My name is Conor Kinney and I absolutely love teaching! I grew up in Naperville, IL, and attended St. Joan of Arc and Benet Academy in Lisle. I am a 2021 Loyola Chicago School of Law Graduate and 2018 Graduate from University of St. Thomas where I studied Social Studies Education. I currently am taking classes from Midwestern Teacher’s Institute to obtain my Special Education Certification. I love hanging with my fiance and our cats, reading, baking, card games, crochet, and most of all being outdoors!
My passion for literacy began from the youngest ages possible, when my parents exposed me to Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and my personal favorite: The Hobbit. I loved being taken to new worlds and letting my imagination explore. By kindergarten I was reading chapter books and almanacs I found in the car during family trips. This passion for literacy and through it History, had informed nearly every decision I have made in the past 20 years. (I still regularly enjoy 1000+ page fantasy epics)
My love for reading and passion for teaching others led me down the path toward English and History Education. Currently I am a teacher in Chicago Public Schools, and I see each and every day the literacy crisis facing our youth. Due to numerous external causes, a majority of students are not on grade level, and have no passion or drive to learn. I strive every day to create that drive in students, and to show them the power of reading and writing.
Intake Process
- Call or Email to Schedule Initial Meeting
- Initial Meeting
- Meet with the Student and Parents
- Meet with Student for some time one on one
- take a look at their classwork, talk through issues
- Rejoin to debrief and talk through what I see as areas of improvement and make a plan to tackle them as a team.
- Scheduling
- Weekly/biweekly meetings are suggested
- A 6 month commitment is encouraged
- Post-Session Debrief emails are sent within 24 hours of every session to memorialize what we worked on, how much they accomplished, and proof of payment
- There is a 12-Hour Cancellation Policy
- Each time there is a progress report we have a sit down to discuss progess
Lesson Format
(Can be booked for 45, 60, 75, 90, 120 min sessions) (This example is for a 75 min lesson)
- Check in/ Opening Activity (5min)
- Review Concepts from Last Time (15 min)
- Introduce New Concept (15-20 min)
- This typically is going over the concepts that their classroom is covering, making sure that any of the specific problem areas are addressed
- Practice New Concept for Understanding (15min)
- Review Practice work and correct together (10min)
- Wrap-up & lingering questions (5min)
