Teachers

Jane Valentine

Ms. Valentine has over 25 years of teaching experience in Fairfax County Public Schools. She taught at Falls Church and Westfield High Schools, and in Herndon Middle School. While she mainly taught English, Ms. Valentine also has extensive experience in teaching Math to Middle and High School students. During her extensive teaching career, she prepared numerous students successfully for SAT English and Math, serving as an SAT prep tutor at several local educational institutions and as a private tutor. Ms. Valentine has a BA degree in education from Bloomfield College, and has completed several graduate courses in Education, English, and Math at University of Virginia and at George Mason University.

Michael Bender

Mr. Bender has been teaching and tutoring English at internationally recognized language schools and to “No Child Left Behind” Middle School students for the past several years. His students range from children to adults including diplomats, lawyers, economists, and corporate executives in English courses – reading, writing, speaking, and presenting. He has served as a CEO and senior executive of international technology companies and also as a Foreign Service Officer at U.S. Embassies. He was Director and Principal Instructor, Korean Summer Camp in 2010, for Korean local and international students and a proctor and key grader for a U.S. Government contractor evaluating the English abilities of translators. Mr. Bender has a B.A. from American University, a Master’s Degree from University of Maryland, and a Certificate in International Law from the City of London College. He is attending a graduate language program at the University of Virginia and Northern Virginia Community College. Mr. Bender successfully completed the Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment as well as PRAXIS I, Reading, Writing and Mathematics.

Stephen Weber

Mr. Weber has extensive teaching experience, tutoring and mentoring students in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. He taught at similar academic training centers and enrichment programs including at schools specializing in test preparation for TJ, AOS, PSAT & SAT. Mr. Weber has a long history in teaching. He has worked as a classroom instructor and also developed teaching material for the US Air Force and US Navy over the past 20 years. Mr. Weber has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech. and a Master’s degree in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas.

Bijal Shah

Ms. Shah has teaching experience, tutoring and mentoring students in Mathematics. Her experience dates back to 2001 when she taught in the Silver Spring, MD school system. There, she assisted students in successfully completing Standards Of Learning achievement tests and organized the school Math Club. She has private tutoring experience, teaching students in Centerville, Virginia, and helping them in Mathematics, Algebra, Geometry, TJ Admissions test prep, and SHSAT prep. Ms. Shah has a BS degree in Mathematics from George Mason University.

Puneet Gupta

Mr. Gupta has over 6 years of tutoring experience with elementary school, middle school, and high school students. He also has great experience teaching VA SOL, PSAT, SAT, GRE, and GMAT math to promising students. Mr. Gupta has a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters degree in Computer Science.