Welcome
Absolute Value Educational Services provides remote and in-person tutoring, academic skills coaching, test preparation and educational therapy. We specialize in students with learning disabilities that are significantly impeding academic and personal success. If you're interested in scheduling an intake interview, speaking with former clients, or finding out more please contact bee@aves-eastbay.com or call (510) 698-2759.
Our name reflects our commitment to unlocking the potential in every student - to the absolute value function, no number is too negative or too complex to find the positive within it.
Range of Practice
We pride ourselves in offering educational services that are accessible to a wide variety of ages (6-adult) and ability levels. We specialize in working with people who are neurologically atypical - those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, academic or general anxiety, or some combination of these.
Subjects include math (up to and including AP Statistics and Calculus AB), reading development and comprehension, essay writing, history, and various languages (Spanish, Japanese, German). Other subjects are available by special request.
Qualifications
Our educator Bee Schlotz has taught and tutored for more than 15 years. Bee received her Master's in Education from University of California Santa Cruz, additional graduate coursework through University of California Los Angeles, the UCSCx Educational Therapy program, and the Making Math Real Institute.
Check us out on Berkeley Parents Network and Yelp for testimonials, or contact us directly to be connected with former clients.
Rates and Policies
Our base rate is available
by request, and we offer bulk discounts and
sliding scale rates if affordability is a problem. If clients
prefer to pay as they go for individual sessions, the rate includes a $10/hr surcharge.
At the beginning of every month, clients purchase instructional time, which they may schedule in advance or leave as flexible time (for midweek help, educational emergencies etc). At the end of the month any unused time rolls over to the next month.
Clients may cancel or reschedule with at least 24 hours
with no penalty - this time allows us to find other use for
the scheduled time.
Our Approach
Our pedagogical practice focuses on educational remediation.
When a student misses an important conceptual building
block in a subject area, future growth in that area becomes very difficult. An educator's task is to find and fill these gaps
This work is often difficult for parents or classroom teachers to do – because they themselves possess an expert understanding of the subject, the most basic components of the subject become invisible.
Students also often develop frustrations and defensive reactions, which makes them less receptive to learning. Creating a calm, welcoming environment is the first step to all remediation.
Guiding Values
We are guided in our
educational and business practices by a set of core guiding values.
The first of these is the belief that diversity makes our society stronger and more humane. We welcome students from all ethnic groups, gender identities and family structures, and cognitive ways of being. We strive to unconditionally accept our students as they are - possibly in need of support, but not problems to be solved.
Last is the "3 Ps" of educational therapy: Patience, Professionalism,
Plasticity. We believe in a high standard of professional conduct in line with the AET code of ethics, and that a patient peaceful environment can result in marvelous changes, because of the
plasticity of the human mind.