Pinon Tutoring

In June of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Piñon Tutoring's founder and owner, Seth A. Stambaugh, M.Ed., saw a need for a local, independent, individualized tutoring service in Albuquerque and the surrounding areas.  The stressful burden placed on students and their parents as they tried to complete schooling at home was evident and non-conducive to true learning experiences, and demonstrated the very apparent need for enhanced learning opportunities in New Mexico overall.  Having tutored privately during his 10 years of experience as a classroom teacher, Seth saw an opportunity to assist families while also nurturing his own passion for education, so he opened Piñon Tutoring.  He found such joy in working one-on-one with students that he decided to grow his business and continue it into the future.

Mission and Philosophy

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Mission Statement: To create competent, confident, courageous individuals who successfully and uniquely engage in their academics, communities, and the world.

Piñon Tutoring follows the philosophy that a desire to learn is inherent in all people.  Students' educational struggles are frequently rooted in a lack of confidence or competence, and then are compounded by large class sizes, pressure to succeed, strict timelines about what they "should" know and when, and little or no one-on-one attention.  Using traditional and alternative educational techniques, Piñon Tutoring's creative approach emphasizes building confidence, competence, and academic literacy by assisting students in developing all-encompassing, integrated, long-term skills.  Our tutors' approach ensures students develop deep academic roots so they experience successful, overarching growth rather than focusing on simply achieving "A's" on an assignment by assignment basis.  Such growth is what leads to stronger grades overall and long-term academic and, eventually, professional success. 

Additionally, our tutors believe that learning involves more than just academic development.  The development of identity and core values are important aspects of any meaningful education, and we instill these in students by using  research-based, social-emotional, and inquiry models for education that incorporate grounding, centering, and mindfulness techniques, interpersonal skill building, emotional regulation, time management, organization, and the development of integrity and identity.  Doing such, we assist in creating well-rounded individuals who have skills to cope with challenges that are not academic as well as navigate new situations comfortably.  Our students develop into confident members of society who are prepared to engage and share their knowledge with those around them, understand the importance of their contributions, and, ultimately, become agents of change in their own lives and the broader world.