Executive Function & Academic Coaching

Our experience has shown that difficulty with the subject matter is often not the reason students need help. Many students simply need help structuring their time, keeping track of their work and knowing how to study. These executive function skills matter as much as knowing the material, and they can be taught. Our executive function coaches are Stanford students who work one-on-one with elementary, middle school, high school and college students, online from anywhere or at home in the Bay Area.

What executive function means

Executive function is the set of skills that lets students plan, organize, start tasks, manage their time and follow through. Some students seem to pick these up on their own. Many others need someone to teach them directly and help them practice until the habits stick. It can start in elementary school, when homework and long-term projects first arrive. It often shows up again in middle and high school, when students take on more classes, more deadlines and more independence, and in the first year of college.

Signs your student could use an executive function coach

Parents usually notice it in small ways first. Homework gets done and never turned in. A project is remembered the night before it’s due. The backpack is full of loose papers, and a student who clearly knows the material still ends up with grades that don’t show it. Homework stretches late into the evening without getting very far. If any of this sounds familiar, coaching can help your student build the habits that make school feel manageable again.

What executive function coaching covers

We help students with time management, prioritization, organization and study habits. In practice, that means setting up a planner or calendar they’ll actually use, breaking big assignments into manageable steps and keeping track of deadlines across classes. Coaches also help students organize their notes and materials and learn study methods that work, like active recall and spacing practice out over time instead of cramming. The goal is a system your student owns and keeps using after the sessions end.

What a coaching session looks like

Sessions are built around your student’s real schoolwork. A typical session starts with a look at the week ahead: what’s due, what tests are coming and what got left behind. The coach and student turn the biggest assignment into small first steps, put time for each one on the calendar and often get started on the hardest one together. The session ends with a short plan the student can follow until next time. Over the weeks, the student takes on more of the planning while the coach steps back.

Our academic coaching tutors, in parents’ own words

All reviews ↗

Study habits

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“My son had a wonderful experience with Cardinal Tutors when he needed help with his High School math and science classes. It turns out my son also needed help staying organized with all his assignments, something that the tutor helped with as well.”

Find a math tutor↗

Math · Confidence & connection

✉A note from a parent

“Our tutor is truly amazing! He is so patient, explains things well, asks great questions, and checks for understanding. Owen really enjoyed working with him and they accomplished so much. This is really a game changer for us! I had high hopes and he exceeded them.”

Find a math tutor↗

Study habits

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“What we needed was a mentor and homework coach, to engage my son and keep him focused to ensure concepts were cemented in cranking out homework.”

Find a math tutor↗

Study habits

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“Fantastic tutoring service. The tutor (who was a Stanford junior) really connected with my son and inspired him to learn. He had some great study tips and was able to help my son raise his grades by quite a bit.”

Find a Tutor↗

Test prep · Reading & writing

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“Our tutor was a senior at Stanford who tutored my son in English, and also SAT preparation. My son received great marks on the SAT exam and also improved his grade in AP English from B to A.”

Find a writing tutor↗

Reading & writing · Confidence & connection

✉A note from a parent

“The girls have loved their time with her, and it showed: Clara's CAASPP score was excellent and Ruby has done tremendous improvement in her reading from below grade level to at grade level!”

“Thanks for your tremendous partnership over many years!”

Find a reading tutor↗

School support · Math · Reading & writing

✉A note from a parent

“Your program really helped us. Henry pulled up his English last year to an A, and his next tutor helped him pull up his math and bio.”

“Everyone is looking for tutors and I said you're the best.”

Find a math tutor↗

Math · Finding a match

✉A note from a parent

“She found a perfect match for my son… He is stellar. My son has grown leaps and bounds in math. Our tutor is not only a subject matter expert but teaches very well, highly prompt, flexible when needed.”

Find a math tutor↗

Math · School support · Confidence & connection

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“My daughter went from a C in Algebra II to an A- in one semester. The tutor was great, she really related to my daughter and made learning fun for her.”

