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Our Tutors

Thrive Tutoring is a boutique service in Tennessee for one-on-one, in-home academic tutoring, academic intervention, and test preparation. We also offer advocacy/IEP support, homeschool teacher matching, and group classes.

OUR SHARED PHILOSOPHY AND VALUES

We love our tutors!

RELATIONSHIPS ARE KEY

Our work is rooted in relationships. We get to know our students and families on a personal level—we attend sporting events to cheer on our students, join our families for dinner, and stay after tutoring sessions from time to time to play a round of basketball in the driveway. It makes our day to receive texts with excitement about an awesome grade on a big test. We love celebrating your child’s success with you. The genuine relationships we build with our families have a lasting impact—in many cases, far beyond the time we tutor your child.

LEARNING IS PERSONALIZED

We do not use a cookie-cutter curriculum or a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and learning. We start by assessing student learning needs and goals. Then, we develop lesson plans and tailor approach in order to meet the unique needs of each student.

ALL STUDENTS CAN THRIVE

We believe all children can excel academically, regardless of their unique learning needs, their current standing in school, or their socioeconomic status.

MEASUREABLE RESULTS

Our number one goal is to unlock your child’s potential and get results. We take that responsibility seriously and are consistently driving toward measurable academic results for all of our students. 

WE LOVE TEACHING

We really do love teaching and our enthusiasm is infectious. It might sound obvious, but students learn best from teachers who are passionate about their work. We promise to go above and beyond to help your child become their best.

Meet our Tutors

Aaron Kleinschmidt

Elementary, Middle School
Language, Math
Aaron is a recent graduate of Belmont University, where he studied Spanish and International Politics, with a minor in Data Science. There, he competed on the Speech Team, participated in Student Government, and served as the first-ever VP of the Civic Engagement and Advocacy Club. He also spent a semester abroad in Spain, which cemented his decade of Spanish studies and expanded his love for Spanish culture. As Aaron prepares to return to Spain on a Fulbright Award to teach English, his passion for language and cultural exchange continues to grow -- a passion he seeks to share with students of various ages and levels.

Alexandra Pitzer

High School, College
Language
Alexandra is an MBA candidate at Belmont who majored in French Language and World Business at UTK. She currently works for Bridgestone as an analyst, but previous to her corporate position, she was a full-time reading tutor and French tutor. She is in the process of moving into a new house and is living in Knoxville for a couple weeks before her move-in date.

Bella Arbelaez

Elementary
Language, Math, Science
Bella is a current Vanderbilt Junior studying Neuroscience and Medicine, Health, and Society on the pre-med track at Vanderbilt. Bella served as an extended day teacher and camp counselor working with kids as young as 2.5 and as old as 16. She also spent several years babysitting and tutoring a diverse group of children in high school and her freshman year of college. Bella thoroughly enjoys forming personal relationships with each of her students and caters her sessions to the student’s interests to ensure maximum engagement. Bella has tutored in a variety of content areas, with most experience in Science, Reading, and Math. At school, Bella does research for early detection of Pancreatic Cancer, serves as the diversity chair of her sorority, and is the treasurer for Katie’s Art project which brings art therapy to hospitals in the Nashville area. Aside from school, Bella enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, baking, and taking ceramic classes. She has plans to attend medical school in the future, with plans of pursuing pediatrics.

Eliana Ramage

Middle School, High School
Language, Reading/ELA
Eliana is a fiction writer and former high school English teacher, who currently teaches creative writing for youth and adults across Nashville. She has a BA in English literature from Dartmouth College, an MA in English literature and creative writing from Bar-Ilan University, and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa. Eliana has ten years' experience teaching across a broad and diverse context (for example: ESL grades 1-12 in Tel Aviv, creative writing for undergrads in Iowa, and pre-college mentorship here in Nashville). While her favorite subjects are writing, reading, and languages (Hebrew and Spanish), more than anything Eliana loves to see young people develop their confidence and feel encouraged in setting and meeting their goals.

Elizabeth Wade

Middle School, High School
Language, Reading/ELA, Test Prep
Elizabeth is a recent graduate from American University in Washington D.C. She studied International Relations and Economics. After graduating, she returned back to her hometown of Nashville TN, to work in Finance as a Business Analyst. Elizabeth offers a diverse set of skills: Elementary Chinese (Mandarin) reading, Junior High/High School level English, as well as College Prep such as essay writing, study/organizational skills, and Financial Literacy. Elizabeth takes a customized, self paced approach to teaching, that engages students in subjects that interest them and gives them structured lesson plans.During college, Elizabeth worked with international students as a peer advisor, helping students navigate and prepare for their college experience such as coursework, study and organization skills, college essays and research writing. She looks forward to working with young teens as they prepare for college and beyond!

Melissa Cavagnini

Elementary, Middle School, High School
Language, Math, SPED
Melissa is a graduate student at Vanderbilt University getting her master's degree in special education. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a B.A.Ed. in Human Development and Family Studies and a B.A. in Spanish. Her expertise is working with kids with a wide range of learning needs across the K-12 spectrum. She does a particularly great job getting to the bottom of what's holding a student back and creating a clear plan for them to get on track. She also has a natural gift for lesson planning--her lessons are very well thought out and clear

Michael Sandborn

Middle School, High School, College
Language, Math
Michael graduated with bachelor's degrees in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science in the class of 2020 at Vanderbilt University. He was also a pitcher on Vanderbilt's NCAA Division I men's baseball team from 2016–2019.Michael is currently a 3rd-year Computer Science Ph.D. student at Vanderbilt University studying computer security and cyber-physical systems and also has experience as a teaching assistant in computer science.Before Vanderbilt, Michael attended Jesuit High School of Tampa and received the Excellence in the Spanish Language Award in 2015 and the Excellence in English Composition Award in 2016. Before leaving Tampa for college, he was also a youth summer camp counselor at the Northwest YMCA and received the Counselor of the Summer Award in 2016. Michael has tutoring experience in math, Spanish, writing, and computer science ranging from middle school to university levels. He focuses on clarity of communication throughout the learning process and decomposes complex subjects into manageable segments. His teaching philosophy embraces each student's unique learning style and fosters curiosity, independence, and critical thought.

Miles Crenshaw

High School
Language, Math, Science
Miles has his bachelor's degree in physics and data science and has been a full-time tutor for four years. He is exploring options for a master's program in photonics in the future. Miles is excellent at breaking down complex topics into easier to digest pieces and relating academics to the real work. He enjoys helping students understand "why?" so that they can build their reasoning around tricky material and excel and whatever is thrown at them next. He has a strong technical background, so he does lots of math, science, and test prep at the high school level, and for middle school students he covers all classes. Miles also covers Spanish through Spanish III

Sydney Wilson

Elementary, Middle School
Language, Math, Reading/ELA, Science, Social Studies
Sydney graduated with her bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University in 2017, and is now pursuing her Master's in Human Development Counseling at Vanderbilt University. Prior to living in Nashville, she worked for Teach For America as a bilingual elementary teacher, specializing in K-2 literacy. Sydney has tutored students aged 3 through 18 in all subjects, including Spanish. Her experiences equip her with a diverse skillset to build relationships and connect with every student, as well as meet them where they are academically to engage in the most growth possible. She hopes to continue working with kids by becoming a play therapist after graduating.

“Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of a true education.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.