FPLA-Certified Tutors Ensure the Success of Our Tutoring Programs

Quality Tutors = Quality Education

At FPLA, we believe that quality tutors are key to provide quality education. Therefore, we only hire candidates with high academic credentials and have prior tutoring experience. All the FPLA certified tutors have an overall GPA of ‘B’ or above, experts in their subject areas, and have prior teaching/tutoring experience. On our roster, we have a healthy mix of educators with a doctoral, masters, bachelor, associate, and HS diploma. Most of the FPLA tutors are recent college graduates entering the workforce. Several of them are taking a gap year to prepare for medical, dental, law, or postgraduate courses. Our tutors are young, energetic, and driven by the passion to teach. Besides being excellent tutors, they serve as a role model for the tutees. We believe that a good tutor makes a good student and vice versa.

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All year around, many candidates apply to work as a tutor at FPLA. From this applicant pool, chosen candidates take written subject knowledge and teaching aptitude tests. The subject tests evaluate the expertise, and the aptitude tests evaluate the teaching abilities and interpersonal skills. Only those who have successfully passed our rigorous selection criteria enter the pre-employment training in our programs, operations, and the best tutoring practices. Less than 20% of the most qualified applicants are hired to tutor at FPLA.

In a typical training program, we introduce the new hires to our decoding, reading-comprehension, math, and test prep programs. Subsequently, we train the tutor’s in their specialty areas. For example, decoding/reading-comprehension program tutors are trained in our signature decoding/reading-comprehension program. Math tutors are trained in our most up to date math program that incorporates the process standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Among the tutor recruits, only a few qualified tutor pass our extraordinarily successful test prep programs. Typically, some tutors specialize in math or language section of the test prep programs, while a few others qualify to teach both math and language sections of the SAT*, ACT* or PERT.

During the on-boarding process, our senior tutors mentor the new hires for several sessions. We work as a team, so, when needed, the tutors consult and learn from each other. Importantly, all the tutors have their background checks performed by a local law enforcement agency. The director quality controls the entire recruitment and subsequent daily operations.

To earn the coveted “FPLA Certified Tutor” certificate, all the tutors must undergo the above detailed program-based training, the best tutoring practices, and pledge to uphold tutoring code of ethics as outlined by the National Tutoring Association. We retrain the tutors and certify them annually. All the FPLA certified tutors are passionate educators. They are sincere, dedicated, patient, enthusiastic, subject experts and have a positive attitude.

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Our Tutors

All my life, I’ve had a passion for teaching others that only grew with time. I’ve pursued opportunities to continue tutoring others until I came upon FPLA. There, they offer me a chance to further embrace my passion and educate those in need of assistance. I find myself better versed in the language of Math and Science.

​FPLA Certified Tutor Estefan Marquina

Estefan Marquina  

I am 21 years old and a recent (2018) graduate of the FIU Honors College. I received a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies. I aspire to obtain a PhD in Theological Studies and Biology.

​FPLA Certified Tutor Faith Sola

Faith Sola

I started to tutor in order to develop my teaching skills and gain some experience with working with children. At FPLA, I teach language Arts and Social Studies for Elementary and Middle School students. I help college bound High school seniors prepare for Reading, Writing and Language section of SAT, ACT, PERT exams and HSPT for 8 th graders seeking admission to Catholic High Schools.

Aaron

Aaron Uranga

I am comfortable teaching all subjects, I believe I excel in Language Arts. At FPLA, I teach language Arts and Social Studies for Elementary and Middle School students. I help college bound High school seniors prepare for Reading, Writing and Language section of SAT, ACT, PERT exams and HSPT for 8th graders seeking admission to Catholic High Schools.

​FPLA Certified Tutor Stephanie Lima

Stephanie Lima

I graduated from the Florida State University in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. I am currently applying to medical schools and plan to start in fall 2019. I aspire to become a physician who can make a difference in other’s lives during their most difficult moments.


​FPLA Certified Tutor Hongyu Zhang

Hongyu Zhang

​​I have a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Florida International University through the FIU Honor’s College. I tutor Math, Science, and SAT/ACT Math and reading and writing section. I am a Pre-Dental student and am currently studying at FIU for a Bachelor of Art in Liberal Studies on a Health and Human concerns track.

