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Our Philosophy

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At Odyssey, we believe that careful, thorough preparation—whether it’s for a Biology quiz, English paper, or upcoming SAT—is the foundation on which all academic success is predicated upon. To ensure that the students who work with us achieve the grades, test scores, and general outcomes sought after, we strive to make our materials and processes sophisticated yet straightforward.

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We also know that our biggest asset is the combined intelligence, integrity, and genuine enthusiasm that those who work for us possess. For this reason, we work assiduously to attract and retain the smartest, most passionate, and most thoughtful tutors in the Washington, D.C. area. We have very strict hiring standards: tutors at Odyssey need to have scored in a top percentile on every standardized test they teach, and need to have earned excellent grades in the academic courses they help students in. And yet meeting these standards is not by itself enough to get a job with us. It’s a given that a good tutor should possess a sharp intellect. But a great tutor must also be able to distill complex ideas into simple, easy to understand concepts, and turn learning into something fun, nuanced, and unpretentious.

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We are steadfast in our belief that tutoring has the power to help students become more confident, disciplined learners. We also know that one-on-one tutoring has both short- and long-term benefits. In the short-term, it leads to higher grades and test scores; in the long-term, tutoring can also foster greater intellectual curiosity. We feel successful not only when students achieve their academic and testing goals, but when they begin to realize that a strong, well-rounded education is something that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

 

Why Us?

 

• We’re local. We’re a small group of tutors in the Washington, DC metropolitan area committed to working with your child to achieve academic success. We love Washington because it’s a city steeped in a strong intellectual tradition—a place where some of our country’s smartest and most ambitious gather in the name of democracy. DC is a place where ideas matter, and we feel privileged to live and work in a place full of people who understand the importance of a good education.

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• We’re results-oriented. We measure our effectiveness in ways that include both the empirical—improvement in a course grade or a percentile jump on a standardized test—as well as in ways that are more qualitative: heightened curiosity in a subject, more disciplined study habits, or a greater sense of confidence when confronted with future academic challenges. We emphasize both quantitative and qualitative metrics while working with students.

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• We love what we do. We love working with students. We enjoy helping them to confront academic challenges and seeing them succeed in ways both big and small. And we truly believe that all students are capable of amazing academic, intellectual, and creative feats if inspired by great teachers, exposed to a wide-range of books and ideas, and—perhaps most importantly—given the encouragement to follow their own academic passions.