In-person academic coaching · San Francisco Bay Area
Individualized academic, executive-function, and high-school readiness coaching for middle and early high-school students in the San Francisco Bay Area. Support is available across core content areas, with particular expertise in mathematics. Help your student strengthen essential academic skills, develop more independent routines, and enter high school prepared for greater responsibility.
Middle school is an important period of academic transition.
As coursework becomes more complex, students are expected to manage assignments, study independently, communicate with teachers, and make increasingly important decisions about high school. When academic gaps or organizational difficulties go unaddressed, these expectations can quickly become overwhelming.
I provide individualized support that connects academic instruction with the habits students need to succeed independently. Your student’s plan is based on their current skills, goals, school environment, and upcoming transitions—not a generic tutoring curriculum.
Students rarely struggle in only one isolated area. Services can be combined into an individualized plan that addresses immediate academic needs and long-term readiness.
Academic Support Across Content Areas
Build skills, close gaps, and understand coursework more deeply. Students receive targeted instruction across core academic subjects based on diagnostic information, schoolwork, and observed patterns of understanding. Mathematics is a particular area of expertise, but support can also include humanities and English language arts, science, and other middle- and early high-school coursework.
Support across mathematics, humanities and English language arts, science, and other core coursework
Identification and remediation of persistent foundational skill gaps
Explicit, individualized instruction, with particular depth in mathematics
Clear progress monitoring and recommended next steps
Executive-Function and High-School Readiness Coaching
Develop routines that make greater independence possible. Rather than simply supervising homework, coaching helps students understand and gradually manage the processes behind successful schoolwork.
Assignment tracking and digital classroom organization
Planning projects, assessments, and study time
Task initiation and sustainable homework routines
Proactive communication and self-advocacy
High-School Admissions and Test Preparation
Approach the application process with clarity and preparation. Students and families receive structured support for independent-school applications and the HSPT, ISEE, and SSAT. Students I have supported have earned admission to competitive independent and Catholic schools including St. Ignatius College Preparatory, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, and Stevenson School.
Diagnostic assessment and targeted test preparation
Test-taking strategy, pacing, and confidence
Application planning and deadline management
Authentic student-led essay and interview preparation
More than homework completion
Effective academic support should do more than help your student finish tonight’s assignment. My goal is to help your student understand how they learn, develop strategies they can use independently, and experience measurable progress over time.
Individualized
Support begins with your student’s actual skills, habits, goals, and school context.
Evidence-informed
Practice draws on classroom experience, educational psychology, executive-function research, and established instructional methods.
Collaborative
When appropriate and authorized by the family, support can include communication with parents, teachers, and other members of your student’s team.
Progress-oriented
Families receive clear information about current priorities, observed progress, and recommended next steps.
What working together looks like
1. Initial consultation — Discuss your student’s strengths, current challenges, educational history, and goals.
2. Review and assessment — Review relevant school information and use diagnostic activities when helpful.
3. Individualized plan — Establish focused priorities and a proposed session structure.
4. Ongoing sessions — Provide consistent, individualized support that adjusts as needs change.
5. Family communication — Share concise updates about priorities, progress, and ways to reinforce independence.
About Malcolm Richardson
I am an educational consultant and high-school readiness coach specializing in middle-school academics across content areas, executive functioning, and the transition to high school, with particular depth in mathematics.
I began my career as an eighth-grade teacher in New York City, where I supported students preparing for demanding high-school coursework and competitive admissions processes. Since moving to San Francisco, I have worked as a middle-school teacher, private academic coach, instructional coach, and youth-program director.
Today, I work individually with Bay Area students and families to address academic gaps, strengthen learning routines, prepare for high-school admissions, and navigate the increased expectations of ninth and tenth grade.
I am currently completing an M.S. in Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where my thesis examines executive-function coaching and the use of screen-based classroom tools such as Google Classroom and Blackbaud.
My approach combines the perspective of a classroom teacher with the responsiveness of individualized coaching. I want students not only to perform better in school, but also to become more capable of understanding their needs, using effective strategies, and advocating for themselves.
5+ Years of Middle-School Teaching Experience
M.S. Candidate in Educational Psychology
Certificate in Instructional Coaching
Help your student prepare for what comes next
Whether your student needs targeted academic instruction, more sustainable school routines, or structured preparation for high school, the first step is a conversation about what is happening now and what meaningful progress would look like.
Schedule a Consultation
In-person support for students in the San Francisco Bay Area.