​FPLA Certified Tutor Samuel

Samuel Hurtado

​​I have tutoring experience in Elementary and Middle School math where I worked one-on-one with students who were struggling with math concepts. I have also tutored Spanish speaking adults with basic English skills. I want to be of utmost benefit to the students I work with and use our time efficiently, therefore I welcome any questions or suggestions that students or parents can offer.

​FPLA Certified Tutor Erica Ortiz

​Erica Ortiz​

I am a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree at FIU. I value the mission of FPLA, the organization, the structure and the staff who are singularly dedicated to help children succeed inside and outside the classroom. I am impressed with the valuable resources available at FPLA to help students excel in their subjects. Recently, two of my students improved their math proficiency by about five grade levels.

​FPLA Certified Tutor Robert Wich​

​Robert Wich​

My name is Dannette Aviles and I am 21-years-old. I am a senior at FIU pursuing a Bachelor's in Psychology. I wish to earn a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in psychology and to have my own private practice. Teaching has always been a passion of mine which is why I have been a part of this exceptional Full Potential family for over three years. I have an appreciation for all subjects, but am especially fond of math. At FPLA I am in charge of homeschool program, and teach math up to algebra, SAT, ACT, HSPT test prep programs.

Dannette Aviles

​Dannette Aviles​​​

Hi! My name is Damian Cruz. I am currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at FIU. I simultaneously earned both my High School Diploma and Associates degree. As a tutor, it's my mission to make sure all my students reach their fullest potential academically not only to improve grades, but also apply their knowledge to their daily lives. I teach both online and in person classes. I look forward to working with you reach your full potential! I love teaching, interacting with, sharing his knowledge and passion with his students. I teach premier Key Math 3 program, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, General Science, EOC, FSA and HSPT, SAT, ACT, PERT, CLEP test prep programs. I am also an aspiring entrepreneur.

​FPLA Certified Tutor Damian Cruz

​Damian Cruz

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Hi, I am Ashley Gonzalez. I received an Associate of Arts Degree in English from my local honors college. Currently majoring in English with a Minor in Theater at FIU, where I also serve as the vice President of MCA. I prepare students for the Verbal portion of the SAT, ACT, and HSPT. I also assist students with homework. I try to incorporate games into my lessons as I feel that it will encourage students to find fun in studying. I also try to teach in a friendly manner so students can enjoy coming to tutoring.

I love teaching because I want others to see the importance in knowledge. I also want students to believe in their potential and work towards their goals. Fun facts about myself : I am a huge Disney fan. If I could live in Disney World, I would.

Ashley-Gonzalez

​Ashley Gonzalez

My name is Ezequiel Torres. Currently I am pursuing my Associate in Arts (AA) diploma in Computer Information Systems. I am a network specialist and have an earned CompTIA A+ certification. I am a passionate learner, an essential quality to be an effective teacher. I'm also very zealous towards history and technology/science as they are my favorite subjects.

I want to help students improve scores, performance, raise their self confidence and teach good study habits. At FPLA I teach math up to Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry, Science, English language, social studies, and History. My hobbies include collecting historical knick-knacks and reading about history and fantasy. My dream jobs would be either being an archaeologist or working in cyber security.

Ezequiel-Torres

​Ezequiel Torres

Hello! My name is Erin Young. I’ve had a fond love of tutoring for many years now, and love working with my kids. When I’m not at Full Potential, you can probably find me working on my fantasy art portfolio or nerding out at the nearest comic con. My artistic education began at New World School of the Arts where I got my high school diploma in visual arts, after which I graduated in 2011 from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree in Film with a minor in Painting.

I lived in New York for a few years afterwards, and picked up tutoring. I instantly fell in love with education, and have been tutoring English, Math, Sciences, Arts, and state test prep for the past 5+ years. I love working one on one with my students, so that I can guide their educational growth and progress in a nurturing and individualized manner.


At FPLA I teach English language arts, elementary & middle school math up to Pre-Algebra, and test prep programs.

Erin-Young

​Erin Young

Hello, my name is Luis Rosa. I am currently a Junior at FIU pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. I aspire to become a lawyer specialized in the tech world. I love teaching because I get to see students improve their grades and simultaneously increase their passion for learning. My specialty is teaching math and science. At FPLA I teach elementary and middle school math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra-1, 2, Geometry, Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry, Calculus 1, Physics, Chemistry (Organic 1 & 2) and English, ACT, PERT, HSPT and SAT test prep programs.

