Award-Winning Susan Barton
Tutors
Award-Winning
Susan Barton
Tutors
Private 1-on-1 tutoring, weekly live classes for academic support, test prep & enrichment, practice tests and diagnostics, and more to elevate grades and test scores.
Based on 3.4M Learner Ratings
UniversitiesSchools & Universities
DeliveredHours Delivered
ProficiencyGrowth in Proficiency
Who needs tutoring?
No obligation. Takes ~1 minute.

I am an interdisciplinary educator with an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. from Dartmouth College. My background is primarily in integrated arts learning and museum education and I specialize in visual arts, history and art history, and object-based learning. In all subjects, I take a creative, inquiry-based and learner-centered approach, designing opportunities for each unique individual to meet their learning goals.

I'm not tutoring or buried in my textbooks, you will either find me rock climbing at the Triangle Rock Club, playing Ultimate Frisbee, working on my car, or enjoying the great outdoors (beaches, mountains, forests--you name it, I love it). On rainy weekends I enjoy tinkering with computers and old electronics, playing Pokemon, or picking at my guitar.
I am a recent graduate from a masters program in biostatistics at Columbia University. I received my Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences, with a focus in neurobiology at Northwestern University. In August, I will be starting a doctoral program in biostatistics at NYU. I was a teaching assistant at Columbia University in my department and also have tutored graduate students and undergraduates privately as well. My primary areas of tutoring are math and statistics coursework in addition to math sections on standardized tests such as the GRE and GMAT. I am very passionate about helping students feel more confident and excited about math. In my spare time, I enjoy running, playing piano, and spending time with friends and family.
I am a graduate of Wesleyan University, where I received my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with High Honors. With eight years of experience working in education, I've tutored students in math, science, history, and English, as well as helped students prepare for standardized tests. I've guided adults towards passing the US Citizenship Exam and taught English in India, where I lived for six months. Whenever I work with a student I personalize the lessons to fit their particular learning style, since I know every student is unique and having the right fit can make all the difference in making learning fun and effective. My strengths are tutoring the social sciences and humanities, as well as making math and standardized tests approachable to students that normally don't like those subjects. In my spare time I like traveling, spending time in the outdoors (climbing & backpacking), meditation, and playing soccer. Next fall I will be beginning my PhD in Education at Harvard University.
I am a graduate of Washington University in St Louis, where I received my Bachelor of Arts in History with minors in Humanities and Anthropology. Since graduation, I have worked as a tutor, teacher, and director of tutors at a charter public middle school in Boston. During this time I also received my Masters in Mild to Moderate Disabilities from Simmons College. I have worked extensively with students with a range of abilities, including students with specific learning disabilities, emotional impairments, dyslexia, and ADHD. My teaching experience has given me a deep understanding of the knowledge and habits essential to academic success and has given me the opportunity to hone a variety of strategies that ensure students at each level can achieve their academic goals. While I tutor a broad range of subjects, my favorite ones are Reading, Elementary/Middle School Math, History, and Test Prep. In my experience, tutoring is the most rewarding when a student has that "aha!" moment and achieves a new level of understanding and confidence in his/her abilities. I am a firm believer in the transformative power of education, and I see my role to be that of a facilitator and coach who is there to help the student reach his/her goals through individualized support and rigorous practice. In my free time, I enjoy reading, running, practicing my Spanish, and discovering new music. I am also an avid traveler and just got back from a 3 month trip to South America. I look forward to the opportunity to work with you!
I'm Solange - a recent graduate from Harvard where I studied Sociology & Women's Studies. I've been tutoring for eight years now, and have worked with a wide range of ages and in a wide range of subjects. Some of my specialties are college prep/test taking II worked in the admissions office on campus); social sciences; and literature/writing.
I am proud to be a part of Varsity Tutors! I am originally from San Antonio, TX; I completed my undergraduate education at Rice University in Houston where I received a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Currently, I am in my second year of medical school at Baylor College of Medicine.
I am a junior Mechanical Engineering major at Yale, and I hope to become a Naval Aviator after college. I am also a varsity sailor, and enjoy playing music with friends when I can get some free time. I have been tutoring my fellow students throughout my entire academic career, and I would best describe my tutoring style as one that adapts to each students' needs. For example, I have always tried to frame questions in a different way so that the student can better understand the question. Some students need visual representations of numbers and systems to understand them, and others benefit more by understanding the concepts behind each formula. I prefer to tutor in math and physics, and especially with real world application problems. I hope to help students improve their standardized test scores and their understanding of the math and sciences so that they can achieve their academic goals!
I am a rising sophomore at Harvard College and am about to declare as a Mechanical Engineering concentrator, working towards a Bachelor of Science degree. I've always enjoyed sharing my knowledge with my peers and those around me and have done so in both formal and informal settings. I've been a tutor for both Math and Spanish programs in high school and enjoyed the strides I made with students. I am willing to tutor any subject I have a background in, but am strong in mathematics, the sciences, Spanish, history, writing, and ACT prep. I enjoy teaching mathematics most due to the joy I can see in children once they master a topic and can answer even pointed questions meant to stump them, and maybe even put their knowledge to real world use. As a tutor, I like to give a strong foundation to orient my student, and then gradually grant them more freedom and independence until they can feel themselves grasp the concept, pointing out pitfalls or common errors along the way; teachers who used these methods on me always left the most lasting impressions. Outside of my studies, I really enjoy listening to music, both old favorites and new interests, reading classics, and gaming/playing basketball with my friends.
