Testimonials from Parents and Students:
"Holly is the BEST writing teacher you can find for any grade level. She has a caring and open approach to each student's individual writing style that allows her to work so well with everyone! And I really appreciate how she helps to improve not only the structure and style of writing, but the grammar, vocabulary and creativity as well. There is not a more qualified instructor anywhere. She truly is the BEST!!! I highly recommend her." - Susan, wife, mother and M. Ed.
After only a couple ACT prep sessions with Holly, I was able to improve my ACT reading score by 5 points, which brought my composite score up by 2 points. My struggle was to finish the reading section in the short allotted time. Holly's strategies helped me to understand what the test was looking for so that I could finish accurately and with time to spare. I'm so happy Holly helped me to improve my score, which was a primary factor in my recent admittance to USC. - Lydia DiBlasio, student
"Holly is absolutely wonderful and has worked with my children for several years. She has helped my children develop writing skills well above grade level and enabled them to consistently produce high quality work. My children have learned essay organization and creative writing skills in addition to critical analysis of literature that will benefit them through their college years and beyond." --Christine Unthank
"Holly Van Houten is singlehandedly responsible for my child going from being writing phobic to being able to stay at the computer and let his imagination run wild. He is now no longer sitting at the table, pencil in his hand, staring into space. Now, after Holly's help, he takes a hold of the keyboard until his imagination has run its course. She is an amazing teacher, she sparks kids' creativity, creates interest in literary subjects and challenges kids to imagine even further than they knew that they could. I would highly recommend Holly to anyone looking to tutor their child, teach their child and help them expand their writing capabilities."
-Stacy Elder Herb, gemgal001@sbcglobal.net
"Best teacher I have had! She helped me come from being unable to read critically or write well, to being able to avidly read and write. Love her and recommend her to everyone!" -- Jessi Sande
"Thanks to Holly, not only did our daughter’s writing improve immensely, but more importantly, her love of writing shifted from being an extremely reluctant writer to a child that now wants to be a journalist! As she has gotten older and taken many community college classes, her success in writing has made the entire experience a joy. Writing is something that is required in almost every walk of life, and the inability to express oneself in writing can seriously hold someone back. We are indebted to Holly for giving this incredible skill to Megan!" -- Stephanie Berry (Director of the Huckleberry Center for Creative Learning)
"Time with Mrs. Holly is beneficial because of the personalized and precise comments she can supply for specific points in one's writing. By her encouraging words and helpful tips, writing is made tangible and fun to students like me." -- Emily Hyun
"Holly has been working with with my two boys,11 and 14 years old, for a few years. Their passion for writing has flourished into more advanced, above grade level essays. She is supportive, fun to work with, and makes writing an opportunity to be creative. It's great to hear my boys make plans for new stories and want to write. She always gets them excited about writing and they are both happy to work with her." -- Colleen Graves
"Holly has significantly improved my daughter's writing and confidence in regards to writing. Thank you, Holly!" -- Michele Balandran
"Holly Van Houten has very impressive credentials but honestly, there are lots of folks with long, power resumes. What makes her amazing, unique, and truly inspiring is that she makes INTENSE LEARNING FUUUUNNNN! Many of you know I used to teach at a home school cooperative called Huckleberry Creative Learning. "Huck" is a GREAT place and EVERY student I had couldn't wait to go to their Writing/Literature/English Class! Can you IMAGINE? This woman actually had people WANTING to study the glories of the English language...WANTING to write and read and create. I don't care if you have an elementary school student or you have gone back to college after a million years, CONTACT THIS WOMAN; you will be SOOO glad!" -- Cathy Riso
"I've had my two youngest in her classes and had her work with each privately. They both tested (after working with her) right into English 101, both got A's and one with HONORS!And prior to working with her, I would have said they were very average, and one was a reluctant writer!" -- Penny Sande
"Holly is the BEST writing teacher you can find for any grade level. She has a caring and open approach to each student's individual writing style that allows her to work so well with everyone! And I really appreciate how she helps to improve not only the structure and style of writing, but the grammar, vocabulary and creativity as well. There is not a more qualified instructor anywhere. She truly is the BEST!!! I highly recommend her." - Susan, wife, mother and M. Ed.
After only a couple ACT prep sessions with Holly, I was able to improve my ACT reading score by 5 points, which brought my composite score up by 2 points. My struggle was to finish the reading section in the short allotted time. Holly's strategies helped me to understand what the test was looking for so that I could finish accurately and with time to spare. I'm so happy Holly helped me to improve my score, which was a primary factor in my recent admittance to USC. - Lydia DiBlasio, student
"Holly is absolutely wonderful and has worked with my children for several years. She has helped my children develop writing skills well above grade level and enabled them to consistently produce high quality work. My children have learned essay organization and creative writing skills in addition to critical analysis of literature that will benefit them through their college years and beyond." --Christine Unthank
"Holly Van Houten is singlehandedly responsible for my child going from being writing phobic to being able to stay at the computer and let his imagination run wild. He is now no longer sitting at the table, pencil in his hand, staring into space. Now, after Holly's help, he takes a hold of the keyboard until his imagination has run its course. She is an amazing teacher, she sparks kids' creativity, creates interest in literary subjects and challenges kids to imagine even further than they knew that they could. I would highly recommend Holly to anyone looking to tutor their child, teach their child and help them expand their writing capabilities."
-Stacy Elder Herb, gemgal001@sbcglobal.net
"Best teacher I have had! She helped me come from being unable to read critically or write well, to being able to avidly read and write. Love her and recommend her to everyone!" -- Jessi Sande
"Thanks to Holly, not only did our daughter’s writing improve immensely, but more importantly, her love of writing shifted from being an extremely reluctant writer to a child that now wants to be a journalist! As she has gotten older and taken many community college classes, her success in writing has made the entire experience a joy. Writing is something that is required in almost every walk of life, and the inability to express oneself in writing can seriously hold someone back. We are indebted to Holly for giving this incredible skill to Megan!" -- Stephanie Berry (Director of the Huckleberry Center for Creative Learning)
"Time with Mrs. Holly is beneficial because of the personalized and precise comments she can supply for specific points in one's writing. By her encouraging words and helpful tips, writing is made tangible and fun to students like me." -- Emily Hyun
"Holly has been working with with my two boys,11 and 14 years old, for a few years. Their passion for writing has flourished into more advanced, above grade level essays. She is supportive, fun to work with, and makes writing an opportunity to be creative. It's great to hear my boys make plans for new stories and want to write. She always gets them excited about writing and they are both happy to work with her." -- Colleen Graves
"Holly has significantly improved my daughter's writing and confidence in regards to writing. Thank you, Holly!" -- Michele Balandran
"Holly Van Houten has very impressive credentials but honestly, there are lots of folks with long, power resumes. What makes her amazing, unique, and truly inspiring is that she makes INTENSE LEARNING FUUUUNNNN! Many of you know I used to teach at a home school cooperative called Huckleberry Creative Learning. "Huck" is a GREAT place and EVERY student I had couldn't wait to go to their Writing/Literature/English Class! Can you IMAGINE? This woman actually had people WANTING to study the glories of the English language...WANTING to write and read and create. I don't care if you have an elementary school student or you have gone back to college after a million years, CONTACT THIS WOMAN; you will be SOOO glad!" -- Cathy Riso
"I've had my two youngest in her classes and had her work with each privately. They both tested (after working with her) right into English 101, both got A's and one with HONORS!And prior to working with her, I would have said they were very average, and one was a reluctant writer!" -- Penny Sande