Joe Niederman
Co-Founder
After working for a major tutoring company during my four years at UCLA, I founded AJ Tutoring with my life-long friend, Aaron Andrikopoulos, in 2003. What started out as a job grew into a true passion for studying and teaching the SAT; after nine years of teaching this test that is so often perceived as a barrier to success, I’m still continually inspired by helping students take advantage of it as an opportunity to show-case their strengths. I’m also passionate about helping students solidify valuable math, reading and writing concepts that will serve them well throughout their lives. AJ tutoring helps students achieve their best in academics and test-taking, and I am proud of the talented and charismatic team of tutors we have developed to help students throughout the SF Bay Area reach their full potential.
Perhaps the most rewarding feedback students have offered is that our tutors' explanations are clearer than their teachers' and that they wish they could take their regular classes with us. Over the past three years, Aaron and I have partnered with a private high school to offer for-credit courses at AJ Tutoring. Our for-credit students seek to remain with their current high schools but take a few classes at AJ because of the superior customization, clarity, and feedback we offer.
The success of these for-credit courses inspired us to found our own full-time high school, Cypress College Prep. Cypress is a great fit for students who seek both a customized approach and a social atmosphere that emphasizes holistic health and wellness. Classes will be small classes and students will receive one-on-one support tailored to their strengths and interests. I'm especially passionate about selecting outstanding teachers who possess great communication skills and empathy, and supporting them with ongoing training. Students will experience more rigor with less stress.
In my free time I enjoy yoga, snowboarding, and golfing. I'm a lifelong learner who loves reading about psychology, philosophy, and spirituality, and I'm always eager to discuss ultimate questions of human freedom and meaning.
Over the past two years, I've read most of my news and listened to most of my music in Spanish. I'm embarrassed by my gringo accent, but I actually receive a lot of compliments from native speakers (I suspect they're grading me on a curve, relative to other Americans), and it's a pleasure to understand fluently.
I’m a masochistic Bay Area sports fan: the Warriors, the 49ers and the Giants are my teams, rain or shine.