Testimonials

Abby has been a terrific counselor and resource for my son including helping with high school applications, the SSAT, schoolwork and general life skills. I asked him once what Abby helped him with and he enthusiastically replied "everything!"
– Maria, parent

Abby has been a wonderful resource for our son. She has helped immensely with his writing skills and we have seen a real improvement in not only his grades but also his confidence and interest in writing. Abby's thorough, positive approach, her skills in teaching writing and strategies for improving organization have all really benefitted our son and he looks forward to going to his tutoring sessions with her because he knows he is getting help and also because she makes learning fun.
–Parent

How lucky and grateful we are that our two sons each spent a year in Ms. Sommerfeld’s English classroom at Town. Her expectations were clear, her standards were high, the curriculum comprehensive and by year end, both boys’ writing improved dramatically. I still send Abby the boys’ written work and she takes great pleasure and pride in following their progress. My daughter too has been the beneficiary of Abby’s instruction. She and Abby have met every few weeks to write creatively….a real gift to my daughter. Abby has great insight and understanding of each child’s strengths and weaknesses, her students appreciate her dedication and very quickly become her friend.
-Sheryl, parent

Abby got me invested in writing and how to express my feelings in writing. Before working with her, I would always write the minimum amount of sentences or paragraphs required, but while working with her, I found myself writing too much! During a school exam, I wrote about a book I had just read. On both exams, I received A's. But I didn't care about the grade. The moment I turned in the first essay, I knew I was changed. I had gone from loathing writing to actually enjoying it.
–Nick, student

I like Abby’s balanced approach. He seems to be responding to it really well. I am seriously impressed with how much time he now spends on his homework and how little time he spends whining/complaining/procrastinating. It is great for him to take a project management approach to his homework. He has not been cranky about homework since he started with Abby.
–Parent

My son told me that his homeroom teacher remarked that she didn't know what had gotten into him, but recently he has turned in all of his work-- on time! He said, "Oh, my dad found me a life tutor."
–Parent

I think Abby's title "The Whole Student" suits her approach well. Abby's exceptional ability to assist or "coach" kids is deeply rooted in understanding how each student thinks, what motivates them, and what will inspire them to be confident, life-long learners. Abby is a great combination of nurturing and rigorous. She keeps the "bar high" for students, yet enables them to reach their goals in "bite-size" / manageable pieces.

We weren't thrilled to seek outside support for our very bright and capable middle-school aged son. However, when he began to struggle because of lack of organization and lack of self-confidence, we were comforted by Abby's approach to coaching kids through some tough times. Her lessons are life-long lessons on how to manage time, feel better about oneself, bolster strengths and nurture weaknesses.

Our son has worked with Abby since middle school, where he began to struggle for the first time in school. He was feeling anxious and generally not comfortable with all the changes that took place during the unsettling middle school years. Abby responded to his complex needs. She understood it wasn't just a matter of getting his daily and weekly assignments in, but he needed to get organized, relax, and take stock of where he was in terms of his strengths and weaknesses.

I think this was a great asset to him to have support outside his quick-pace, academic setting. Now our son is on his way to a high school of his choice. We sought Abby's support for the application process with much success.
–Parent