August 27, 2025 • 9 mins
Episode Title: Back to School Greeting & 30 Years of Make the Grade
Host: Dr. Steven Greene
Podcast: mAke the grAde – Empowering Students & Families 🔑
In this special Back to School episode, Dr. Steven Greene shares encouragement and perspective as students and families prepare for a new academic year. Whether you’re moving from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, or starting college, this is a time of excitement, challenges, and fresh opportunities. Dr. Greene also celebrates a major milestone — 30 years since Make the Grade was founded (September 1, 1995). With three decades of experience helping students succeed, he reflects on the mission that continues to drive his work: empowering learners, supporting families, and building confidence through personalized education and mentorship. 🎧
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
If you’re a parent or student gearing up for the new school year, remember — you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to Make the GrAde for support, resources, and proven strategies to help you succeed.
Reach mAke the grAde at 2158087674.
Learn More...
Submit your request here:
I want to be on the mAke the grAde Experience Podcast
Check out all that Dr Greene offers:
http//:www.makethegrade.net
Entrepreneurial Opportunities:
I want to be an entrepreneur
The Student Entrepreneur Academy
The Student Entrepreneur Academy
Reach Dr Steve directly:
sgreene@makethegrade.net
Host: Dr. Steven Greene
Podcast: mAke the grAde – Empowering Students & Families 🔑
In this special Back to School episode, Dr. Steven Greene shares encouragement and perspective as students and families prepare for a new academic year. Whether you’re moving from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, or starting college, this is a time of excitement, challenges, and fresh opportunities. Dr. Greene also celebrates a major milestone — 30 years since Make the Grade was founded (September 1, 1995). With three decades of experience helping students succeed, he reflects on the mission that continues to drive his work: empowering learners, supporting families, and building confidence through personalized education and mentorship. 🎧
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Why back-to-school season is both exciting and challenging.
- Encouragement for students transitioning to new schools or tougher classes.
- The importance of friendship, support, and resilience in academic success.
- A look back at the founding of Make the Grade and its 30-year legacy.
- Dr. Greene’s passion for helping students and families thrive in education.
- “It’s an exciting time of year — a new start for everybody.”
- “Maybe you’re a little intimidated, you’re taking some tougher classes, but we’re here to support you.”
- “Make the Grade was founded September 1, 1995. That’s 30 years of helping students and families succeed.”
- Learn more: mAke the grAde Website
- Connect with Dr. Steven Greene on LinkedIn
- Book: Maximum Education (available on Amazon)
If you’re a parent or student gearing up for the new school year, remember — you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to Make the GrAde for support, resources, and proven strategies to help you succeed.
Reach mAke the grAde at 2158087674.
Learn More...
Submit your request here:
I want to be on the mAke the grAde Experience Podcast
Check out all that Dr Greene offers:
http//:www.makethegrade.net
Entrepreneurial Opportunities:
I want to be an entrepreneur
The Student Entrepreneur Academy
The Student Entrepreneur Academy
Reach Dr Steve directly:
sgreene@makethegrade.net
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello, Hello, Hey everybody, there's Stephen Green here from Make
the Grade and it's back to school time. It's an
exciting time of year. It's a new start for everybody. Right.
Maybe you're going to a new school. Maybe you're going
from middle school to high school, or high school to college,
or elementary to middle school. It's exciting. Right, You're going
(00:25):
to see your friends. Maybe you're a little intimidating, you're
taking some tougher classes, but we're here to support you.
This is check this out. Make the Grade was founded
September one, nine to one, nineteen ninety five. That's the
first day Make the Grade did business thirty years ago.
(00:46):
This Sunday, This Monday, Sunday, Monday. Do you believe it?
Thirty years say half my life literally, but I still
love it. I love helping people. I love work with
students and their families. So let me let me tell
you what's going on. Okay, welcome everybody back to school. Exciting.
(01:10):
This is what we can provide to help you, okay.
Number one, Academic support. Academic support support for any area
of math, pre calculus, algebra, pre calculus, calculus, trigonometry, arithmetic,
(01:32):
you name it, anything in math. Any grade level. Okay,
just have to tell you the key for math right now.
Don't get behind. I work with students all year in math,
and the ones who are the most trouble, the ones
that put it off, put it off, put it off.
They got to try to learn. They have a math
cook in an hour. It's tough. Okay. Second thing, science
(01:59):
generally speaking, chemistry, biology and physics, kind of the high
school stuff, right, A little bit more math in CAM
and physics certainly than bio. Now, some of you may
or not know, I am a certified teacher, high school,
middle school teacher, secondary education comprehensive science certification. Like they
(02:20):
don't even issue that anymore. That's how old I am. Anyway.
