CHASE HILL TESTIMONIALS
“Mary has a gift for helping writers explore and expand their developing skills in each step of the writing process and for providing feedback that helps her students understand how to improve their writing. This year, for the first time, my son has seen the importance of editing his work. Thank you, Mary! You have encouraged him to be a more confident and independent writer.”
—Kelly (Parent, San Francisco Bay Area)
“My daughter is a passionate writer but most of her English teachers in school didn’t really get her. She has always had intense emotions and writing was one way for her to express them. As a gifted kid who needed more than what she received in school, I searched locally and scoured the Internet looking for ways for her to spend time with others like her that shared her passion for writing. She has always been very private about her writing not wanting to share it with many other people, including her family, so this made some programs unsuitable. I found Chase Hill School on one of my Internet searches and it sounded perfect. We set up a Skype meeting with Mary (as we are halfway across the country from her), and my daughter and I knew this was going to be wonderful. And it was!
Mary is so much more than a writing teacher. She is a mentor, and someone who shares this passion with my daughter and who really gets her. They worked together for about three years. My daughter went through some very difficult times during those years and she looked forward to her lessons with Mary so much. She lit up and was so happy when she worked with Mary.
Mary is exceptionally compassionate, supportive, encouraging and everything you want someone who works with your child to be. She helped my daughter grow tremendously as a writer and she emailed me after every lesson with a summary of what they covered. It was perfect. I don’t know how to fully convey what Mary has meant to our daughter (and us) in words, but we will always be so very grateful for her and the time she invested in our daughter.
Whether your child needs additional help/support with writing or is a gifted writer needing a mentor and teacher who really understands quirky kids, you can stop searching, as you’ve found Mary.”
—Leslie (Parent, Texas)
“Our daughter has a love of and natural talent for writing fiction, but non-fiction writing did not come so easily to her. In particular, she was rather resistant to processes such as outlining and revising. Mary has been an invaluable mentor for our daughter--she's nurtured her passion for writing fiction and deftly guided her in honing her craft, while also helping her adopt new tools and processes to tackle other forms of writing. Mary has always brought out the best of our daughter's abilities, and we're very fortunate and grateful to have found her.”
--Aaron and Michele (Parents, San Francisco Bay Area)
“Mary has an eye for detail while she reviews the student’s writing in a systematic manner, first focusing on the big ticket items and then on the minor issues. Her comments are written in a way that persuades the budding writer to see the errors in his writing, without trampling on his ego. And she writes a nice, encouraging letter with every session that brings out the best in her students. We are very pleased with the effort and sincerity she puts into her work.”
—Meena (Parent, Bangalore)
“I appreciate how Mary is relentlessly positive with my daughter, making the difficult task of good writing more enjoyable. She points out her mistakes with encouragement and humor. Mary’s education and training shine through in her comments on my daughter’s papers. In addition to helping with conceptual areas such as thesis development and general structure, she points out misplaced phrases, punctuation errors, and subtle but significant grammatical mistakes that I would have completely missed. We really feel that Mary is on our side!”
—Vida (Parent, San Francisco Bay Area)
“Mary is always very patient and encouraging when working with me. She's good at helping me edit without discouraging me. It's always a fun and productive experience when we meet.”
—Emma (14, San Francisco Bay Area)
“I think Mary is a great teacher. I really like the way she teaches me and the way she helps me to understand what to do and what not to do in my writing. I’ve learned how to write better, and I’ve learned how to ‘see’ things from the reader’s point of view. Before my sessions with Mary, I didn’t know whether or not other people would understand what was going on in my writing, but now that I’ve learned how to revise my work with my readers’ point of view in mind, I know that they will. I like everything about my tutorials.”
—Simona (11, San Francisco)
“Mary is a gem. She teaches me so much about writing, and she does it in such a supportive and friendly way.”
—Michelle (18, Boston)
"Mary worked with my son for over a year on Creative Writing. She is the kind of teacher every parent dreams of. The kind that is encouraging, sensitive to your child's needs and possesses a keen sense of how to create the space for unfolding of raw talent. Mary made it clear to my son, right from the get go, that he was not obliged to follow any suggestion she made. My son therefore felt totally comfortable etching out his own creative path and treating Mary as a companion on his creative journey. A gift in and of itself. Mary's biggest strength is timing. She knows when to stand down and when to provide just the right tip to broaden horizons. That created just the right atmosphere for my son to flower. The whole process between them reminded me of sculpting. Raw talent, carving out words and taking form in a story or poem, while Mary was watching the emerging sculpture and blowing life into that talent so it could catch fire. It would have been difficult to find a college-level course could have provided what Mary did."
--Aanya (Parent, San Francisco Bay Area)
“Mary has taught me so much about writing this year; she has turned me into a real writer.”
—Daniel (20, Portland, Maine)
“Mary gives concise comments, and I like that she gives me various alternatives, leaving me in control of the writing.”
—Ram (11, Bangalore)
“Mary has greatly helped me improve my writing. After only a few months of working with her, I feel that I know a lot more about writing than I used to and can now easily turn my thoughts into words. I would definitely recommend her!”
—Jennifer (11, San Francisco Bay Area)
“Mary’s comments are detailed and specific. I like the way she praises my writing.”
—Mani (11, Bangalore)
“I like being one of Mary’s students. I like the way she teaches me.”
—Sam (12, San Francisco Bay Area)
"One of the bright spots in our lives this year is our son's progress while working on his writing with Mary. We are truly grateful for her efforts: she is like a horse whisperer for writers. With her guiding hand, our son has been able to shed many of the inhibitors which have plagued his writing process in the past; he has discovered his voice and more importantly the confidence to express it. Many thanks for all that you have done, Mary!"
—Cathy (Parent, Menlo Park)