Founder and CEO
Diane Cutler Lewis is an educator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist committed to helping students to reach their highest potential. She began tutoring a friend's daughter and within one year, had 21 students from referrals. The best part was that she loved her students as they poured laughter and joy into her heart. Tutoring quickly became Diane's passion and life purpose.
She founded A+ In Home Tutors in 2003 to promote educational awareness and customized learning for students of all backgrounds and grade levels. The organization has grown to be one of the leading tutoring vendors to many Charter Schools and community partners throughout California. In 2021, Diane launched Firefly Tutors, presented by A+ In Home Tutors, to continue to expand tutoring services with the goal of more positively impacting greater numbers of students in all 50 United States.
Diane earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Northridge, majoring in Liberal Studies and Education with a California Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential in K-8th grade learning.
Diane's career in education was inspired by her father, Morris Cutler. In 2019, she published Education Warrior,, an inspirational memoir of her father that highlights his global impact on education in Afghanistan, Kenya, and California. Also, as a tribute to her father, she founded Education Warrior,, a not-for-profit created to provide much-needed tutoring for vulnerable at-risk children of families with high hopes but little money who are the most likely to drop out of school.
In addition to her passion for making education accessible to all, Diane embraces travel, people from diverse cultures, delicious foods, art, music, theatre and enjoys an active, healthy lifestyle in Anaheim, California.
Diane@fireflytutors.com
888-505-5930
Founder and CEO
We believe every student deserves the opportunity to develop to their highest potential. Unfortunately, many students fall through the cracks with traditional education. We offer customized multi sensory integration to maximize the learning experience.
Selecting the right tutor can be a challenging process. We guide parents through the process with exceptional customer service and helpful information to assure your student is matched with the best tutor to help them succeed. Our experienced tutors are experts at relating curriculum to your student’s interests and hobbies. This unique combination of understanding students’ needs and matching your student with the right tutor and learning solution helps to deliver exceptional academic results.
What is best for students is what guides us. For any action we take, our strategic lens, or North Star, is “how will this benefit students?”
Tracy leads the HR & Accounting department here at Firefly Tutors. She has over 20 years of HR and Accounting experience. When Tracy isn't working, she's homeschooling her daughters. In Tracy's freetime she enjoys reading, working out, and teaching others about budgeting and health & wellness. Tracy resides in Virginia with her family.
tracy@fireflytutors.com
HR & Accounting Manager
Tracy leads the HR & Accounting department here at Firefly Tutors. She has over 20 years of HR and Accounting experience. When Tracy isn't working, she's homeschooling her daughters. In Tracy's freetime she enjoys reading, working out, and teaching others about budgeting and health & wellness. Tracy resides in Virginia with her family.
Emily is a homeschool mom to six children, with 15 years of experience. She loves tutoring because of the individualized help each student gets and the opportunity to build relationships with the families being served. Emily loves gardening, singing, and Zumba. She lives in Auburn, California with her family.
emily@fireflytutors.com
Tutor Talent Scout
Emily is a homeschool mom to six children, with 15 years of experience. She loves tutoring because of the individualized help each student gets and the opportunity to build relationships with the families being served. Emily loves gardening, singing, and Zumba. She lives in Auburn, California with her family.
Anna leads our Firefly Tutors marketing team, providing effective communication to our parents, teachers, school administrators, and tutors. She brings 6 years of experience with the past 3 years managing teams of marketing specialists. Anna’s strengths soar in website management, social media, content creation, and advertising.
anna@fireflytutors.com
Marketing Director
Anna leads our Firefly Tutors marketing team, providing effective communication to our parents, teachers, school administrators, and tutors. She brings 6 years of experience with the past 3 years managing teams of marketing specialists. Anna’s strengths soar in website management, social media, content creation, and advertising.
Marissa has been an elementary educator for ten years. Her passion is helping learners find success, no matter what it takes. In 2019, Marissa was recognized as Teacher of the Year by her peers. She lives in Buckeye, Arizona and is a proud mom of three dogs and a tortoise.
marissa@fireflytutors.com
Education Consultant
Marissa has been an elementary educator for ten years. Her passion is helping learners find success, no matter what it takes. In 2019, Marissa was recognized as Teacher of the Year by her peers. She lives in Buckeye, Arizona and is a proud mom of three dogs and a tortoise.
