Karen is a retired elementary school teacher and recently moved to Gainesville from Connecticut, where she mostly taught students at the 4th and 5th grade levels. As a tutor, she provides strategies for success in math, reading, and writing.  With input from her students, she enjoys planning a variety of skills related to real-life math and/or reading.  For example, as an avid sports’ fan, she and her students may enjoy discussing batting averages or creating questions concerning the length and width of the Gators’ football field, incorporating area, perimeter, feet, yards, and conversions to metrics. For language arts, she knows that reading comprehension skills improve with conscious listening and making personal connections to articles assigned helps to increase vocabulary.  These skills help the students read between the lines to understand the meaning of the characters’ conversations in a story.  In Karen’s words, “Tutoring is a nurturing process where students can ask questions to help correct levels of difficulty with kindness and respect.  Targeting the individual needs of my students is a priority.  I can’t wait to meet you and have fun learning together!”