Testimonials
Coaching
Our daughter made the Maybeck HS honor roll. All A's (including Geometry) and one B+ in Forensic Science. We're thrilled. She worked very hard and has learned a lot about how she learns and how she needs to study in order for her test scores to more accurately reflect what she knows. Thank you and SOS for your part in the heavy lifting that helped to bring us here. - Amy Shutkin
My husband and I truly enjoyed our talk with Mark. He was extremely informative and appeared to be excited about helping our son. In speaking with Mark, the way he talked about Jeremy we could tell he has really gotten to know him. The most awesome part of our discussion was seeing that Jeremy was excited about working with Mark, we haven't seen that light in his eyes in quite some time. Our son is truly excited about learning how to study. We came home feeling warm and fuzzy knowing that SOS is taking care of our son - Wanda Burnett
I so appreciate what you've done for our son and us as a family. It was so frustrating for us as parents to try to do what you could do as an "outsider". You've given him some great tools and the knowledge that he can accomplish more than he was willing to admit previously. We so appreciate your help! - Ellen Odza
Within two months of working with Beth, my son is at the very top of his class. The change is miraculous. We are forever in her debt because we now have a child who is performing at this capacity, and who is liking school instead of hating it. We tried other tutors and alternatives to no avail. Beth works magic! - Lynne Brody
Our son received excellent help in an environment that he loved. SOS also provided expert advice to us as parents on how to help him throughout the week. We learned a lot, as did our son. I feel all students, with or without learning challenges, could benefit from SOS. -Terry Riggins
As a school advocate I see the struggles of children with organizational difficulties regularly. This struggle became clear when my daughter started middle school and began to gets D's and F's in many of her classes. Her frustration was apparent every night when I tried my best to help her and she could not tell me what she needed to do or when her assignments needed to be in. After completing a Neuropsych Report to identify her issues, my daughter started seeing Beth Samuelson toward the end of the school, on a recommendation from her Doctor. My daughter took the summer off of academics and is two months into the new school year. She is happy, confidant, organized, is getting all of her schoolwork done without assistance. She has an "A" in English. Her first "A" ever. I believe that what Beth is doing for my daughter is not, ‘Giving her a fish, but instead teaching her how to fish’. - Kimberly Goldman
My son has worked with SOS for the last four years. With Beth's help, he has developed strategies for improving his writing, organization and planning skills. These skills have become valuable both in and out of the classroom. My son is now able to use those skills to competently manage the challenges of his senior year and the college application process. Beth's enthusiasm, competence and professionalism have been a wonderful resource for our whole family.- Jacqueline Luckett-Johnson
I just want to thank you for the great work you're doing with our son. He likes and admires you and takes what you say to heart. I chuckle when I see you giving him the same instructions I have over the years, only with far more success. I'm so pleased with the end result. Thanks again for helping my son begin to reach his potential. - Jennifer Fish Wilson
We started our son in your program because he was not performing well in school, despite being bright. Our efforts to get him motivated resulted in a family power struggle that was counter-productive and altered our relationship with him. After working with you last semester, his grades improved dramatically, as did his attitude towards himself and us.You helped our son identify that he was an auditory learner and then to find ways to study using this learning style. The difference in grades and attitude from the beginning of the school year until the end was dramatic. Our son's success in school last semester gave him back confidence. If he slips, we now have tools to help him. Our family life is much improved and we are able to enjoy each other again! Thank you for all that you have done and your ability to guide us toward a more productive, smoother road. - A Grateful Parent
My middle-school son has been working with Beth Samuelson for a year, and the changes I have seen in his ability to manage his homework load with minimal stress are remarkable! We used to experience homework "crises" all the time involving procrastination followed by melt downs when the anxiety built up and too little time remained to do the assignment well. The pattern was very negative for the whole family, and in particular, the mother-son dynamic. Beth saved the day by establishing a warm, humorous, supportive rapport with my son, then patiently teaching him the skills he needed to be able to manage his own homework responsibilities without parental involvement. Beth essentially became the executive functioning part of my son's brain and helped him develop that part of himself at the same time. Beth is incredibly good at what she does and is a wonderful person to work with in every way. She really "gets" my son, who is very gifted but has trouble focusing, planning, budgeting time, and self-motivating. My son is now more organized, knows how to take notes and study for tests, and keeps track of his assignments on his own. As a result, he is far more self-confident as a student and happy as a person. I can't recommend SOS and Beth Samuelson highly enough - the investment in my son has been worth every penny! - Cynthia Leslie-Boles
Matt has helped our daughter prepare for tests, which she is typically anxious about. He gave her tips for studying and set timelines for her to get studying done so she wouldn't be learning everything at the last minute. He has a very positive demeanor and is sensitive, patient and thoughtful in his approach with students. It has been terrific to get feedback from him every meeting in the form of an email. He also was able to recognize very aptly the way our daughter learns best and tailored his tutoring style to her needs. Our daughter says Matt explains things thoroughly and takes time to explain concepts that are difficult. He uses graphs and whiteboards to emphasize learning, which was helpful for her because she is a visual learner. - Ms.B.
