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ABOUT US
Worldly Scholars is a boutique education provider, offering families educational services that include small-group classes and private tutoring. Founded by a married couple with close to thirty years of combined experience in the education sector, we are excited to provide families with a unique brand of supplemental education services that is focussed on quality above all else.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Our philosophy of education is rooted in the idea that children have a tremendous ability to learn, comprehend and analyze topics that educators traditionally believe to be out of intellectual reach. We also view all subjects as interdisciplinary in nature, and believe it is essential to work with students to understand the connections between seemingly disparate components of the world. Lastly, no matter the subject being studied, we emphasize the improvement of writing as we consider it essential for success in university and beyond.
As a small company without ambitions for extensive growth, we are focussed on quality above all else. This means quality in terms of not only the lessons being delivered, but also in terms of the written edits students receive on their work and the feedback provided to parents throughout their child’s course of study.
We do not employ any other teachers or tutors -- we teach all of the classes ourselves -- and can therefore focus on the planning and delivery of our own lessons. We’re not interested in scaling, so we can focus on spending as much time as possible with a smaller number of students and families. In this way, we are working to build a small community of engaged families, long-term relationships and a responsive educational experience.
MEET THE FOUNDERS AND TEACHERS
Chelsey Dietrich
Mrs. Chelsey Dietrich is a passionate international educator from the United States of America. She has over ten years of experience in the education field, in both public and private institutions as a teacher, curriculum developer, and teacher trainer. Dietrich has also attended the Harvard Global Think Tank two years in a row and has spoken at international education conferences alongside esteemed colleagues and professors.
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Her teaching experience includes IBDP English A & B at World Foreign Language Middle School in Shanghai, China, primary school Humanities at Girls Prep in NYC and elementary and middle school liberal arts privately online. Her love of English Literature and cross-disciplinary curriculum also led her to design global study tours that took students all around the world. From Hawaii to Alaska, Greece to Yunnan, China and beyond, she developed curricula that focused on science, culture, literature and history. In addition, she cares deeply about the whole student and knows the importance of the interconnectedness between academic success and mental health
Mrs.Dietrich holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Minnesota and a M.A.Ed. in International Education from Columbia University. She is also a USA certified teacher in English.
Mrs.Dietrich is currently available for teaching and tutoring for students in elementary school through high school. She teaches a number of courses in the humanities, literature and etymology, but is also excited to develop new courses based on student interest. Mrs.Dietrich is also an experienced tutor interested in working with students who wish to get caught up in school, explore a specific interest or prepare for high stakes school applications.
John Dietrich
Mr. John Dietrich is a certified teacher with nearly fifteen years of education-industry experience. He has worked as an academic assessor, teacher, curriculum developer and operations manager for a number of education organizations and schools in the United States and Shanghai, China.
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He has taught small groups and tutored individuals in subjects ranging from elementary school English and middle school science through high school geography and standardized exam preparation. Mr.Dietrich has a particular interest in liberal arts education that spans the natural and social sciences. When developing educational programming, he puts a strong emphasis on foundational concepts and the application of these concepts to real-world situations. He is also intensely focussed on improving his students’ writing, and believes that written feedback on assignments is critically important.
Mr. Dietrich holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning with a specialization in sustainable development, a Bachelors of Science in Anthropology, Certificate in Environmental Studies and a Florida Teaching License (General Science G5-9 & Biology G6-12).
Mr.Dietrich is currently available for teaching small groups and tutoring individuals via Zoom. In addition to offering pre-planned courses in the liberal arts and natural sciences, he is able to create bespoke classes and offer personalized tutoring in a wide range of subjects including standardized exams.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?
Academically, we firmly believe that all students have tremendous potential, and are capable of working far beyond the standards set forth by even elite private schools. We have personal experience breaking complex ideas -- whether literary or scientific -- into scaffolded components that younger students are able to not only understand but also master. In this way, our courses are guided by our own academic experiences and often include the same concepts discussed by collegiate scholars.
When it comes to reading, we know from experience that students are capable of reading texts and understanding concepts beyond what traditional educators assume possible. Whether this means reading Shakespeare with G2 students or discussing geopolitical implications of international tariffs with G5 students, we’re focussed on pushing students intellectually. Each class will be rooted in a transferable takeaway. This is a skill for students to focus on that is specific to the class, and can also be utilized in any subject. Whenever possible, we utilize higher-level texts, lexile level accomodations and provide annotations that make them accessible to younger students.
We understand that writing is generally the least developed and practiced English-language skill. This is often because writing is not taught systematically and teachers have too many pupils and not enough time to provide appropriate feedback. With Worldly Scholars, this is not the case. We teach writing systemically and always provide model work. Additionally, we provide detailed feedback in all writing assignments -- including comment on content and correcting for grammar, syntax, word choice, etc. This focus on systematic improvement and rewriting drafts means that students and parents can visually see progress as it occurs.
We believe that students need systematic and structured practice with discussion. This includes learning not only how to think about concepts, but also how to engage with classmates and build on collegial ideas. In this way, we set clear standards and guidelines for discussion -- we emphasize that everyone’s opinion matters and that it is important to not only listen to others’ ideas, but to also engage through questions and comments.
Communication is a critical component of any positive educational experience. With this in mind, parents have direct access to us through phone, email, WeChat or virtual meetings. We also require a 60 minute academic assessment and goal-setting meeting before student enrollment. We encourage each family to schedule a free 30-min meeting each semester to discuss progress, goals and next steps.