Susie Garretson

Susie has spent 20 years in supplemental education, including 11 as owner and director of two after-school math and reading centers in the Chicago area. She has personally taught more than 1,600 students.

Math has been her specialty since she was the kid friends brought their homework to. She teaches students why a method works before giving them the formula for it. “If a student only memorizes steps, they’re stuck the second the problem changes. Once they understand why it works, the formula is just the fast version of something they already get.”

Susie is equally convinced that there is no single right explanation. Her two decades of one-on-one work have made her quick at recognizing how a student is already thinking about a problem and building from there. “I’d rather figure out how a student already thinks and meet them halfway than make them learn it the way I learned it.” It’s why she especially enjoys working with students who have decided they’re bad at math. In her experience, that’s almost never true—there is usually a gap from a few years back or an explanation that never matched how they think.

Susie supports elementary and middle school math through pre-calculus and statistics, as well as reading and writing across grade levels. Eleven years of running centers built around short, consistent routines also taught her that a student who is drowning is often missing a workable system rather than the underlying ability.

In 2026, she completed specialized training and launched an English-language program for Spanish-speaking families at her centers. Susie grew up speaking Spanish with her grandparents and can also tutor students in Spanish.

She recently moved to Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, where she can usually be found walking her dog, Scout.

Qualifications:

• 20 years in supplemental education, including 11 years as owner and director of two math and reading learning centers
• More than 1,600 students taught and thousands of diagnostic and placement evaluations completed
• Instructor certification in a national K–12 math and reading curriculum spanning early elementary through calculus
• Specialized training in English-language instruction and a heritage Spanish speaker
• Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, Northeastern Illinois University