Gretchen has been very supportive of our daughter and helps coordinate assignment due dates and requirements with her teachers. She has been the reliable common thread at school for her. Gretchen has shown our daughter how to approach her assignments so that even the hard subjects are manageable. For the first time our daughter hasn't been overwhelmed by the expectations of her teachers. She is beginning to feel she can do it. Gretchen helps our daughter discover her own strengths and to use those strengths when working on school assignments. Our daughter has developed a strong relationship with Gretchen. She is comfortable with Gretchen and trusts her and values her opinions and feedback. Gretchen has been great about communicating with us and is extremely responsive to our concerns. I found her to be very energetic and enthusiastic and willing to find what works with our daughter. From the beginning Gretchen has drawn upon our daughter's interests (mainly theater) to both engage her and teach her the basic approaches to successful study techniques. Our daughter's grades have improved dramatically! She has gone from C's, D's and F's to A's, B's and C's! It's hard work for us all, but it is an amazing accomplishment! Our daughter has two more years of high school and we definitely want Gretchen to be there cheering her on! - Ms.W.
We can’t say enough good things about Gretchen! Most importantly, our son really saw her as his ally, as someone he could trust to help him. As parents, we found her to be immensely responsive and creative in her approach to working with our son. She really “got” who he is and helped him with anxiety, perfectionism, and advocating for himself with his teachers. She was enormously helpful in keeping him on track when he had to work independently at home, due to health issues. We recommend the services of SOS without qualification! - Gael
I can't say enough positive things about our experience with our son's coach [Gretchen] this year. She has helped him hugely in organization, motivation, and confidence. Perhaps most importantly he really enjoys working with her. We are kept quite well informed on what was accomplished during each session and how we can carry through at home. We could not be more pleased by our experience this year - Mary Firestone
Robert has been a resource advisor to Philip this year. He has been both very conscientious and very helpful. He has made a dramatic difference in Philip’s ability to organize and to prioritize his work; to be systematic and careful; and to set reasonable goals for himself. Robert has shown great professionalism, patience and persistence. He has been supportive of Philip both academically and personally. As a result, Philip is able to work alone and to plan ahead. He is better able to prepare for tests. His grades and motivation have improved dramatically over the year. - Bernie and Manana
Presentations
Thank you for the informative presentation last night. Loved your reality check, humor and presentation style. - Donna Hays
I just attended the Brown Bag meeting on Student Time Management and Organization at WCI. You are a great speaker and presented so much useful information. I am so happy I took time off work to attend. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to you. I hadn't figured out exactly what my parent involvement should be with my 6th grader in regards his school work. Being a mom you naturally want to be in your kid's business and the next thing you know you are micro-managing them and what comes next is that everyone is frustrated and then there is yelling and tears. And yes, I was using those words or phrases such as "focus, get organized, be responsible" and checking on him and asking those questions "how's it going?, Are you sure you can listen to your iPod and get your homework done? do you have it all under control? Thank you for clarifying so many things for me and pointing me in the right direction. I look forward to working with my son and family to implement many of your ideas. - Roxie Hooke
As a parent of a three, I have attended innumerable presentations on communicating with your teenager, engaging your teenager, jumpstarting your teenager, etc. Your sense of humor, straightforward materials, and message of mutual trust and respect really resonated with me. On behalf of the Bishop O'Dowd Parents' Association, I would like to heartily thank you for introducing some very honest and intuitive techniques to use with our teenagers in creating a supportive learning environment. Your materials and strategies could have easily taken up several sessions for adequate absorption by our atrophying parent minds. Thank you many times over for providing an educational and enjoyable evening. - Mara McGrath, VP Programming, Bishop O'Dowd Parents' Association
Beth conducted a student-parent workshop that focused on learning styles at our middle school. Students and parents greatly increased their awareness of how differences in style affect their approach to school work, and Beth helped them understand how this could be used to turn homework battles into effective collaborations. Beth's knowledge, communication skills, energy, and sense of humor made for a fun and productive session. This workshop laid the ground work for many useful discussions and insights about how students, teachers, and parents can help kids better reach their potential as learners. -Sally West, Prospect Sierra School
While the Director of Learning Services at Lick-Wilmerding High School (www.lwhs.org), I attended the Student Organizational Services (SOS) Nailing Ninth Grade training last August. This past February I also attended the Parent Education Network (PEN) conference on Executive Function Disorder. I have found both the trainings were invaluable and the Director of SOS, Beth Samuelson, a fantastic presenter and a wealth of knowledge. She provided many practical strategies to implement in the home and in the classroom.
