Meet the Team at Mathnasium of Portsmouth

Ryan Costa

I have been tutoring and teaching math for 16 years. I specialize in math so that I can bring the highest quality instruction to the table. One of my best attributes is being able to quickly assess a student’s level of understanding, and being able to build from there. Math is a bottom-up subject, and small holes in the foundation can spell disaster down the road. While working, I always focus on the positive and try to frame learning as a skill that we work on for a lifetime. I provide basic strategies for comprehending and solving problems so that students aren’t just mindlessly repeating steps, but are really prepared for similar and harder problems in the future. I have a Bachelor’s in Mathematics From Umass Dartmouth. I tutored for two years while there in the Math and Business Center. Out of college, I worked for Sylvan Learning Center, tutoring all levels of math, and running the math portion of the SAT program. During the day I was substitute teaching at Dartmouth High School, and tutoring students there for the MCAS. In 2009 I took a full-time position in the MA public school system at Brockton High School. MA has had the best school system in the nation since 2008, in part because of the extensive vetting and training that are mandatory for teachers. Brockton High School in particular won the US News and World Best High School award, the ICLE Model School Award, the Gould award while I was there. The training and guidance I received there were some of the best in the world.