Written by coWORKer Linda Jay

Talk about full-circle!  Back in 2010, current CoWORKer Stephanie Simon founded the Grade A Tutoring Center at 10 Fourth Street in Petaluma.  Stephanie wanted to create a place where students and families could connect with high-quality, credentialed tutors for one-on-one tutoring.  Eight tutors offered math, science, Spanish/French, SAT prep, reading, and overall academic support in her tutoring center.  In addition, families enjoyed a comfortable waiting area, a library of parenting books and other resources, a kitchen, restrooms, and plenty of parking.

In 2012, after the tutoring center relocated to the Petaluma Marina, Natasha Juliana and Matt Moller established WORK Petaluma in the former tutoring center building.  Stephanie remarks, “Needless to say, I love the concept of WORK and how flexible the space is.  WORK offers a place in the community where people can come together to solve problems, support one another, and get work done.  There’s a great synergy to it.”

Stephanie Simon, a tutor, and her husband Jon are educators who moved to Petaluma in 1993 from Menlo Park to raise their kids, Nathan and Annie.  Jon is a teacher; his children were, in fact, students in their father’s psychology and pre-calculus classes at Casa Grande High School.

Originally from Los Angeles, Stephanie has lived in Seattle and Portland, as well as several Bay Area cities.  She majored in English Literature at the University of Puget Sound in Washington, and met her husband in the one-year program called STEP – Stanford Teacher Education Program. It provides a California teaching credential with a full school year of classroom field experience, and a more theory-based master’s program.

Stephanie has actually been tutoring since her oldest child was born, so she could work flexible hours and create her own schedule.  In addition to tutoring, she’s done event planning and been an artists’ representative.

Currently, the focus of Stephanie’s practice is tutoring junior high and high school students on Monday-Thursday afternoons at WORK; she works closely with the families to create a program that supports and enriches their student’s academic experience.  Subjects include: English, history, study skills, SAT and ACT college prep, and college applications/essays.

Stephanie’s full-circle experience of working at 10 Fourth Street once again truly does seem serendipitous.

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