About Vicki’s Success:
Vicki Jones taught in the Kansas City area for over 30 years. Her primary focus during that time was in writing, literature, and AP classes. She holds a BA from Drury University and a MA in English from the University of Missouri, KC.
Vicki currently lives in Minneapolis, MN with her husband. She loves spending time with her family (including her pet rat terrier), attending Bruce Springsteen concerts, and walking along the beautiful lakes in MN.
Full résumé and references available upon request.
Testimonials
"Mrs. Jones was one of those people for whom education is not just a job, but a calling... She was also willing to help students who needed extra help—not just academically, but help in the practical sense....In the short time that I was at Liberty High School, I saw several students come back to visit her. It seemed she made it her personal goal to touch every young person she met in some meaningful way..."
Her teaching style seemed to exemplify the saying, “To whom much is given, much is expected.”
—Lauren Roberts, Published Author and Former Student
"I have known Vicki Jones since the 1970s. I always recognized her to be an excellent teacher. However, in more recent times, I have come to know about her abilities as a tutor.
I gave her the challenge of rendering tutoring services to a 16- year-old whose life circumstances have been almost beyond comprehension. I am so happy to report that she is making a tremendous difference in his life, even at this early date. Here are things I can now say with great confidence:
There has been an upswing in his grades.
She has worked with everyone in his family as well as made contact with the administration at his school. All of that has been to his great benefit.
She established tremendous rapport with him immediately. She has sparked an interest in learning that I believe may now be with him for the remainder of his life.
I unqualifiedly recommend Vicki for anyone’s consideration as a tutor.
I believe that her skills in this regard are absolutely top-notch."
—John Kurtz, Attorney at Law, Kansas City, MO
“Vicki is a master teacher whose work is characterized by collegiality and professionalism. She engages and motivates her students in a way that only the finest of teachers can....
I can declare without hesitation that Vicki Jones is one of the best teachers I have observed throughout my career
(among probably 60 teachers I have observed in my work at three universities), and she is undoubtedly one of the most skilled and talented English teachers in the Kansas City area.”
—Dr. John Kerrigan, Rockhurst University
"I got my ACT from June back and I got a 28 in reading and a 25 in English!
I just wanted to say thank you for helping me so much with this!
Student with whom I met 7 times. She originally had a 20 in Reading and a 16 in English on the ACT
"I can balance redox reactions with ease and take integrals like nobody’s business, but my academic Achilles heel is writing.… On [the first] day, she delivered her ultimatum: if we stuck with her, through hell, high water and homework, she would teach us how to produce quality writing that was, “effective, engaging, and significant.” I was skeptical. Jack Kerouac and Shakespeare were born to write; I was not.
She weaned me from the idea that inspiration and talent produced good writing, substituting the three writers’ tenets of subject, audience and purpose....
Mrs. Jones understood. She knew my doubts, fears, and weaknesses and tailored her teaching to match,
portraying the methodical nature of writing, requiring not natural talent, but persistence—careful planning, repeated drafting, meticulous editing and practice. She showed me the power of the written word; she gave me the gift of expression."
— William Xiao, National Merit Finalist & Former Student
"I just want to say Thank You So much for helping M with her ACT. Her English increased from a 17 to a 22. Unbelievable! Her composite score went from a 19 to a 21. Thank you Thank You Thank you....We are very grateful for you help. It truly changed M's confidence and gave her more college options."
--Mother of student with whom I had met five times
Daughter (M): "Thank you so much for tutoring me.
Without your help I wouldn't be going to my dream college in the Fall. Your help means so much to me
Student originally had a 17 in English and a 19 composite. She had taken the ACT five times, but could not move off the 19 which she needed to do to play a sport at her dream school.
“I'm emailing to thank you for all the help you've given me this college admissions season. I feel that our editing sessions together really strengthened my essays. Even more importantly, you taught me many generally applicable writing skills that I know will serve me well in the future. I truly believe I learned as much about writing from our editing sessions as I did from the entire semester of AP Language and Composition my junior year.”
-George, a student with whom I met for tutoring on the college application process. He was accepted at 5 highly selective universities.