a Special Education Behavior Specialist serving several schools in the district. After taking a year off after having her first son, she went back as a tutor and substitute and has been enjoying the part time teaching and full time mom role. She had her second son in the prime of the COVID pandemic and has loved having the extra chance to spend time with her growing family. She enjoys staying active through sports and all things outdoors. When otherwise confined, she loves playing in the kitchen and finding creative ways to serve others around her with her family.

Emily
Teacher & Tutor

A life-long Rogue Valley resident, Emily loves the beauty of the seasons as well as the short distance to rivers and outdoor activities that the Rogue Valley has to offer. She lives in Central Point with her husband and two children, Isabel, age 20, and Daniel, age 17. Emily has always had a love for learning and teaching, which compelled her to homeschool. Through homeschooling, she has been involved in Classical Conversations, a homeschool community where students are led by a tutor in a classroom setting each week to study and discuss with other students a wide range of subjects. Through CC she taught the grammar and writing program for four years, as well as directing Challenge A, the CC program for 7th graders which covers a variety of subjects, including literature, grammar, Latin, geography, logic, science, and apologetics, and is currently directing Challenge 2, a high school-level course covering literature, grammar, Latin, biology, logic, and Western Cultural History. In addition to this, Emily is fluent in Spanish, and has done translation work and taught many classes in both the charter school setting and the private sector, as well as tutored students going through Spanish programs at both Pacific Bible College and Rogue Community College. When she’s not teaching, Emily loves to spend time with friends and family, and enjoys hiking, gardening, swimming, and camping. Additionally, one of her passions is arranging flowers for weddings and special occasions.