Brooklyn Letters
1139 Prospect Avenue, Brooklyn
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We would highly recommend Ally! Our son always asks about her, so very thankful to Brooklyn Letters for introducing us.
~ Emily, mom of Brooklyn 2 year old -
Nicole has been an amazing therapist!! She played a tremendous role in our daughter’s speech progress and overall development. She has come such a long way and we are so happy with the therapy she received!
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I cannot express how grateful and rewarding my experience with Brooklyn Letters has been. Her tutor Ms. Daria is so knowledgeable, amazing, kind and awesome. My daughter has made so much progress in Literacy and Math and it's all … More thanks to Ms. Daria. I know my daughter is sad that she can no longer work with Ms. Daria, as she looked forward to their sessions every week. Thank you again!
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Excellent services, caring therapists.
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Christina was absolutely wonderful. She went out of her way to win my son over and it worked. He looked forward to her visits and his speech improved so much under her care. She was super flexible and it’s clear she truly cares. We adore … More Christina and we’re going to miss her. Almost sad he improved so much! She’s simply amazing and we can’t say enough how great she is. I would recommend her services to anyone and everyone, without hesitation. Thank you so much for connecting us with her!
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We could not be happier with the services Valerie provided! She is very thoughtful and knowledgeable and provided significant guidance to support our daughter's speech development outside of our scheduled sessions. She established … More a great working relationship with her, and she will definitely be missed! Your business model is amazing and it was an absolute pleasure working with Valerie. I've referred your organization and Valerie to the Executive Director of our daughter's school and friends/colleagues who are in need of speech therapy services.
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We cannot say enough good things about Effie, the ASL teacher, who was so engaged and effective with our 2 year old daughter from the very first session! Effie gladly included our whole family in the sessions! Her expertise and fantastic … More personality gave our daughter a way to communicate that she was so desperately seeking. The coordinators at Brooklyn Letters were so helpful and communicative…I would highly recommend their services!
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The company is great with outstanding customer service. They keep my horses protected. I have recommended them to other horses trainers as well that are going to get service early next year. Very professional an honest too. Respectfully … More submitted Christopher
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Ron and Ken did a fantastic job with our security system today. Installed everything very quick. Both of them were very polite and asked us throughout if the installation met our needs. Simply fantastic!
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I called Cornerstone Protection to get a Security system at a relatives out of state property, within a week it was installed! The installers worked with the client to help understand her new system and she was happy! Our relative said … More they were courteous, professional and patient! I highly recommend Cornerstone Protection for all of your security needs!
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Had blink cameras; Car was broken into multiple times so I called CornerStone & they were able to install multiple cameras very quickly & for a reasonable price. I am so happy with the app & getting alerts that are not superfluous, … More like they were with Blink. Highly recommend CornerStone & the tech Ronnie.
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Ron and Ken are great guys to work with.
Both were very knowledgeable and got our system back up and running.
Thanks to both for a job well done... -
Samantha Dalmas was fantastic! We saw her for a feeding therapy evaluation and while she doesn’t think my daughter needs more feeding therapy sessions at this time, but she gave me lots of tips to try. If my daughter's doctors want … More to see more progress at her next appointment, I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to Samantha again.
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Amazing assistance provided by Shannon today on my security system. I’m so grateful for your prompt, efficient, professional, and courteous service. Put me down as a customer for life!
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One of the most painless experiences I've had. They came on time and was over the moon professional with still keeping a level of personability to it. The gentleman also went out of his way to say that my husband and Mines business … More was appreciated. Which is actually rare to be appreciated by such a great company. So thank you and we look forward to continuing services with this company.
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I am so happy we decided to go with cornerstone. They were quick and efficient. Shannon and the installer we very friendly. We got a lot of equipment and it was still within our budget. 10/10 would definitely recommend! Thank you
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Love the customer service and Shanon and his team go above and beyond for my restaurant. Couldn't of asked for a better security system and level of service that his team provides.
