Wyckoff Native Opens Tutoring, Enrichment Center in Hometown

A Wyckoff native who has spent the last three years teaching in Montvale and the past eight years tutoring students in and around the township is turning her passion into a new small business.

Ashley Benanti, a 2005 Ramapo High School graduate, is officially opening “Tutor Me After 3,” an after school tutoring and enrichment center, on Franklin Ave. in Wyckoff Friday.

“I started private tutoring [8 years ago], mainly for the SATs,” the elementary school teacher said.

“Eventually, I had my SAT kids start asking for help on their school subjects, so I started doing that, too.”

Benanti said the combination of noticing what her tutees needed at the high school level, and seeing what her elementary school students needed in the classroom, inspired her to put together a plan for a center that could serve all of them.

“I wanted to do more than just SATs, so we have programs for elementary, middle, and high schoolers,” she explained.

“It’s hard for kids to find tutors for school subjects. There’s nowhere they can call and say, ‘I have a big chemistry test coming up and I’d like some help prepping for that.’ Now, they do.”

Tutor Me After 3 will have both longer-term tutoring classes and one-on-one sessions, as well as short-term, as-needed tutoring for students who’d like some extra help preparing for an exam or getting through a particular unit in school.

She’s also added an enrichment program for elementary school students. For an hour after school, students will come into small group enrichment classes that will work on homework, and complete lessons that go “above and beyond” what kids are learning at school.

And, her SAT program is taking off. Benanti is in the process of getting an SAT Prep book that she wrote published, and she’ll be using that book to help prepare her high schoolers for the exam.

Tutor Me After 3 is staffed by local certified teachers only, and hopes to foster a community feel.

“I was looking for a location in my hometown that didn’t feel too classroom-y,” Benanti said.

“When I saw this, I knew it was perfect. My main goal is to create a place where parents can feel comfortable sending their kids for some enrichment opportunities, and really adding something to the community.” 

Get more information at Tutormeafter3.com or 201-891-8100.