At Ellen Fletcher Middle School (formerly Terman), 6th graders spend most of the day with a small team of two or three core teachers, and in 7th grade two electives join the schedule. Our tutors are current and former Stanford students, and we offer Fletcher students one-on-one tutoring in the subjects and the habits that change brings.
Tell us about your student, and we’ll match them with a Stanford tutor who fits.
From a small core team to seven classes
Fletcher’s 6th grade core takes up five periods: English, social studies, science, math and a Flex period spent with the homeroom teacher on things like note taking, research skills and academic planning. In 7th grade Flex and the Exploratory Wheel drop off the Fletcher schedule and two electives come on, so the planning becomes the student’s own job. Our academic coaching picks up where Flex left off, with one planner, a weekly look ahead and a set place for every handout.
PRIME, office hours and getting a retake right
Every Fletcher student has PRIME once a week, a period the school sets aside for reteaching, teacher conferences and assessment retakes, and teachers hold office hours on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. A tutor helps a Fletcher student use that time well: we find what went wrong on the first attempt, practice it and send the student to PRIME with specific questions.
Math without lanes, French or Spanish, then Gunn
Fletcher follows the Palo Alto Unified sequence of Foundational Math in 6th grade, Concepts in Math in 7th and Algebra 1 in 8th, taught in mixed classes rather than lanes. With Fletcher 8th graders sharing the same Algebra 1, a math tutor can slow down for one student or bring extension problems for another. Fletcher teaches French and Spanish, and finishing the 1A and 1B courses sends a student straight into level 2 as a freshman. The district describes Fletcher as feeding naturally into Gunn, where 9th graders choose between Geometry and Geometry H, so 8th grade is a good year to make algebra solid.
Study habits and motivation
“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.”
Pamela T., Palo Alto · Yelp review
Patient, organized teaching
“She was completely professional, organized, thorough and easy to work with.”
Melissa H., Redwood City · Yelp review
Sessions happen at your home in Palo Alto or online. Let us know what your Fletcher student is working on this quarter, and we’ll introduce a tutor.
Tell us about your student, and we’ll match them with a Stanford tutor who fits.