Testimonials

“I feel very lucky to have found Emily. She gave my son the skills and practice he needed to dramatically improve his standardized test scores. More importantly, my son looked forward to each session. We ended up extending the relationship to get her help with other class work and final exams. We have recommended Emily and The Prep Center to other parents and would not hesitate to use her services again.”

Noreen

“After working with Emily for only 6 weeks, our daughter raised her Math ACT score by 5 points! Emily helped Brooke understand the concepts in terms that she could understand and they worked exclusively with an ACT prep book and Brooke’s prior ACT test results, concentrating on the areas that she needed the most help with. We highly recommend Emily as a tutor.”

“Emily helped both of my daughters improve their cumulative ACT scores by 4 to 5 points. With her coaching, one of my daughters was able to attain a 36 in Reading and a 35 in English! Emily figured out each of my daughter’s strengths and weaknesses, and then focused her tutoring on the areas that would make the biggest difference. She worked well with both girls, despite their different personalities. Because of her ACT scores, my daughter not only got into several of her top choice schools, but received merit scholarships that made them affordable. I highly recommend Emily for private tutoring services for the ACT! She is effective, reliable and a pleasure to work with! I plan to have her tutor my son, when he prepares to take his ACT.”

“Our daughter has had math tutoring from both Emily and Leah during her eighth grade (Emily) and freshman years (Leah). We’ve seen significant gains in her confidence and comprehension. Both Emily and Leah know the subject well, and they were able to teach/explain it in a way that made sense. They both communicated with us regularly about how things were going, making good recommendations for adjustments along the way and they’ve both been always well-prepared for study sessions. They’ve both gotten to know our daughter, how to read her level of comprehension and how to best teach the concepts to our daughter. We are huge fans of Monroe Street & The Prep Center!”

Tiffany

“We wanted a confident start for our daughter who was transferring from an alternative school to a traditional school and hired Emily, at The Prep Center, to help with the transition. Emily took the time to learn more about our daughter and the methods our daughter was using. Emily did a great job of integrating what our daughter already knew with some new methods she might encounter at the new school. Our daughter’s new school was also integrating new curriculum and Emily quickly brought the new language and methods from the new curriculum into her sessions with our daughter.”

“Emily and her team have been absolutely invaluable in this strange year of online learning. We have worked with several different tutors over the past few years and they have always been capable, flexible, and well-liked by my boys. Emily is always quick to reply to questions and spends time working to match the right tutor with specific needs and schedules of the student. Though this year has been mostly online, in previous years, the location of The Prep Center (close to schools) has been ideal. Thank you, Emily and team!”

Laura T.

“Emily has worked with two of my children with remarkable results. The younger one is a traditional elementary-age learner but also over a year younger than many classmates. This has been challenging in terms of keeping at or ahead of grade level in math. Emily has made huge strides by assisting both with grade-level homework and optional higher-level math assignments, helping my child to feel more confident in that subject. The older child has significant attention issues and was particularly struggling in middle school math. Emily was exceedingly patient and able to keep my child task-focused in a calming, relaxed way. That child has since gone on to ace difficult high school math, and most of all now appears to enjoy that subject! Emily is a gifted and compassionate tutor and makes learning fun.”

“As a parent, this is what I value most about Blair Perzentka. She reaches out to students. She prods and cajoles even the most reluctant students into writing, and reading, and speaking. And the students know that she does this because she cares. She tries to teach them that they can succeed when they try. The work is about learning, not grading, and it shows in the results. She jokes around, tells stories, and has extremely high expectations. Then she helps every child reach for those expectations. This, to me, is what excellence in teaching is.

Mary Jo Ziegler
excerpt from Teacher of Excellence Nomination Letter

“Emily has been a lifesaver. Although we have just begun to use her services, I have already noticed a positive change in my daughter and her schoolwork. I
am very happy to have her as a tutor, and I am looking forward to having her work with my daughter.”

Susan W.

“Thank you so much for an enjoyable semester! Compared to my last math class, I felt much more prepared going into tests because of the tools and tips you gave to me and helping me prepare for exams.”

UW-Madison calculus student

“Thanks for all your help the past two years. You were absolutely critical to Maria’s success on the ACT. She might not have gone to college without your help.”

Mary Jo

“Great place to work! Amazing students and wonderful owner.”

Nicole B.

“I can't say enough good things about The Prep Center! Emily and her tutors helped both of my kids to achieve and exceed their goals in a variety of areas, both standardized testing and academic.”

Sarah F.

“Emily and her team offer excellent tutoring services for academic performance and also for student's self-confidence. Highly recommended.”

Amy H.

“I've had Megan Fischer as my tutor for three years. She's helped me become a lot more confident in my math skills. She's helped me understand geometry, trig, and pre-calc. I highly recommend her to anyone needing help!”

Annika W.

“I can’t say enough good things about The Prep Center. With Emily and Isabel’s help, my daughters are getting A’s in their high-school-level math classes. More important than that though, they feel confident in their math skills and have some wonderful STEM involved women as their role models. Thank you!”

“The Prep Center is a gem! Emily and the team have tremendously helped my kids fill in confusion in some academic areas, and they've also supported their growth mindset so they're able to tackle future material with much more self-confidence. The Prep Center is tailormade to your child's needs; this is not a cookie-cutter program! The team is not only brilliant, but they also have exceptional skills relating to kids/teens while also maintaining superb communication with parents. And maybe the biggest testimonial of all is that my kids look forward to their tutoring sessions. We're grateful for The Prep Center!”

Jen L.

“My daughter loved working with Emily Brookhyser, owner of The Prep Center. Emily was able to meet my daughter where she was at in her knowledge and understanding and make their time together interesting and fun. Plus, Emily helped my daughter cultivate confidence in a subject my daughter was feeling defeated in. This growth mindset was vital in making my daughter's outlook a success. I've also heard so many great things about the other associates who work at The Prep Center. You'll be so happy to get the extra help your child might need.

“Emily also helped explain what the different testing and assessments were used for and helped reduce the amount of stress our daughter was feeling over them.

“Our daughter looks forward to her time with Emily and is doing so well with the added support she is receiving from her time every week at The Prep Center. Our daughter’s confidence and self talk has greatly improved and we can’t thank Emily enough for being such a big part of that. And we couldn’t be happier with Emily’s holistic approach to learning, as she blends all the methods we loved about our alternative school experience while working with the materials from our new school.”

Jinger S.