Star is a certified educator and therapist. A recent school teacher of the year award winner, she strives to help others reach self-mastery and takes pride in maintaining a high level of professionalism. Star currently resides in Raleigh, NC, and enjoys spending time with her family and fur baby chihuahua.
star@fireflytutors.com
Education Consultant
Star is a certified educator and therapist. A recent school teacher of the year award winner, she strives to help others reach self-mastery and takes pride in maintaining a high level of professionalism. Star currently resides in Raleigh, NC, and enjoys spending time with her family and fur baby chihuahua.
Leseth, a seasoned corporate sales professional, has become a versatile virtual assistant, supporting businesses across various industries for over a decade. Based in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines, she takes great pride in balancing her professional endeavors alongside the joys of motherhood, caring for her six sons alongside her supportive husband.
seth@fireflytutors.com
Administrative Assistant
Leseth, a seasoned corporate sales professional, has become a versatile virtual assistant, supporting businesses across various industries for over a decade. Based in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines, she takes great pride in balancing her professional endeavors alongside the joys of motherhood, caring for her six sons alongside her supportive husband.
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Introducing Rebecca Anderson, our dedicated Tutor of the Month for April 2024! Hailing from the serene city of Lake Elsinore, CA Rebecca brings a wealth of passion and expertise to the Firefly Tutors team!
Rebecca holds a BA in Business & Management. With her involvement in Firefly Tutors and her commitment to teaching she is considering a formal role in classroom education. Rebecca makes a significant impact with her dedication and enthusiasm.
Specializing in math and English Language Arts (ELA), Rebecca finds immense joy in witnessing her young learners absorb knowledge and rapidly improve their reading levels. Her nurturing approach fosters an environment where students feel empowered to explore and grow academically.
Among Rebecca's proudest moments is the transformation of a struggling student into a confident reader. After just a month of dedicated work, the student experienced a breakthrough moment, reading like a rockstar—a heartwarming achievement that brought tears of joy to Rebecca's eyes.
Beyond tutoring, Rebecca leads an enriching life. She manages a little farm and is currently pursuing her middle school teaching credential, furthering her dedication to shaping young minds. On hiking adventures, Rebecca's signature move is to find a peculiar rock or tree and strike a headstand pose, adding a touch of whimsy to her outdoor escapades.
Connect with Rebecca Anderson on Facebook to learn more about her journey and passion for education: [Rebecca Powell (Rebecca Anderson)].
Rebecca's unwavering commitment to her students, coupled with her diverse interests, makes her a standout Tutor of the Month. We are proud to have Rebecca as an essential member of Firefly Tutors, making a meaningful difference in the lives of her students!
Introducing Rebecca Anderson, our dedicated Tutor of the Month for April 2024! Hailing from the serene city of Lake Elsinore, CA Rebecca brings a wealth of passion and expertise to the Firefly Tutors team!
Introducing Rhiannon (Rio) Rodriguez, our Tutor of the Month for January 2024! Coming from the desert city of Helendale, CA, Rio has been an integral part of the Firefly Tutors family since July 2023, bringing her unique blend of expertise and passion to our team.
Presenting Brandon Lim, our esteemed Tutor of the Month for February 2024! Hailing from the vibrant city of Long Beach, CA, Brandon brings a wealth of knowledge and dedication to the Firefly Tutors team.
Hailing from Sacramento, CA, Jeremiah has been a dedicated member of the Firefly Tutors family for over a year, with an impressive five years of tutoring experience under his belt. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics, making him a valuable asset in the world of education.
Kristi L. Miller, a dedicated tutor from Big Bear City, California, has been named the Firefly Tutors November Tutor of the Month for 2023. With 1.5 years of experience as a tutor, Kristi's passion for teaching shines through as she tutors a wide range of subjects, including Reading, Writing, English, Math, Science, Spanish, Poetry, Life Coaching, and Guitar, for students ranging from K-12 to college/university levels.
Taylor Nguyen is a dedicated tutor based in Garden Grove, CA. With a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and a Master of Arts in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness, Taylor has been tutoring for Firefly Tutors for the past 10 months. Specializing in Math and Chemistry, she finds immense joy in helping her students understand complex concepts and witnessing their "light-bulb moments" of comprehension.
Dakota is based in Palm Springs, California. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics with a minor in Mathematics, and has been tutoring for Firefly Tutors since October of 2022. Dakota specializes in algebra, pre-calculus, calculus, trigonometry, geometry and physics.
Congratulations to Yulia Song, our April Firefly Tutor of the Month! She has been working with Firefly Tutors for seven month and has been tutoring, teaching, and mentoring for five years. Subjects she tutors are mathematics, reading comprehension, language skills, English, and science.
