Math and Physics Tutors Who Know San Mateo Schools
Your student isn’t “bad at math” — one bad experience convinced them they were. Our specialty is rewriting that narrative into one of confidence, wonder, and joy.
“I have LITERALLY watched frustration melt into absolute understanding of the subject.” — Patrick R., Parent · Read on Google ↗
- No credit card required
- Full Semester Guarantee
Everything changes when math empowers students
It’s not tutoring. It’s becoming. Behind every “I’m bad at math” is a student who stopped believing they could figure it out. That belief is the real problem — and it’s the one we solve.
First-Time A's to Ivy League
Our students have been accepted to Stanford, Princeton, UC Berkeley, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, and Cornell.
- No credit card required
- Full Semester Guarantee
When Math Changes Their Future, the Future Changes for Everyone
This is what it looks like.
In 3 minutes, see why we believe math and physics aren’t just school subjects — they’re the keys to everything your student dreams about.
- No credit card required
- Full Semester Guarantee
The Alexander Difference
Passion + Purpose = Empowered
When math serves your student’s passion, it has purpose. When it has purpose, something remarkable happens — they become empowered to use education to achieve their dreams.
Personalized Matching = Student Passion
We start by learning what lights your student up — music, sports, art, science, anything. Then we match them with a tutor who shares that passion and shows them how math is the hidden engine behind the things they already love. When math serves something they care about, it stops being a chore.
“Sam has a really nice and easy communication style and once he found out that my daughter loves soccer he added a lot of soccer themes to his teaching (angles, corners, distance etc.). My daughter really liked his style and she was more than happy to continue with Sam as her tutor.”
— Mihir M., Parent · Read on Google ↗
Deep Understanding = Purpose
Most students survive math by memorizing formulas — until one curveball on the test sinks them. We teach the why behind every equation, deriving formulas and connecting them to the real world. When your student truly understands the math, they can solve anything a teacher throws at them.
“After the first session with Tyler he came home and could not stop talking about Physics… Last week our son came home from a Physics class literally jumping up and down. He had been able to explain a process in class as one of the only ones because Tyler had explained it to him in an interesting conversation they had the day before.”
— Yasmin D., Parent · Read on Google ↗
Confidence First = Empowers Students
There’s no such thing as being ‘bad at math’ — only bad math experiences. A harsh teacher, embarrassment in class, one bad test — and suddenly your student decides they can’t do it. We rewrite that story. With a supportive tutor who believes in them, ‘I can’t’ becomes ‘I’ve got this.’
“Krishann has improved my daughter’s math skills, has also improved how she feels about math, and this translates to improving how she feels about herself as a learner… If they had their own school, we would enroll full time.”
— Susan C., Parent · Read on Google ↗
This is what happens when everything changes.
“It’s such a relief to know that my kids are going to be able to advance in math and science in ways that I personally can’t help them.”
Everything changed for these families.
I cannot recommend Alexander Tutoring enough. From so many angles can I affirm their reliability, spot-on help, expertise in this work, and in particular, expertise with teenagers. As a parent and educator, I am in awe of this team and how they deliver help as though it is on a cloud with a rainbow connected. For students at my school, the communication and feedback is excellent for parents. For me, having a child who doubled up on math and thought his head would officially explode at the pace, the help from Alexander Tutoring has transformed his experience and feelings about math as within his realm. He's talking about math next year as someone who now feels capable and game, all after wondering if he should even pursue higher math earlier this year. They make a difference in kids' and families' lives and believe wholeheartedly in what they do. So glad they exist and wish this for any child needing to believe in their inherent capabilities.
James has been a godsend. He instilled confidence in our daughter and helped her to take on more challenging math coursework. He is patient, and knows how to help the student get to the right answer with just the right mix of guidance and instruction
Gerald is an amazing tutor with an empathetic attitude and patient work ethic! After school tutoring puts a smile on my face and gives me something to look forward to when having a rough time in class! His jokes are endless and he’s an amazing role model and advice giver!
The tutors are really nice, they help me with all my questions. They introduce me to topics and theories outside of what I'm being taught and try their best to expand my knowledge. They are always there when I have a question and provide me with a in depth, adequate answer.
Alexander Tutoring is a fantastic tutoring service! Sean is very professional, responsive and really aims to get the tutor that is the right fit for your child and their way of learning. My son's tutors have all been AMAZING. Gerald is fantastic - high energy and really connects with the students. You cannot go wrong with Alexander Tutoring. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
My son worked with Gerald this past school year on Calculus and AP Statistics. After every meeting, he remarked on how valuable the sessions were, and how Gerald could explain everything so clearly. My son has worked with a couple of tutors in the past, and this was by far the most effect experience. Everyone at Alexander Tutoring was really easy to work with and flexible with our schedule. I highly recommend Gerald and Alexander Tutoring!