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I have been using Cornerstone Protection service for over 5 years and I'm really happy with the service and state-of-the-art equipments and it's futures are so much in advance and friendly, I highly recommend Cornerstone Protection … More Service any and all business that need a security protection days and nights specially after business hours(Cornerstone Protection is perfect solution for your business). Owner of Cornerstone Protection is proactive with their customers and their equipments. Good experienced with Cornerstone Protection!!!
Kanu Patel -
We had a very positive experience with Alissa as a tutor for our pod of 5th grade boys from January - June 2020. She cared a lot about the boys and worked hard to create meaningful activities for them. The pod experience was invaluable … More for all of our families during a difficult year and we were so grateful to have found this partnership! We also want to appreciate Craig for helping to match us with a tutor on very short notice after we had cycled through a few folks who were not able to see the commitment through. Thanks for sticking with us!
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Dusty was the exact person we needed to help our child finish out the school year. So grateful to him for the way he steadily encouraged her and helped her stay on track and organized. He is flexible, responsive to our needs/schedule as … More a family, and a delight to be with. We are also thankful that Craig at Themba Tutors really "gets it" and partnered us with such a wonderful tutor who was a great fit for our girl.
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My child worked with Gillian D virtually for math enrichment. She is an excellent teacher. She took time to understand my child's specific learning style and provided tools that would be engaging. She was kind and empathetic- really … More made it her goal to connect with my child and build trust and rapport. My child started the school year with confidence and without the typically "brain-drain" that occurs over the summer, thanks to Gillian.
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I am going into my second year as a Themba tutor. I have met so many great individuals while working for this company. Craig and the rest of the Themba team do such an excellent job picking and choosing Themba tutors that suit each client's … More individual needs! I look forward to meeting new tutors and clients in the 2021-2022 school year!
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Our son started in a new high school, 100% remote, and was really struggling with Latin and Physics. I found Themba Tudors online and had an initial call with Craig, who was very knowledgeable, responsive, and found 2 amazing tutors for … More us. Both the Latin and the physics tutors were fantastic, connected with my son really well and helped him go from 'failing' grade to 'honors'! I will for sure continue using (and recommending!) Themba Tutors. Thank you, C, K, and W!
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Brian is a fantastic executive functioning coach. Super helpful, flexible with hours, and tailored the experience to our needs.
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Giulia Mercuri is a great Italian tutor! She was very responsive and accessible. Giulia put a ton of effort into preparing for each session and really helped our son with test preparation and projects. We are grateful that she was able … More to help, especially since our son did not receive any live teaching during COVID. We are happy that she was referred to us!
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As an adult student diagnosed with a learning disability during grad school, I knew I needed help dealing with my Master's program's demanding workload. I was seriously considering dropping out when I was referred to Themba Tutors. … More I was paired up with a wonderful tutor, Julie, who was a total lifesaver. I learned many techniques that I can utilize in the future as I embark on the next phase of my career.
I can wholeheartedly say after working with Themba for two years that I would not have finished my program without this organization. And I am so thankful I selected them. -
We were introduced to a wonderful tutor: Mcedwyn. He and our son, a freshman in college, worked well together. As a result, our son’s grades significantly improved. The tutor taught our son subject content and various methods to effectively … More study for quizzes and exams. Our son was also taught time management and organization. My son’s experience with the tutor made the first year of college a less intimidating experience.
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We have been with our tutor, Cailin Schiller, for two years, from 5th - 7th grade. She started as an executive functioning tutor with my daughter. From the start, she demonstrated a depth of expertise and a selective use of techniques skillfully … More adapted to my daughter’s ADHD and Math disability. Cailin made Math accessible and understandable to her in a way that even her teachers had not been able to do. She differentiated reading, writing and math tasks and assignments to tailor them to my daughter’s unique learning differences. Not only did it have an effect on her grades and her work efficiency, but she finally could do her work with less anxiety. Even my daughter’s teachers used Cailin’s guidance to modify their work with her. But most importantly, she became my daughter’s favorite resource. I can’t say how invaluable Cailin has been to my daughter’s progress and well-being. I’d recommend her a million times over. She is a gem.
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Victoria is a superb tutor. She helped my high school age daughter with her writing. Victoria's skills as a tutor, as well as her sense of humor and her engaging personality went a long way with my daughter.