I like to teach students by separating the concepts step-by-step; letting them visualize what they are doing. I like to take care of the environment; I try to reduce my carbon footprint wherever I can. In this context, I admire the FPLA’s green policy of reducing paper waste by using both sides of the paper, making electronic records, using personal white board in each teaching cubicle and other green measures


Luis-Rosa

Luis Rosa

I am a PACE alumna and a Bright Futures scholar pursuing a bachelor's degree in biological sciences at FIU. I am on the pre-medical track with hopes of one day becoming a pediatrician. I have a passion for working with kids, and I enjoy working with students of all ages. In summer 2019 I went to Canada for a medical internship. At FPLA, I teach reading and math at grade school and middle school levels, as well as test prep for the HSPT/SSAT exams and the verbal portion of the SAT/ACT exams. I am an experienced FPLA-Online tutor.

Larissa-Alfonso

Larissa Alfonso

My name is Oscar Reyes. I am a Game Design and Development major at MDC. I can tutor most forms of math, ranging from basic arithmetic and multiplication, to algebra, geometry, calculus, and even physics, which is effectively mathematical science. I have a distinct perspective in solving math problems and share my knowledge with others. It gives me immense pleasure to see the glow in the face of the students when they finally solve math problems which they hitherto found difficult. My uncanny ability to simplify complex math concepts earned me the sobriquet "tutor extraordinaire".

Oscar-Reyes

Oscar Reyes


Hello, My name is Leanet Gonzalez. I graduated in 2017 from Monsignor Edward Pace High School with a GPA of 4.54. Currently I am a junior at FIU honors program pursuing a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences Pre-PA track. From the freshwoman year I am on the dean’s list. I began tutoring because I feel accomplished when I see others achieve their goals and begin to better themselves. I incorporate learning tactics that children will enjoy and understand while overall improving their mental capabilities. Before joining Full Potential Learning Academy, I served as a tutor volunteer at Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), where I tutored over 20 students learn about biology and taught methods of understanding the material. At Full Potential I teach math courses up to pre-calculus, science and language arts

Leanet Gonzalez


Hi I am James Stoodley. I earned my high school diploma in the year 2015 from the Immaculata La Salle High School. In August I earned an Associate of Arts diploma in English in December of 2019, I earned my Bachelor of Arts in English from FIU. I have a passion for teaching. In the past I tutored my peers, friends and family members in need of completing homework, understanding concepts and succeed in life. At Full Potential Learning Academy I primarily teach English language arts including ACT, HSPT, PERT & SAT test preparation programs. Strong verbal and writing skills in my forte and proficient in Microsoft office software. I plan to pursue a law degree. During the next six months, I plan to devote my time preparing for the LSAT exam and tutoring at Full Potential Learning Academy.

James Stoodley


My name is Melonie Valderrama, a motivated student currently working on Bachelor of Arts in English with a track in Writing and Rhetoric at FIU. I aim to leverage knowledge of communications, research, and writing to gain experience as writer or editor and ultimately become an influential novelist. I also hold an associate degree in Chemistry from MDC. I have earned a place in the Dean's List and have earned the American Dream Scholarship to study at MDC and the Bright Futures Scholarship, FIU Gold and Blue Scholarship to study at FIU. I am also a member of Phi Theta Kappa (ΦΘΚ). At Full Potential Learning Academy, I teach English language arts, science and basic math, where I leverage my passion for communication and subject knowledge.

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Melonie Valderrama

Hello, my name is Vernon and I enjoy teaching others helping out people in need. I currently study Electronic Engineering and would want to use the skills I learn in order to make the world a better place. Math is a subject I learned to enjoy overtime not only because it was required for my major, but because I love to see the results of the (sometimes very long) questions that I do. 

At FPLA I teach elementary and middle school math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra-1, 2, Geometry, Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry, Calculus 1, Physics, English, ACT, PERT, HSPT and SAT test prep programs.
When I’m not tutoring, a hobby that I like to do is to build-up my knowledge on other subjects whenever I have the chance so that one day, I may become a “Jack of all Trades”.

Vernon Sullivan

Vernon Sullivan

Read about Semi-Annual Tutor Training And Recertification Of The FPLA-Certified Tutors.

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