Sean and his team are great. I work at a school and have referred many students to him for math and physics, and sometimes for other sciences. He is a wonderful tutor, great with kids, willing to coordinate directly with teachers for maximum efficacy. Highest rating!
My kid had weekly math tutoring with Wilder and a few sessions with Sean. Both tutors were TERRIFIC. Also, the company is well organized and well run. Everything from scheduling to payment was handled smoothly. The price is steep, but the service - and the customer service - were both top notch. Would highly recommend Alexander Tutoring!
My daughter took an intensive high school Physics course this summer and had to miss a few days of instruction due to a family commitment. She was so worried about falling behind in her course - but with the help of Alexander Tutoring and, specifically, Tyler, she had nothing to worry about. The owner of Alexander Tutoring, Sean, was so helpful in getting my daughter squared away with tutoring sessions even though we called him fairly last minute. And the tutor my daughter was assigned to, Tyler, was wonderful. He and my daughter had three sessions and she was right back on track in her course. She really enjoyed working with him and would highly recommend him to anyone needing help with Physics.
Sean is wonderful! He is friendly and approachable. But mainly he is very patient! My daughter has been going to Sean for math tutoring about a year now and I am extremely happy to see how much my daughter has improved on her math. And not just that, Sean also helped her to gain confidence and self-esteem. The classrooms are so big these days, not every teacher can answer all the questions. One-on-one tutor offers the personal attention and the help my daughter needs. To see a big smile on my daughter's face when she got all the answers correct on her worksheet is priceless.
I was referred to Sean by my daughter's former Math teacher when she was having trouble transitioning from Integrated Math into Pre-Cal. She went from being an A math student her whole life to getting the first F she had ever received in any class. After working with Sean for a short time she made significant progress. My daughter has a learning difference, and Sean was able to work with her on strategies. In addition to helping her with the basics, he helped her re-gain her confidence. He was great about keeping me in the loop and addressing any concerns, and is very responsive. My daughter also enjoyed his teaching style and found him much more informative and helpful than her Pre-Cal teacher and the tutors provided by her school. He really helped us tackle and move past a horrible experience.
Alexander tutoring , especially Jake came at a time when my son needed him the most . This company is worth every penny and I recommend them highly ! Jake is excellent!
Krystal and James did a great job working with our kids. Both were very patient and focused well ok the areas where our kids needed the most support. I would highly recommend them both!
Alexander Tutoring has been nothing short of great. We started using them after a semi-failed attempt with another tutoring company and have been so happy! We added our second child to their programs as well. For our son, Math become approachable and not scary! My two favorite things about Alexander Tutoring is the way the content is taught, my children are learning how to perform math as a skill and craft and not just to pass a test or class. The tutors are amazing, fun and relatable. Their personalities make learning and understanding math a wonderful process. The effect of tutoring w/Alexander has reflected in better grades and less frustration!
Fantastic program and wonderful tutors. Felix was instrumental in helping my son through all of his high school required math courses . He broke down the complex information in a way that my son was able to understand and because of him passed his classes with flying colors. I would recommend Alexander Tutoring to anyone who needs the help.
Chloe is loving her sessions with Jonathan and has greatly grown in confidence in maths and sciences.
My recently graduated daughter from Lowell HS benefited immensely from the Calculus tutoring from Sean's team. They made a complex subject easier to comprehend and boosted her confidence. I highly recommend Sean.
Alexander Tutors are a great resource. My son was struggling in a high school physics class and, with the help of Alexander Tutoring, was able to raise his grade significantly. The tutors are knowledgeable and great teachers.
How it Works
Getting started is simple.
Getting support is simple and risk-free. We focus on understanding your student first, then building confidence and momentum step by step.
- No credit card required
- Full Semester Guarantee
1. Book Your Risk-Free Lesson
No credit card. No commitment. No catch. Just a conversation about your student — who they are, what they love, and where they’re stuck. After the session, you’ll receive a complimentary skills assessment that pinpoints the foundational gaps holding them back — yours to keep no matter what.
2. Find the Perfect Tutor
The #1 factor in your student’s success isn’t the curriculum — it’s the chemistry. We match based on personality, passions, and learning style. Not the right fit? Try another session at no cost. You get as many trials as it takes. You’ll know when it clicks — you’ll see the fire in their eyes.
3. Watch Everything Change
Your student gets weekly one-on-one mentoring plus nightly office hours for homework help — all backed by our Full Semester Guarantee. No contract. Cancel anytime. Confidence builds. Grades follow.
San Mateo Tutoring at a Glance
- Who teaches
- Mathematicians, physicists and engineers with degrees in their field, not college students. Meet the team.
- Subjects
- Every level of math from pre-algebra through calculus and AP Calculus, physics through AP Physics, chemistry, and SAT Math, ACT Math and ACT Science.