SOS has improved my way of teaching and working with both educators and students; I use many of the strategies with students and teachers. For example, I use a checklist for subjects and the correct procedures for activities are used regularly and effectively. Teachers are writing more instructions on the board as well as doing them orally. We're looking more at our student's strengths instead of just weaknesses. Our students, teachers and myself are using daily schedules more effectively, so students will know what is going on that day. In addition, I have worked with teachers to develop and use a class outlines of what each chapter covers before teaching a chapter to help all students with their concept formation.
Student Organizational Services (SOS) has broadened my perspective on the students whom I work with. Whereas I used to focus on the specific weaknesses that brought each student to me (as a Special Educator), I now see them as individual with individual needs, focusing on strengths as well as weaknesses. This added ability to pinpoint specific areas should make it easier to devise a plan that maximizes the use of my time with each student.
I will continue to incorporate strategies that I learned from the Nailing Ninth Grade and Executive Function workshops for teachers and students. Student Organizational Services (SOS) has impacted my teaching and is a fantastic resource for educators, parents, and students alike. I highly recommend these programs! -Danielle Roberts, Director of Learning Services, Lick Wilmerding High School
On behalf of the Parents Education network (PEN) I would like to extend a very special thank you to you for your presentations at the PEN High School Conference on February 5, 2005. Many people in the audience expressed how much they valued your talk.
On a personal note, I feel fortunate to have been in the audience to hear you speak and to have had the opportunity to meet you. The service you provide and your experience in working with students to become more successful is invaluable to the community. You give much hope for kids, parents and teachers with a healthy dose of humor. Again, thank you for your inspiring presentations. It was our privilege to work with you. We look forward to partnering with you in the future. –Dewey Rosetti, President, Parents Education Network (PEN)
Beth Samuelson and S.O.S. have very successfully served Orinda Academy, our staff, and students for many years. Beth, and her experienced coaches, have taken average students and turned them into honor roll students. They have also helped tremendously with students who need to develop management and organizational skills. SOS has an expertise in identifying learning style differences and helping students overcome them to achieve. We find them also to be an excellent resource for parent and teacher education on these same critical issues. I highly recommend them. --Ron Graydon, Director, Orinda Academy
Workshops
One thing Graham repeated over to me about his experience last weekend was how cool and great the teachers were. Their warmth and interest in the kids being successful came across to him loud and clear - Donna Hays
You should be thrilled to know that all three boys really liked the [Nailing Ninth] workshop. They said it was "pretty good" which is like a perfect 10 coming from a 14 year old boy! Thanks for running such a cool and effective program - Nancy Katz, Orinda
Thank you for having her as a presentor. She did a fabulous job. I enjoyed all she had to say about motivation and learning styles. -Kathy, BASIS Workshop Participant
Yesterday [my son] had a paper to write. He used the suggestions from the binder as a way to help him format a cogent, well-articulated paper. The materials are excellent and really made the process much easier for him than it has been in the past. Thank you for giving him an invaluable tool that he can use for the rest of his life. - Heidi, Writing Rx Workshop Parent
... Workshop feedback from Students
Teacher Workshops
Thank you once again for yesterday's presentation. The faculty gave it a great review. They enjoyed the conversation, the opportunity to share ideas and your energetic presentation. We agreed to continue to discuss ways to reach our "square pegs." Thank you for the inspiration - Nancy J. Barrett, Assistant Principal, Holy Names High School