These are all things I taught. I taught calculus, I
taught fans math, I taught algebra, I taught geometry, all
of it, bio, cam, AP, bio, physics. Spend a lot
of time in the classroom, kind of miss it sometimes.
Don't miss grading papers, don't miss faculty meetings, don't miss
(02:42):
a lot of politics. But I do miss the students.
And that's what work in one on one enables me
to do. So we got academics for any area of math,
some sciences, chemistry, biophysics, and then of course the all
important college admissions tests, the SAT, the ACT. Now that's
(03:03):
generally the window would be people in tenth or eleventh grade, sophomores, juniors,
or early seniors. These are important tests. Love them or
hate them. They haven't gone away. If they're gonna go away,
probably would have happened during COVID, but it didn't. Still here,
still important, still yardstick for admissibility into school. Now, let's
(03:27):
let's get one thing clear. Typically number one, and I
know a lot of college admissions people. Number one thing
to look at is your grades in combination with the
rigor of the courses you take. So what does that mean?
Somebody take an AP BIO would be considered more rigorous
than the general academic track bio. So getting an A
(03:48):
and AP bio is a stronger thing on your resume
and getting an A in general bio and probably should
be right. But everybody finds their place, everybody finds their track,
and it worked, So SATs, acts, math, the sciences, things
like that. Now some of you may not know ten
(04:09):
years ago already who it is flying by. I wrote
a couple of books called Maximum Education. You can get
it go on Amazon search Maximum Education by doctor Stephen
Green sold forty six thousand copies. Very proud of that.
It's a legacy piece for me. It's all about how
to study. Now they called executive function skills. Didn't call
(04:31):
it that back then. Back then they called it how
to study. You know, things they didn't really teach in school,
note taking, time management, information management, how to block out
and plan out a turn, payle, how to study for finals,
really important stuff. And as you get higher up the thing.
As you came to college, there's some college courses. Maybe
(04:52):
you got one class. You know, you got a class,
you've got two grades, a mid termament of final. They
become very high stakes. So here here's the thing. Let
me give you some back to school tips. Number one
is stay ahead. Stay ahead twenty nine plus years. The
students I work with have the most challenges are always
(05:14):
the ones that get behind, and they're trying to dig
out of that hole one hundred percent of the time.
And it doesn't mean the classes are easy, we're hard.
They just behind. Now there's reasons you can get behind.
Maybe you got a lot going on, you're in play
or in musical you're in sports, you got things going
on outside school, you got circumstances. I get it, especially
(05:36):
with math and sciences, you start getting behind alson you
got to learn a whole chapter in a night. Gets tough,
So be proactive, stay ahead. That's tip number one. Tip
number two is manage your time well. Sometimes and I
see this, my own kids spend so much time complaining.
I got so much homework things, spend twenty minutes complaining
(05:58):
about homework that takes them twenty minutes to do. Could
just be self disciplined, get it done. Little pro tip
even specifically for the set and act and any students
that are working me knows this number one. Be consistent.
Consistency wins with those tests. So just quick back to
(06:21):
school things that all kinds of little tips that color
code and your stuff, you know, being organized, different color pencils,
things like that. But really what it comes down to
is being organized, planning ahead, being proactive, understanding when you
might need help, to reach out. I am here to
help you. You want to come one hour, never see
(06:42):
you again, that's okay. You want to come three times
a week, anything in between. That's where here it is
a customized one on one boutique service. Now I'm gonna
be a little spoilert here. I'm getting closer to the end.
In the beginning thirty years, I never thought I'd tutor
for thirty years, never five to ten. And the reason
(07:03):
I started was because, Yeah, I became a parent, stayed
home right, thought I'd eventually go back to the classroom
or university. I just liked it, loved it, have passion
for it still do. Okay, lots changed. For example, I started,
(07:24):
they didn't have cell phones. Now I could teach on
the cell phone. Think about that. There wasn't even any internet,
there was no web, there was nothing, no Wi Fi.
Now I could run an entire tutoring center from a laptop,
and I do for the most part. I have very
few people come to the office anymore. Kind of miss it,
(07:46):
but it's so much more convenient. Last year I was
lucky I got to go to Australia for six weeks.
I didn't miss one minute of tutoring. I was getting
up three in the morning there to do it because
that's where coordinated with the times here. Didn't miss one minute.
Right through a really heavy SAT season, a lot of
tests tail into midterms. Zero interruption in what was going on.
(08:09):
So I want to conclude here by saying thank you
to all the families that worked with the last thirty years.
Thank you to the students who have carried over, who
were students in the spring when school ended, who are
now you know, stepping back in and met with you
earlier today. In fact, we're going to be here another year.