- Format
- One-on-one and online for students across San Mateo, on a shared digital whiteboard where your tutor writes the math in real time. Lessons follow your student’s school, class and test calendar.
- What it costs
- $895/month on Dedicated Tutor: a weekly one-on-one session, nightly office hours, monthly progress reports and direct tutor access. Homework help alone is $295/month, and the Rocket Star Track adds a second weekly session for $1,745/month. See all plans.
- The first lesson
- Risk-free, with a skills assessment and a 30-day game plan that is yours to keep. If the match isn’t right, try another tutor at no cost.
- Results
- Dedicated Tutor and Rocket Star Track plans are backed by our Full Semester Guarantee: not satisfied at the end of the term, full refund. In our four-year study of 147 students, math growth averaged about twice the national projection.
The San Mateo schools we know inside out
High school
The Nueva School · Woodside Priory · Menlo School · Crystal Springs Uplands · Convent of the Sacred Heart Atherton · Junipero Serra · Aragon · San Mateo High · Hillsdale · Carlmont · Mills · Woodside High · Burlingame · Mercy Burlingame · Notre Dame Belmont · Sequoia · Palo Alto High · Compass High School · Stanbridge Academy · Futures Academy
Middle school
Abbott Middle · Baywood · Odyssey Middle · Bowditch · Parkway Heights · Ellen Fletcher · Tide Academy
Elementary
Hilldale School · The Carey School · George Hall Elementary · Woodland School · The Peninsula School · Buri Buri
College
College of San Mateo · Skyline College · Notre Dame de Namur University
Most tutoring gets a student through Friday’s test. That’s not what we’re for.
Your student learns where every formula comes from — so a problem they’ve never seen stops being a threat. They stop asking whether something will be on the test and start asking why it works.
What makes your math and physics tutors different?
Your student works with a practicing mathematician, physicist, or engineer — someone who uses this material professionally, not a college student a chapter ahead in the textbook. We recruit nationally because that’s the only way to find them.
What that means for a Peninsula family:
- Tutors with graduate-level training and professional research experience
- A derivation-first method — nothing gets memorized that could be understood instead
- Nightly office hours, so homework help doesn’t wait for the next session
- More than 15 years serving San Mateo and Peninsula families, with 270+ reviews across Google and Yelp
- First-time A’s in Calculus and 700+ SAT Math scores
We work with students across the Peninsula — in San Mateo, Hillsborough, Atherton, Portola Valley, Belmont, Menlo Park, Burlingame, Millbrae, Woodside, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Foster City and South San Francisco — at schools including The Nueva School, Woodside Priory, Menlo School, Crystal Springs Uplands, Junipero Serra, Aragon, San Mateo High, Carlmont, College of San Mateo and Skyline College.
All sessions are one-on-one and online.
How do you match a student with the right tutor?
Nobody’s first session is really about math. It’s about finding out whether this person is going to make them feel stupid again.
Our tutors are matched on personality and interest before subject — a physicist who races bikes, a mathematician who plays in a band. When the match is right, a student stops bracing and starts asking questions. That’s the moment the tutoring actually begins.
If it isn’t right, you get another match at no cost, as many times as it takes. About 80% of our students click on the first try, 95% by the second.
What math and physics subjects do you tutor?
Every level of math and physics, from foundational arithmetic through university coursework, plus chemistry at the high school and AP level:
- Pre-Algebra and Algebra I & II
- Geometry and Trigonometry
- Precalculus and Calculus (including AP Calculus AB & BC)
- Statistics and AP Statistics
- Physics, AP Physics 1, 2, and C
- Chemistry and AP Chemistry
- SAT and ACT Math
- College-level math and physics, including College of San Mateo, Skyline College and Notre Dame de Namur University
- Adult learners returning to math
Sessions are one-on-one and online, built around your student rather than a fixed curriculum. We start by finding out where the gaps actually are, then work forward from there.
What students end up with: they enjoy math, they understand concepts deeply rather than memorizing them, and they’re the ones showing friends how to work a problem — which is the real confidence marker.
Lessons line up with what your student’s school teaches, based on California’s Mathematics Framework. For grade-by-grade detail, see our guides to 7th grade math, 8th grade math standards and 9th grade Algebra 1, or see all of our California tutoring locations.
Do you tutor elementary school math in San Mateo?
We’ve worked with young learners from Peninsula elementary schools like Hilldale School, The Carey School, George Hall Elementary, Woodland School in Portola Valley, The Peninsula School in Menlo Park and Buri Buri in South San Francisco — where academic standards are high and families invest early in a child’s confidence.
Many young students struggle with math not because they can’t do it, but because of a single discouraging moment: being put on the spot in class, getting lost after a school transfer, or falling behind in a fast-paced classroom.
