Middle and High School Parents

“C. was accepted to W.!! Thank you so much for all the support and advice this year.
I appreciate everything you’ve done to help get her there. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!”
-Parent of daughter accepted to an East Coast Prep High School summer 2017

“I got accepted to all three high schools, with academic scholarships! Thank you for helping him breakdown the ISEE and HSPT testing and application process!”
-Parent of son accepted to top tier private high schools

“Mary Ellen did an outstanding job helping us work through the ‘kinks’. She was professional and caring. She listened and provided invaluable assistance. Mary Ellen is very knowledgeable, practical, and most enthusiastic and supportive…because of her efforts, we now feel our fears….were phantom ones. Ms. Wolf…deserves our highest praise…we know our daughter and her parents are in good hands”.
-Parents of high school daughter in an international education program dealing with acute anxiety and failing courses

“Mary Ellen and LeeAnne offer a unique and simple approach to understanding and teaching teens.”
Parent of a son in competitive high school struggling to balance college prep academics and 6A athletic sports

COLLEGE APPLICANTS 

“P.R.I.A. helped me stay organized and together during my college application process. They made the whole process a breeze and enjoyable! Mary Ellen and LeeAnne are the absolute best!”  -Former P.R.I.A. student currently a Junior in college

“If it weren’t for P.R.I.A. I would never have been able to transfer and get into an amazing business school! I was so worried and nervous and when my mom told me she found a small group of educators to help, she was right! They are amazing.”
-Former P.R.I.A. student currently a Senior in college

“I would have never been able to finish my college essays without the help of P.R.I.A.! They made me show up no matter what!” -Former P.R.I.A. student currently a Sophomore in college

“I seriously would not have ever completed the college application process without P.R.I.A.’s help! They helped with essays, interviews, and deadlines! It was so overwhelming and LeeAnne and Mary Ellen helped me not feel frozen.”
-Former P.R.I.A. student currently a Sophomore in college

 ACADEMICA AND PROFESSIONAL 

Harvard Research Team requested permission to use Mary Ellen’s remarks regarding the course Teaching for Understanding

“As an IB MYP workshop leader, consultant and mentor, the concepts in TfU help simplify the focus on standardized testing and put the focus back on trying to get parents and educators (teachers and administrators) alike to communicate to each other on what they want their children to ‘get’ in school. It is a fine line; especially in large urban schools, there are so many children and teachers in one building. When I start talking about Teaching for Understanding to educators and administrators…I get blank looks. I have to get the book and then when I mention…Harvard on-line course…WIDE World…I get a different expression. Half the time, I feel like a one-woman crusader; until I go to an IB workshop and discuss the concepts/teaching strategies from TfU where discussions about connections to student learning are understood…”   -WIDE World, Harvard Graduate School of Education 2006

“Mary Ellen was an educational consultant on _____________ at its inception and has also been my role model for working with teens and tweens – not only as a professional but also as a mom. She is straightforward with them and can get on their level and because of this is able to win their confidence and move them further along in their growth, whether that’s educationally or personally (or becoming her friend on Facebook!). Not everyone has the gift of working with tweens and teenagers ages 11-19 years old, but Mary Ellen does!
– Greater Houston Business owner utilizing P.R.I.A. for educational consultation

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

“I want to thank…in particular, many of the teachers at Lanier Middle School in HISD have been a part of my professional life for more than three years. As we’ve worked together, their conversations, questions, comments, suggestions, and insights have directed my thinking in more ways than they’ve ever imagined. I owe a tremendous thanks to each of them: …Mary Ellen Wolf, LeeAnne Dilabio…these dedicated teachers generously shared their time and expertise with me.”  -Kylene Beers, Ph.D. Author and Professor

When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do A Guide for Teachers 6-12.

FASFA Assistance

“Thanks for ALL your timely assistance with this stuff! We would have never figured out how to navigate the site without your help.” -Parent of two P.R.I.A. students who received academic scholarships