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Themba Tutors provided a leaning specialist that was a perfect fit for my daughter. I told them what we were looking for and they delivered. Our tutor is responsive and flexible and makes it easy for my daughter to reach out to her own … More her own, which gives her an added sense of responsibility over her learning. As a therapist myself, I now regularly recommend Themba to my patients. A much needed and well provided service to the community!!
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The tutors at Themba are fantastic! Caitlyn McNeill helped our son academically, but also with getting organized in every subject, which he so desperately needed. She offered great advice and useful strategies that helped our son become … More a more successful student. We are using Themba tutors again this year for our daughter. We're so happy to have been referred to them!
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I'm so glad we were referred to Themba Tutors. After a great initial conversation to learn our needs, we were connected with an excellent tutor, Felicia, who is helping our high school daughter learn better organizational and executive … More skills. Highly recommended.
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We had a wonderful experience with our tutor Micaela. She helped our son not only academically but at every level. We will be forever grateful to have her in our lives.
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The tutors at Themba are fantastic! Caitlyn McNeill helped our son academically, but also with getting organized in every subject, which he so desperately needed. She offered great advice and useful strategies that helped our son become … More a more successful student. We are using Themba tutors again this year for our daughter. We're so happy to have been referred to them!
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Paul Smith at Themba has been an exceptional tutor for my son, both in terms of teaching the subject matter and teaching how best to approach the process of learning math and executing assignments. We feel very fortunate to be working with … More Paul.
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We were very lucky to have found Edwouine Swift, my son's therapist through Themba Tutors. Thomas is 12 years old, and it is extremely difficult to get him to write. Edwouine just works her magic with him, he adores her and is so … More eager to follow her guidance. I have no doubt she will be a positive driving force in his academic future.
Teen Not Motivated in School? Build the Systems Academic Success Requires
When a teen is not motivated in school, the problem is not always a lack of effort. A capable student may understand the material yet struggle to start assignments, estimate time, organize competing deadlines, or submit completed work.
These patterns often become more visible when academic demands increase. Middle and high school students must manage multiple teachers, digital portals, long-term projects, exams, extracurricular activities, and increasingly independent schedules. A student who previously succeeded without a reliable system may suddenly appear disengaged or inconsistent.
Themba Tutors provides structured academic support in NYC for students whose performance does not consistently reflect their ability. Our academic specialists combine course-specific tutoring with practical systems for planning, task initiation, organization, and follow-through. In-home support is available across Manhattan and Brooklyn, with remote options when appropriate.
The goal is not to pressure a teen to “try harder.” It is to identify what is interfering with performance and build an academic system the student can use with increasing independence.
Signs an Unmotivated Teen May Actually Be Overwhelmed
Families often seek support after a specific change or recurring pattern, such as:
- Grades falling despite strong class participation or test scores
- Missing or incomplete assignments across several classes
- Homework taking hours without producing much completed work
- Difficulty starting even when the student knows what to do
- Last-minute work on essays, projects, and exam preparation
- Completed assignments that are not submitted
- Repeated dependence on parent reminders
- Nightly conflict about homework, screens, or deadlines
- A difficult transition into middle school, high school, honors, AP, IB, or Regents coursework
These signs do not prove that a student has ADHD or another diagnosis. They do show that the student’s current approach may no longer match the workload. The first step is to examine observable barriers: assignment clarity, subject knowledge, planning, materials, time estimates, starting routines, and submission habits.
Service Snapshot
Service: Academic performance systems and structured tutoring
Location: Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the greater NYC area
Delivery: In-home and remote
Student Profile: Capable middle and high school students with inconsistent execution
Focus Areas: Assignment completion, task initiation, planning, organization, academic pacing, and subject performance
Academic Context: Regents, honors, AP, IB, and competitive school coursework
Goal: More stable performance, greater independence, and fewer academic crisis cycles
Why Smart Students Can Struggle in School
Academic performance depends on more than subject knowledge. Students must also plan, begin, sustain, complete, check, and submit their work.