We match students with real mathematicians and physicists who specialize in breaking complex ideas into accessible lessons. Our elementary sessions focus on:
- Addition & subtraction
- Multiplication & division
- Fractions
- Confidence-building drills and assessments
Once students feel safe and capable, math becomes fun — and progress follows quickly.
Do you tutor middle school math?
Yes. Our Peninsula middle schoolers come from Abbott Middle, Baywood, Odyssey Middle, Bowditch in Foster City, Parkway Heights in South San Francisco, Ellen Fletcher in Palo Alto and Tide Academy in Menlo Park.
On the Peninsula, middle school is when high school gets decided. The independent schools that draw most heavily from this area — The Nueva School, Crystal Springs Uplands, Menlo School, Woodside Priory, Convent of the Sacred Heart Atherton and Junipero Serra — admit on the SSAT or ISEE, and the math sections of those exams test reasoning rather than recall. A student who has memorized procedures tends to stall on them.
That makes grades 6 through 8 the window that matters most. Key topics:
- Algebraic expressions and equations
- Integers and rational numbers
- Ratios, proportions, percent
- Order of operations
- Central tendency and data interpretation
We don’t teach shortcuts. We teach understanding. Our tutors emphasize deriving formulas and grasping mathematical logic — which is what an admissions exam is actually measuring, and what holds up once a student is inside one of those schools.
Which Peninsula high school math and physics courses do you cover?
Students attending Peninsula high schools like The Nueva School, Woodside Priory, Menlo School, Crystal Springs Uplands, Convent of the Sacred Heart Atherton, Junipero Serra, Aragon, San Mateo High, Hillsdale, Carlmont, Mills, Woodside High, Burlingame, Mercy Burlingame, Notre Dame Belmont, Sequoia and Palo Alto High encounter some of the most rigorous academic standards in the country. We also work with students at Compass High School, Stanbridge Academy and Futures Academy, where learning differences shape how the material has to be taught.
To succeed in this environment — and prepare for college admissions — students must master:
- Algebra I & II
- Geometry
- Trigonometry
- Precalculus & Calculus
- AP-level coursework
- SAT & ACT Math
- College-level math prep
We go beyond test prep. We teach students how to derive what they’re learning — so they understand the why, not just the how. That deeper understanding is what holds up when a problem doesn’t look like the homework.
Our SAT and ACT Masterclasses are especially popular with San Mateo families aiming for top schools.
Preparing for admissions tests? Read how to improve an SAT math score or see our SAT and ACT tutoring.
Do you tutor college math?
Yes. College math courses at College of San Mateo, Skyline College and Notre Dame de Namur University can be fast-paced and unforgiving. Oversized lectures and limited TA time leave students overwhelmed and unsure where to turn — and the same is true for Peninsula students who’ve left for four-year programs elsewhere.
Our tutors — real scientists and mathematicians — are experts in:
- College Algebra
- Geometry & Trigonometry
- Finite Math
- Statistics
- Calculus I, II, III
- Linear Algebra
- Physics for STEM Majors
We’ve helped pre-med students, engineering majors and business students navigate demanding coursework with clarity. Sessions are patient, personalized and focused on long-term understanding rather than last-minute survival.
Because sessions are online, students keep the same tutor when they leave for school. The first college math course is where most of the damage happens, and continuity through it is worth a great deal.
Do you tutor adults returning to math?
Whether you’re:
- Taking math prerequisites for nursing or grad school
- Preparing for the GRE or other entrance exams
- Transitioning into data science or coding
- Just trying to feel confident with math again
Our tutors will design a personalized learning path built around your schedule, goals, and current level. From basic algebra to advanced calculus or physics, we support adult learners with patience, clarity, and respect.
At Alexander Tutoring, we know it’s never too late to conquer math—and we’re here to help every step of the way.
Meet our Math & Physics Tutors
We scour the country for math and physics tutors like Rebecca.
We recruit nationally to find the best — not just the most credentialed, but the most passionate.
Rebecca M.
Rebecca triple-majored in Physics, Theatre, and Secondary Education — and that was just the beginning. She’s since earned a Master’s in STEAM Curriculum Design and a Master’s in Chemistry. She fell in love with physics watching Star Trek as a kid, and she brings that same sense of wonder to every session. Whether your student is an artist, a performer, or a future engineer, Rebecca meets them where they are.
- B.A. Physics, Theatre & Secondary Education (triple major)
- M.Ed. Curriculum Design, STEAM Integration
- M.S. Chemistry
- Specializes in AP Physics, Calculus, and students who “hate math”
If it doesn’t work, you don’t pay. Period.
We’re so confident in our method that we guarantee your results for the entire semester. If you’re not satisfied at the end of the term, we’ll refund every penny. No fine print. No partial credits. A full refund.
No other tutoring company in the country offers this — because no other tutoring company gets results like ours.
- No credit card required
- Full Semester Guarantee