I am an aspiring applied mathematician, with particular interest in image processing and climate science. I graduated in May 2017 from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor's in physics and mathematics, and am beginning a PhD program in September 2017 at the University of Chicago in Computational and Applied Mathematics. I've tutored introductory physics students for three years and enjoyed it thoroughly, as a chance to help other students while revisiting fundamental concepts to enhance my own knowledge. I'm eager to continue reaching out and helping students of math and physics to succeed and, furthermore, to appreciate the beauty and power of these subjects.
I am a graduate of the University of Chicago where I received my undergraduate degree in political science. Right after graduation, I worked as an academic and test prep tutor as well as admissions consultant in Hong Kong. For the past two years, I worked with a number of students to help prepare them for college in the United States.
I am exploring my creativity by pursuing a double major in Asian Languages and Cultures with a focus in Korean, studying abroad in South Korea as a Benjamin A. Gilman Scholar, leading workshops that teach 3D printing and CAD for undergraduate students as the president of 3D4E, advocating for the first-generation and low-income student community as the Outreach Chair of the Quest+ Scholars Network, and getting involved with the Society of Women Engineers' outreach committee. I currently hold a work-study position as an administrative clerical aide in the Institute of Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern and was an undergraduate researcher in the John Rogers Lab. As I look forward with aspirations of applying to graduate school, areas of research in biomedical engineering and biotechnology that I am particularly interested in include biomaterials, pharmaceuticals, and drug delivery systems. Outside of the classroom, I enjoy learning on my own and sharing my experience and knowledge with my peers and other students. I hope to make use of my experiences with academics and learning in high school and so far in my undergraduate career in order to effectively tutor students who may be experiencing the same struggles in learning that I also experienced.
Testimonials
Because the right Susan Barton tutor makes all the difference.
Average Session Rating – Based on 3.4M Learner Ratings
Top 20 Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
The Susan Barton Method is a structured, Orton-Gillingham-based approach to reading instruction that focuses on teaching phonics through explicit, systematic instruction. It's particularly effective for students with dyslexia and other reading difficulties because it breaks reading down into manageable, sequential steps and helps students understand the logic of how letters represent sounds.
This method emphasizes multisensory learning—engaging sight, sound, and touch—to help students build stronger neural pathways for reading. Rather than guessing at words or relying on pictures, students learn to decode systematically, which builds confidence and independence in reading.
In a classroom setting, reading instruction often moves at a pace that works for the group average, which can leave struggling readers behind or move too slowly for advanced readers. Personalized Susan Barton tutoring allows a tutor to work at exactly the right pace for each student, spending more time on concepts that need reinforcement and moving forward when mastery is achieved.
A tutor trained in the Susan Barton Method also provides intensive, focused practice on the specific decoding and fluency skills your student needs most, with immediate feedback and correction. This one-on-one attention means your student gets customized instruction rather than one-size-fits-all lessons, leading to faster progress and stronger reading foundations.
Students can benefit from Susan Barton tutoring at any age, from early elementary through high school and beyond. The method is especially valuable when a student shows early signs of reading difficulty—such as trouble rhyming, letter recognition challenges, or slow progress in first or second grade—because earlier intervention leads to faster skill building.
However, many students don't receive a reading assessment until later grades, and the good news is that the Susan Barton Method works effectively even for older students who are years behind in reading. A tutor can assess your student's current skills and design a program that meets them where they are, whether that's a 7-year-old or a 17-year-old.
While the Susan Barton Method is highly effective for students with dyslexia, it benefits any student who struggles with reading—including those with general reading delays, attention challenges, language processing difficulties, or simply a learning style that needs more explicit, structured instruction than traditional methods provide.
The systematic, multisensory approach works well because it removes ambiguity from the reading process. Students learn exactly why words sound and look the way they do, which builds understanding rather than relying on memorization or guessing strategies. This makes it valuable for a wide range of learners.
Progress timelines vary depending on your student's starting point and how frequently they receive tutoring, but many students show noticeable improvements in decoding and fluency within a few weeks of consistent, personalized instruction. You may notice your student is more confident attempting unfamiliar words, reading with better accuracy, or spending less energy on decoding and more on comprehension.
Over a few months of regular tutoring, students typically move from struggling with basic phonetic patterns to reading more independently and fluently. The key is consistency—frequent sessions combined with practice between tutoring appointments accelerate progress. A tutor can track specific skills like sound mastery, word attack ability, and fluency rate to show you exactly where your student is improving.
The best Susan Barton tutors have formal training in the Susan Barton Method or Orton-Gillingham-based instruction, which ensures they understand the systematic scope and sequence of the program and how to teach each component effectively. They're also patient, observant listeners who can quickly identify where a student is stuck and adjust their approach to help the student break through.
Great tutors combine structured instruction with genuine enthusiasm for their student's progress. They celebrate small wins, maintain detailed records of skill mastery, and communicate regularly with parents about what's being worked on and how to support learning at home. They understand that reading struggles can affect confidence, so they create a positive, non-judgmental environment where students feel safe taking risks and making mistakes.
Practice between sessions is crucial to reading progress. Learning science shows that spaced repetition—reviewing skills over multiple days and weeks—is one of the most effective ways to build long-term, automatic skills. A student who practices for 15-20 minutes between tutoring sessions will progress significantly faster than one who only practices during tutoring.
A good tutor will give you specific, manageable practice activities to do at home—often just 3-4 times a week. These might include reading sight words, practicing letter-sound combinations, or reading simple stories. The practice reinforces what's being taught in tutoring and helps move skills from conscious effort to automatic recall, which is essential for fluent reading.
Let’s find your perfect tutor
Answer a few quick questions. We’ll recommend the right plan and match you with a top 5% tutor.