A smart but struggling student may be able to explain a concept accurately while still having difficulty turning that understanding into consistent output. This ability-to-execution gap often appears when academic demands grow faster than the student’s systems.
For example, a student may:
- Understand algebra but forget to complete routine problem sets
- Have strong ideas for an essay but remain stuck on the first paragraph
- Study extensively but focus on the wrong material
- Finish an assignment but lose track of where or how to submit it
- Perform well in one preferred subject while neglecting others
- Underestimate a project until several deadlines collide
Traditional subject tutoring can address gaps in content knowledge. When inconsistent execution is also part of the problem, the student may need an academic execution system that connects planning and organization directly to current coursework.
Executive Dysfunction vs. Laziness
Parents often wonder whether a teen is lazy or overwhelmed. The difference matters because the response should match the underlying barrier.
“Lazy” is a judgment about willingness. Executive dysfunction describes difficulty using skills such as task initiation, working memory, planning, prioritization, sustained attention, and self-monitoring. A student can care about the outcome and still struggle to activate those skills reliably.
Common signs of executive functioning challenges include:
- Knowing an assignment is important but being unable to begin
- Feeling overwhelmed by open-ended or multi-step work
- Difficulty deciding what to do first
- Losing instructions or materials between school and home
- Misjudging how long work will take
- Shifting attention away from tasks that lack immediate feedback
- Repeating the same planning mistakes despite negative consequences
ADHD can affect executive functioning, but similar behaviors may also result from anxiety, sleep problems, learning differences, unclear instruction, content gaps, an unrealistic workload, or ordinary adolescent development. Academic support should focus on the student’s observed needs and should not substitute for a clinical evaluation when one is appropriate.
Families seeking a deeper explanation can read What Is Executive Dysfunction? and How Procrastination Relates to Executive Function.
How to Motivate Teens Without Constant Reminders
Motivation is easier to sustain when work feels clear, manageable, and connected to visible progress. Repeated reminders may produce short-term compliance, but they rarely teach a student how to manage work independently.
Structured academic support reduces friction at the points where students commonly become stuck.
1. Create one reliable view of the workload
Assignments, tests, projects, and missing work are collected into a consistent planning system. The student no longer has to reconstruct priorities from several portals, notebooks, and messages each evening.
2. Turn assignments into specific actions
“Work on the history paper” is vague. “Choose two sources and draft the thesis” provides a visible starting point. Breaking work into defined actions makes progress easier to begin and measure.
3. Plan backward from real deadlines
Long-term work is divided across available days, with time included for revision, questions, and unexpected delays. This helps students replace crisis-driven work with a more predictable rhythm.
4. Address content and execution together
A student cannot organize their way around a genuine subject gap. Academic specialists identify when confusion in math, science, writing, or another course is contributing to avoidance and provide direct instruction when needed.
5. Review results and adjust the system
A plan is useful only if it works under the student’s actual school demands. Weekly review helps the student identify what was completed, what was missed, why the plan broke down, and what should change next.
6. Shift responsibility away from parent enforcement
Shared trackers and review routines create objective reference points. Parents do not have to monitor every step, and the student practices taking ownership of a visible process. For additional strategies, see Homework Help in NYC.
What Themba’s Academic Performance Support Includes
Themba Tutors integrates academic instruction with practical systems for managing real coursework. Support may include:
- Academic performance review: Identifying patterns across grades, assignments, tests, work habits, and course demands
- Course-specific planning: Aligning support with Regents, honors, AP, IB, or private-school curricula
- Assignment breakdown: Converting essays, projects, and exam preparation into sequenced actions
- Digital and physical organization: Establishing consistent systems for portals, files, materials, deadlines, and submissions
- Weekly preview and review: Planning upcoming work and evaluating completed or missed tasks
- Subject instruction: Addressing content gaps that interfere with progress
- Performance tracking: Monitoring completion, assessment results, and independence over time
- System adjustment: Revising routines as schedules and academic expectations change
This is academically focused support, not psychotherapy or a diagnostic service. Recommendations remain tied to observable academic needs.
Private Tutoring vs. Executive Function Coaching
Families often compare several forms of support:
- A private tutor in NYC primarily teaches subject content, concepts, and academic skills.
