Tutor Bios
Cathy Keller
AP European History, IBDP History, Study Skills and IB Extended Essay
Cathy Keller is the owner and founder of Jump Ahead Tutoring. When I started tutoring, I realized there were a lot of driven students who wanted that "jump ahead" in school, so I started connecting students with the best teachers I know. I have over 19 years of teaching experience, a Masters in European History, and have been teaching High School since 2003. I also taught at the University of Michigan while in graduate school there, and I was a Fulbright Scholar in Austria, where I taught English. I have been teaching IBDP History and AP European History for most of those years, and I also have experience teaching college prep US History, Geography, Psychology, Government, and AP Psychology.
I have been tutoring students one-on-one since I was an undergraduate working in the Writing Center at Franklin and Marshall College, and I have always incorporated literacy and writing instruction into my classes.
I also work as a European History Consultant for Crash Course and helped to fact-check and develop the syllabus for the European History series on that channel. You can watch the whole series on the playlist HERE and find viewing guides and critical vocabulary at the Crash Course page of this site HERE.
I have taught and written letters of recommendations for a lot of very high-achieving students who have gone on to attend M.I.T., Stanford, Brown, Cornell, Duke, University of Chicago, Rice, Northwestern, and many other prestigious schools. I love seeing students get into their dream schools, and I would love to help your student do the same!
Katie Taylor
AP Psychology
Katie Taylor has been teaching for 19 years and has been teaching AP Psychology for 14 of those years. She has a B.A. in Psychology from Creighton University and a M.A. in Psychology from Regis University.
Katie is THE ONE to go to with a Psychology question because she has been teaching this class for so long that she has lots of tips and tricks to help remember the difference between tricky terms. She has graded the AP Psychology Exam for many years and teach you to master the AP Psych FRQ!
As you can see, she is also funny and will keep you on your toes! (Literally, if you want, as she is also the head cross country coach!)
Joe Colacioppo
AP Government
Joe Colacioppo (aka "Mr C.") has been a teacher for 17 years and has been teaching AP Government for 14 of those years. This is the guy students call "the one" teacher who they remember forever. His humor, compassion, content knowledge and willingness to try whatever it takes to get students to learn make him one in a million. Joe is a news junkie, and his knowledge of the dark inner workings of the American Government and the AP Gov Exam is extensive!
Joe has a B.A. in English from the University of South Carolina, a B.A. in Government from Metro State University and a M.A. in Education from the University of Colorado at Denver.
Brian Hendricks
AP US History
This is not Brian. Picture coming as soon as he masters a selfie :)
Brian Hendricks has been teaching for 17 years and has been teaching AP US History for 13 of those years. He has a B.A. in History from the University of Colorado and a M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix.
Brian is upfront and honest with his students about what they need to improve, and he has the experience to help them achieve their goal. Brian is a U.S. History fanatic, and he is very experienced in helping kids improve their writing for the AP U.S. History Test. His students would tell you that his door is always open to them, and that he is a flexible yet rigorous teacher.
Courtenay Whalen
Study Skills,
Executive Functioning, Spanish 1 &2
Courtenay Whalen has been teaching for 16 years. She has a BA in English and History, with a minor in Spanish, and she has a M.Ed. in Secondary English Education from DePaul University. She has taught middle school for 16 years because "middle schoolers are the best schoolers." Of those 16 years, she has taught AVID for 9 years and Spanish for 7, in addition to Social Studies.
Courtenay goes out of her way to connect with students on a personal level because she cares about them but also because she knows it will help them want to do better work.
We also have master teachers available in the following subjects:
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AP Human Geography
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Math through Algebra 2