Ashley Furst is an accomplished singer, writer and anchor. She is one of the singers featured on a Sony album titled "Christmas Classics" which became a Certified Gold Record along with some of the biggest names in music including; Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, and Tony Bennett.
Kevin hopes that through his work as a tutor, he can positively influence the lives of students and their families by giving them the tools they need to succeed inside and outside of school. Kevin tutors K-12 subjects in both English and Spanish while also substitute teaching so he can better understand how each grade level builds onto the other, allowing him to make the greatest impact.
An interesting fact about Alexis is that she was a young tutored student of Diane Lewis (CEO of Firefly Tutors). Alexis is now following in Diane's footsteps, becoming a tutor herself.
Alexis tutors reading, math, and writing.
Veronica earned her Behavioral Therapist, Behavioral Science Bachelor Degree and tutors all academic subjects from reading, science and mathematics. Veronica’s favorite subject is English and is amused by the amazing power of a good book.
Meghan’s favorite memory from tutoring was when her niece was homeschooling. Her niece displayed low self-esteem and didn’t believe in her own capabilities. In her 8th grade year, she received the honors award from her school for a 3.6 GPA. She was in disbelief of receiving the award showcasing a huge smile that came across her face. This is why tutoring her niece was all worth it.
Pierre received a magna cum laude from California State University, Bakersfield with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, Accounting and Finance Concentration. He currently is a Communicative Disorders leveling student at Eastern New Mexico University. Pierre plans to get his Masters of Science in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Northridge to complete his education to become a speech-language pathologist.
The most important tip Morgan shares is to build relationships with students when teaching them. Morgan says; “Gaining their trust makes kids much more willing to learn, and discovering their interests reveals different methods for effective tutoring. For example, if a fourth grader loves animals but dislikes math, make story problems that relate to running a veterinary practice. Just like Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, try many different strategies and see which ones work.”
Araid loves sharing her expertise with students in the areas where they struggle. Araid’s favorite tip for students is that students deserve respect. Once they understand their concerns, viewpoints and general outlook on life they are more motivated to learn and work with the teacher. She believes it is important to assess and reflect upon the lessons taught on a daily basis.
There are many proud moments as a tutor, but recently she worked with a young lady who struggled with her motivation to learn, and even struggled to attend school due to mental health anxiety. After their first session, she told Trinity she hadn't enjoyed school at all in the past few months and had barely done any school work. After their first tutoring session, her jest to learn was reignited and she looked forward to learning again.
Mengran tutors the beautiful Chinese language of Mandarin. Native to China, Mengran appreciates that more and more people want to learn her mother language. She observes that many people like herself were born in a non-English speaking country and grow up learning English. Mengran continues to teach Chinese and hopes that Mandarin will become a popular international language the same as English.
We celebrate Rick Neisser as our Firefly Tutor for May 2022. He resides in Costa Mesa, California and has been tutoring with Firefly Tutors for 3 years. Rick loves both the mental challenges and emotional rewards of tutoring. Preparing a lesson keeps Rick sharp, allowing him to relearn the subject while figuring out the best ways of presenting the material.
We celebrate Sharon Wanderdam as our Firefly Tutor for April 2022. She resides in Davis, California and brings over 7 years of experience to our program. Sharon loves making personal connections with each of her students. This special bond makes the sessions fun, and heartening for both. Trust helps students become more receptive and comfortable to ask questions and reach their academic goals.
Sarah reflects on her success story, “My proudest moment as a tutor has been seeing at risk students get to graduate and walk with their class. The accomplishment and empowerment on their faces as they walked means that I did my job and I did it well.”
Joel’s favorite tip for students is in math. “Think of the numbers not as abstract concepts but as real things. Negative numbers are how down they go, positive numbers are how up they go. Fractions are how many slices of pizza they have. Equal signs are like fulcrums on a scale.”
Melissa shared her favorite memory with one of her students. “A favorite memory is when one of my students was very excited to take on a text-evidence close reading ELA activity. He is only in 2nd grade, and he did wonderful on this third grade supplemental task. He loved being challenged and learning a new skill.”
I maintain a constant mindset to learn. I love this because we live in a big universe with endless things to learn through technology. I practice to improve my foreign language skills and keep up with cutting edge futuristic science. I've always loved playing table tennis, pool, classical piano and bowling (I've made a few YouTube videos over the years)
Samirah shares one of her favorite student success stories. One of my students had been struggling to read for years. Once we found something that worked, she was able to read signs in stores and on TV. Her family was so happy, and I am glad to have been a part of that.
