About
Us and Our Business
Mission
Our mission is to enable our
students to achieve the highest possible scores on the SAT, maximizing college
choices and merit scholarship options, while greatly enhancing their academic competencies,
the quality of their written work and their lifelong strategic thinking and
problem solving abilities.
How We Do It
Our students get extraordinary score
increases because we help our students to improve their underlying academic
competencies and their approaches to utilizing reading, writing, math, and
critical thinking skills, while giving them extensive experience with the SAT.
Who
We Are:
Eric
Goldberg, Program Director & Instructor
Since
founding A POSITIVE APTITUDE®
in 2005, Eric has tutored over 500 students for their SATs, with outstanding
results, helping to solidify A POSITIVE APTITUDE®’s reputation as the premier SAT
tutoring service in the Triangle area. Eric tutors students in the math
section of the SAT, and along with Debra Goldberg, trains and supports A POSITIVE APTITUDE®’s affiliated tutors, and runs the
business operations.
Eric
co-founded A POSITIVE APTITUDE® after
a 29-year career
in the computer industry, most recently with IBM, where his favorite role was
Training Manager. To his work with SAT students, Eric brings his
expertise in course development and a well honed understanding of how to
satisfy the needs of students from widely varying educational abilities and
backgrounds.
Eric
holds a mechanical engineering (BME) degree from Georgia Tech and has performed
professionally in musical theatre. Eric reads widely and traveled around
the world; this worldliness combined with Eric’s teaching and theatrical
backgrounds help him create enjoyable lessons and his enthusiasm for people
helps him to engage and to keep the interests of his students.
Debra
Goldberg, Program Director & Instructor
Since
founding A POSITIVE APTITUDE® in 2005, Debra has tutored more
than 500 students for their SATs, with outstanding results, concentrating on
the reading and writing sections of the SAT. Along with Eric Goldberg,
Debra has nurtured A POSITIVE APTITUDE® from inception to its status as the
premier SAT tutoring service in the Triangle area of North Carolina.
Debra, who enhanced and developed reading and writing curriculum used by A
Positive Aptitude’s tutors, trains and
supports A POSITIVE APTITUDE®’s affiliated tutors, tutors
students in reading and writing, and runs the business marketing and
communications operations.
Debra,
who reads widely and has traveled extensively including two experiences
living-abroad, co-founded A POSITIVE APTITUDE® after a varied career which
included many roles as educator, writer, and business professional. She
brings her varied and cross-cultural experiences to her work with her students
and to her variety of successes for over three decades as a one-on-one tutor
for both children and adults and as a classroom teacher, always using
non-traditional, creative and “fun” curricula .
Debra
is a published journalist skilled in producing and writing news and feature
stories. For over 30 years, her work has appeared in newspapers, in
journals, on several public television stations, and on state and national
radio networks. Debra holds a BA in journalism and communications from Rutgers University and received graduate level training in writing from the School of
Journalism and Communications at University of
North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
Johnnye
Locke, Instructor
Johnnye
joined A POSITIVE APTITUDE® in 2007, and since that time, has
successfully tutored many dozens of college bound students in all three
sections of the SAT®
with
excellent results. She has a BA in
English from Augustana College in Illinois and
started her career as an English teacher, first at the high school and then at
the college level. After doing graduate
work in technical writing & computer science at New Mexico State
University, Johnnye entered the business world, where her work for software
development companies ranged from technical writing and editing to a number of
supervisory positions and eventually to program management, negotiating
contracts and directing the work of computer scientists and electrical
engineers in support of various US Army & Navy organizations. After relocating to the Triangle area of
North Carolina many years ago, Johnnye returned to teaching, tutoring
disadvantaged children in reading and math, eventually finding her way to A
Positive Aptitude for which she is a senior instructor. Johnnye loves working with young people and
employs A POSITIVE APTITUDE®’s approaches to great advantage in
assisting students to meet and to exceed their SAT goals, and in strengthening
their preparations for success in college and beyond.
Carol
Vatz, Instructor
Carol
has always enjoyed helping students to meet their maximum potentials by
figuring out how they learn best and by encouraging them in ways that increase
both their skills and their confidence. Carol’s interests led to pursuit
of a masters and CAGS in Counseling and School Psychology from Boston
University and a Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also has an undergraduate degree in
Psychology from Tulane University.
Carol
retired from the Wake County Public School System as a school psychologist,
with over 30 years of experience working with students in a variety of
settings, specializing in specific learning disabilities, attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, and high functioning autism. In addition to being
a tutor with A POSITIVE APTITUDE®, she is a licensed psychologist,
primarily providing assessment and consultation to individuals and schools.
Carol
is a North Carolina native who has also lived in New Orleans, England, and
Boston. She loves to travel, enjoys all aspects of the outdoors, and is
an avid fan of the Carolina Ballet. She is married and has two
step-children who have successfully navigated college and graduate school.
John
Telliho, Instructor
John
has a BS in Mathematics from Penn State University where he also worked as a
tutor, earning Penn State’s annual “Outstanding Tutor” award in
mathematics. John’s great skill and love
of teaching and tutoring has continued ever since his college graduation.
Initially, John was able to put his teaching and tutoring skills to use as a
high school math teacher in the Baltimore, MD area. When John moved to Raleigh several years ago,
looking for warmer weather and new challenges, he found work as a software engineer
for a major investment firm and an outlet for his love of tutoring with A POSITIVE APTITUDE®.
Extremely agile with math and a real people person, John appreciates the
great benefits of employing the A POSITIVE
APTITUDE®
approach
in helping students with the math portions of the SAT and beyond. John has tutored dozens of A POSITIVE APTITUDE®’s students to outstanding results.
Melissa
Kindler, Instructor
Melissa
loves being able to turn the intimidated student into the confident student and
has many years of successes doing just that.
Melissa brings impressive professional credentials to her work with A POSITIVE APTITUDE® as a communications professional,
as a high school mathematics teacher and as Chair of the Leesville Road High
School Mathematics Department, where she has been a teacher, academic coach and
mentor to students and colleagues for eleven years.
Melissa
received her undergraduate degree in Communications and Mathematics from the
State University of New York at Albany, graduating Cum Laude. Before her teaching career, Melissa wrote
press releases for recording artists at PolyGram Records in New York City. While pursuing her teaching career, Melissa
earned her M.S. in Instructional Technology from the New York Institute of
Technology, graduating with distinction.
With
sixteen years of teaching and mentoring experience, eleven in Raleigh and five
in NYC, Melissa is familiar with the challenges faced by high school students;
she thoroughly enjoys helping students turn challenges into successes. Melissa loves teenagers, has raised two of
her own, and is expert in helping all to meet lofty goals. Melissa tutors reading, writing and math for
SATs and offers academic math diagnosis and remediation.
CALL US: 919-844-7987 |
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