- Executive function coaching for K–12 students focuses on planning, organization, time management, task initiation, and self-monitoring.
- A systems-based academic support program integrates execution strategies into the student’s active courses and assignments.
The right approach depends on why the student is struggling. Some students need subject tutoring. Others need executive function support. Many benefit from an integrated approach that addresses both content and execution.
In-Home and Remote Academic Support in NYC
In-home sessions allow a specialist to work directly with the student’s materials, workspace, routines, and assignment systems. Remote sessions may be effective for students who work primarily online, prefer digital collaboration, or need greater scheduling flexibility.
Themba Tutors serves families across Manhattan and Brooklyn, with additional NYC-area and remote options subject to specialist availability. The best format depends on the student’s age, courses, independence, location, schedule, and need for hands-on structure.
Who May Benefit From Academic Performance Support?
This service may be appropriate for:
- Middle and high school students with inconsistent grades
- Bright students who are frequently described as disorganized
- Students who understand lessons but miss deadlines or submissions
- Teens struggling with procrastination or task initiation
- Students entering more demanding Regents, honors, AP, IB, or accelerated courses
- Students managing multiple teachers, portals, projects, and exam schedules
- Families experiencing repeated homework conflict
- Students who need a combination of academic tutoring and executive function support
Schedule a Complimentary Academic Consultation
A complimentary 15-minute consultation helps clarify the student’s current courses, performance patterns, scheduling needs, and preferred delivery format. We can then determine whether subject tutoring, executive function support, or an integrated academic system is the most appropriate next step.
Schedule a consultation or contact Themba Tutors at (917) 382-8641 or info@thembatutors.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my teenager not motivated in school?
A teen may appear unmotivated when the work feels unclear, overwhelming, too difficult, insufficiently challenging, or disconnected from a reliable routine. Sleep, stress, learning differences, ADHD, anxiety, and other factors may also contribute. Review observable patterns before assuming a lack of effort.
How can I motivate my teenager to do schoolwork?
Begin by making priorities visible, defining a small first action, planning work before deadlines, and using a consistent review routine. Reduce repeated verbal reminders and help the student rely on a shared system that gradually becomes their responsibility.
Why does my smart child struggle to start homework?
Strong reasoning ability does not automatically provide task-initiation, planning, or time-management skills. The student may also be avoiding an unclear instruction or content gap. Identify the exact point where progress stops, then make the first action specific and manageable.
Is my teen lazy or experiencing executive dysfunction?
No single behavior can answer that question. Look for repeated difficulty with starting, sequencing, remembering, prioritizing, and monitoring work—even when the student cares about the outcome. A qualified clinician should evaluate diagnostic concerns; an academic specialist can address the schoolwork systems affected.
How do you reduce procrastination in high school students?
Procrastination often improves when assignments are broken into defined actions, scheduled before the due date, supported with realistic time estimates, and reviewed through consistent accountability. Content confusion should be addressed at the same time.
Can academic support help students with ADHD?
Yes. Themba Tutors works with students who have ADHD and related executive functioning challenges. Support remains academically focused on coursework, organization, planning, task initiation, and follow-through.
How often should sessions occur?
Frequency depends on the student’s workload, urgency, course difficulty, and ability to apply strategies independently. Many students begin with one or two sessions per week, but the appropriate cadence should follow an individual review.
Can specialists support Regents, honors, AP, or IB courses?
Yes. Specialists can align instruction, planning, and exam preparation with the student’s actual courses, subject needs, and school expectations.
Is in-home tutoring available?
In-home academic support is available across Manhattan and Brooklyn, subject to specialist availability. Remote support is also available when it better fits the student’s needs or schedule.
Not ready to fill out the form yet? We’re here to make this easy.
📞 (917) 382-8641 | 📲 (917) 382-8641 | ✉ info@thembatutors.com
Specialists may offer a brief remote introduction so families can discuss academic needs, scheduling, delivery format, and specialist fit. Themba Tutors then recommends an academic specialist whose experience aligns with the student’s courses and performance priorities.