I started with a student during her seventh grade year. She was getting D's and F's. With some intense hours of tutoring in study skills, math, and science, she was able to bring her grades up and she graduated from middle school on the Honor Roll. She is a sophomore in high school now and has maintained her grades in the A's and B's.
Randel's favorite tip to student's is for students who have trouble with writing assignments, I find that discussing the topic with the student helps him/her discover what to write. Randel also is an avid musician. Up until the pandemic, he performed semi-professionally on stage as a guitarist.
From tutoring young ones to older students, breaking larger tasks into smaller, manageable units is an invaluable key to prevent a student from feeling overwhelmed in learning a new skill or completing a project.
Alex values making new friends with students, and passing on knowledge to help them. Alex’s favorite tip; “We find success from our failure, and it’s ok to make a mistake if we are willing to correct it.” He suggests, “When my students share their happy and sad thoughts with me, and that’s the moment I know we have built a trust and connection with each other so I can pass on my knowledge and experience to them.”
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Sophie values the importance of building the confidence of her students. Sophie’s favorite tip to help her students learn is to allow students to make choices whenever possible. She suggests even proposing small choices such as, “would you rather practice fractions or word problems next?” Sophie emphasizes that this practice “gives students agency of your time with them.”
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Located in Whittier, California, he has been tutoring most subjects for over a decade. Emiliano’s personal favorite subject matter being English, as his father was a librarian. Emiliano’s passion for tutoring is at its highest when he is assisting students in their journey to getting into college. In addition, he is passionate about helping to pair students’ personal life goals with applicable majors.
From Woodside, California, Joseph has been educating others for over ten years. “My proudest moment as a tutor is whenever a student, especially one who was struggling, achieves mastery of an important concept.” At Firefly Tutors, we value tutors celebrating the victories of their students.
A resident of Riverside, California, Bo has been tutoring with A+ In-Home Tutors for over seven years. What Bo loves most about being a tutor is the fulfillment he receives through supporting his students to achieve success. “My greatest reward comes when I see that light in my student’s eyes,” says Bo.
Eliza is from Apple Valley, California and while she is best versed in anatomy, physiology, and math, she tutors all subjects from Kindergarten through 12th grade. “What I love most about tutoring is that I am actively engaged with the minds of our future,” says Eliza. “I enjoy seeing how much progress students make and the joy that radiates from their faces when they know they have accomplished something great.”
What Anicia loves most about being a tutor is serving the unique needs of each student and helping them succeed. “Each student and each assignment is different -- the opportunities are endless for a flexible and rewarding service to others.”
If your student is falling behind or struggling in school, this could be a sign that tutoring is needed. Your student may seem to lack confidence or lose interest in learning. These are also signs that tutoring could help. Our first step is to learn more about your student’s situation. We will provide you guidance based on our years of experience to identify if tutoring is right for your student.
It depends. There is strong evidence that in-home tutoring is the most effective for most students. However, with evolving tools for online learning, this model can be as effective as well. After learning more about your student and your family situation, we will recommend what’s best for your student.
At Firefly Tutors, we spend the time upfront to understand your student’s learning style, hobbies, and specific learning needs. We then match your student with a tutor who defines a personalized plan for your student. We do not offer ‘cookie-cutter’ learning plans. Everything we deliver at Firefly Tutors is tailored to your student’s needs.
Pod learning is designed to teach groups of students. Participating students can be from multiple families or within the same family. Often pods are created by parents who have joined together to help their respective students as a group. Learning pods can be as small as 2 to 3 students or as large as 4 to 6 students. Pod learning offers the benefit of social interaction with other students along with the learning experience. Depending on the situation, pod learning can also be less expensive per student. Firefly Tutors can help assess if pod learning is a good fit for your student or family.
At a minimum, you should expect that your student achieves learning success in the subject or subjects needed. With Firefly Tutors you can expect more. Our tutors help your student learn the academic material but also help your student build life skills and confidence for successful learning in the future.
We offer tutoring across the United States. No matter what your location in the U.S., we can help.
Firefly Tutors believes every student deserves the opportunity to develop to their full potential. We take the time to understand your student’s learning style to match your student with the tutor that has the experience and skills that are right for your student. Our experienced tutors design a personalized multi-sensory learning experience for your student based on their learning needs. Unlike other tutoring firms, Firefly Tutors helps students learn valuable life skills beyond the classroom. Our goal at Firefly Tutors is to help your student discover their light and illuminate their potential.