Find a math tutor↗

Reading & writing · School support

✉A note from a parent

“We had an incredible experience with our daughter's previous tutor from Cardinal for a couple of years!… She is doing really well with her reading and comprehension and I think our tutor put her at two grade levels ahead.”

Find a reading tutor↗

Online tutoring

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“Their response time is outstanding. Neil responded quickly to my tutoring request for my 15-year-old. Love knowing that I have access to these high-quality services for my children. And, we use them via Zoom since we live in Tennessee. I cannot say enough great things about this business:)”

Find an online tutor↗

Confidence & connection

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“Very professional service with excellent teachers. My son loved his teacher, called him the best he ever had! I can very highly recommend it.”

Find a Tutor↗

School support

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“I am usually not one to write a review, but I wanted to communicate how great Cardinal Tutors was for my child. They had a very flexible plan which helped accommodate my child's needs and I saw a tremendous return (grade-wise) from their services. Could not recommend more highly.”

Find a Tutor↗

Math · Confidence & connection

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“The tutors themselves have been great: well-prepared, thoughtful and on-time. At each level of math needed, we found these Stanford students to be not just helpful tutors but great mentors as well.”

Find a math tutor↗

Reading & writing · Programming · Finding a match

✉A note from a parent

“I have been absolutely impressed by her lessons over the past few months. Lily also loves working with her. She has been making great progress with her programming and writing.”

“I find your tutor quality to be excellent and a perfect fit!”

Find a coding tutor↗

Test prep · Math

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“The subsequent long term tutor that we had for pre calc and for ACT tutoring was amazing. She was completely professional, organized, thorough and easy to work with.”

Find a math tutor↗

Confidence & connection

✉A note from a parent

“You have been a wonderful inspiration for Eli and we are very grateful for having you in the past half-year!”

Find a math tutor↗

Programming · Confidence & connection

✉A note from a parent

“The program has been awesome for us. Theo loves working with our tutor and has learned so much.”

“Our tutor is just outstanding — great with Theo and very communicative with me. Super helpful!”

Find a coding tutor↗

School support

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“I reached out to Cardinal Tutors and was lucky enough to find the most amazing tutor. I wish I had found him earlier.”

Find a Tutor↗

Math · Confidence & connection

★★★★★Yelp review ↗

“We used Cardinal Tutoring again in the Spring 2018 for precalculus. Once again, she had a great tutor she really liked and who really helped her this year. My daughter is a senior so we won't need Cardinal Tutoring again, but I highly recommend them!”

Find a math tutor↗

Online executive function coaching, wherever you live

Executive function coaching works especially well online, so families outside the Bay Area can work with a Stanford coach too. Most of a student’s work already lives on a screen, from the school portal and the class calendar to the essay draft. In an online session, the student can share their screen so the coach sees exactly what’s due, help set up a digital calendar and work through an assignment with them. In the Bay Area, sessions can also be in person at your home. Coaching at home has its own advantage, since the student sets up a planner and a study routine at the same desk where they’ll keep using it.

Why a Stanford student makes a good coach

Our coaches are Stanford students who have juggled demanding schedules themselves, and who remember what worked for them in middle and high school. Because they’re close in age, students often find them easier to listen to than a parent, and more relatable than a teacher. They can also help with the subject itself, so a coaching session can turn into real progress on a math problem set or an essay.

Regular check-ins with your student and with you

Coaching works best with regular sessions, usually at the same time each week, so the coach can help the student plan the week ahead, look at how the last week went and adjust. You can reach us any time, whether you have a question or something changes at school, and we’ll adjust the plan with your student’s coach. Many families pair coaching with subject tutoring in math, science or writing.

Coaching alongside ADHD support and other care

Our coaches are tutors. We don’t diagnose or treat ADHD or any other condition, and coaching fits alongside whatever support your student already has from doctors, therapists, learning specialists or their school. For students with ADHD, see our ADHD coaching. For gifted students who also have learning challenges, see our work with twice-exceptional students.

We believe underdeveloped academic habits should never prevent a student from reaching their full potential. Sessions are one-on-one, online from anywhere or at home in the Bay Area.