And thanks for everybody. It's just said nice things and
(08:31):
referred to people really appreciate it. So that's why I
little back to school get fired up message. If you
have any questions, please reach out, okay and we'll roll
from there. So again, Doctor Stephen Green, make the grade
SMATH Sciences sat Acts one on one boutique. Best we
(08:53):
can do for you. It should reach your goals. Thank
you very much. I hope we work together soon. See
you later.
Hello, Hello, Hey everybody, there's Stephen Green here from Make
the Grade and it's back to school time. It's an
exciting time of year. It's a new start for everybody. Right.
Maybe you're going to a new school. Maybe you're going
from middle school to high school, or high school to college,
or elementary to middle school. It's exciting. Right, You're going
(00:25):
to see your friends. Maybe you're a little intimidating, you're
taking some tougher classes, but we're here to support you.
This is check this out. Make the Grade was founded
September one, nine to one, nineteen ninety five. That's the
first day Make the Grade did business thirty years ago.
(00:46):
This Sunday, This Monday, Sunday, Monday. Do you believe it?
Thirty years say half my life literally, but I still
love it. I love helping people. I love work with
students and their families. So let me let me tell
you what's going on. Okay, welcome everybody back to school. Exciting.
(01:10):
This is what we can provide to help you, okay.
Number one, Academic support. Academic support support for any area
of math, pre calculus, algebra, pre calculus, calculus, trigonometry, arithmetic,
(01:32):
you name it, anything in math. Any grade level. Okay,
just have to tell you the key for math right now.
Don't get behind. I work with students all year in math,
and the ones who are the most trouble, the ones
that put it off, put it off, put it off.
They got to try to learn. They have a math
cook in an hour. It's tough. Okay. Second thing, science
(01:59):
generally speaking, chemistry, biology and physics, kind of the high
school stuff, right, A little bit more math in CAM
and physics certainly than bio. Now, some of you may
or not know, I am a certified teacher, high school,
middle school teacher, secondary education comprehensive science certification. Like they
(02:20):
don't even issue that anymore. That's how old I am. Anyway.
These are all things I taught. I taught calculus, I
taught fans math, I taught algebra, I taught geometry, all
of it, bio, cam, AP, bio, physics. Spend a lot
of time in the classroom, kind of miss it sometimes.
Don't miss grading papers, don't miss faculty meetings, don't miss
(02:42):
a lot of politics. But I do miss the students.
And that's what work in one on one enables me
to do. So we got academics for any area of math,
some sciences, chemistry, biophysics, and then of course the all
important college admissions tests, the SAT, the ACT. Now that's
(03:03):
generally the window would be people in tenth or eleventh grade, sophomores, juniors,
or early seniors. These are important tests. Love them or
hate them. They haven't gone away. If they're gonna go away,
probably would have happened during COVID, but it didn't. Still here,
still important, still yardstick for admissibility into school. Now, let's
(03:27):
let's get one thing clear. Typically number one, and I
know a lot of college admissions people. Number one thing
to look at is your grades in combination with the
rigor of the courses you take. So what does that mean?
Somebody take an AP BIO would be considered more rigorous
than the general academic track bio. So getting an A
(03:48):
and AP bio is a stronger thing on your resume
and getting an A in general bio and probably should
be right. But everybody finds their place, everybody finds their track,
and it worked, So SATs, acts, math, the sciences, things
like that. Now some of you may not know ten
(04:09):
years ago already who it is flying by. I wrote
a couple of books called Maximum Education. You can get
it go on Amazon search Maximum Education by doctor Stephen
Green sold forty six thousand copies. Very proud of that.
It's a legacy piece for me. It's all about how
to study. Now they called executive function skills. Didn't call
(04:31):
it that back then. Back then they called it how
to study. You know, things they didn't really teach in school,
note taking, time management, information management, how to block out
and plan out a turn, payle, how to study for finals,
really important stuff. And as you get higher up the thing.
As you came to college, there's some college courses. Maybe
(04:52):
you got one class. You know, you got a class,
you've got two grades, a mid termament of final. They
become very high stakes. So here here's the thing. Let
me give you some back to school tips. Number one
is stay ahead. Stay ahead twenty nine plus years. The
students I work with have the most challenges are always
(05:14):
the ones that get behind, and they're trying to dig
out of that hole one hundred percent of the time.
And it doesn't mean the classes are easy, we're hard.
They just behind. Now there's reasons you can get behind.
Maybe you got a lot going on, you're in play
or in musical you're in sports, you got things going
on outside school, you got circumstances. I get it, especially
(05:36):
with math and sciences, you start getting behind alson you
got to learn a whole chapter in a night. Gets tough,
So be proactive, stay ahead. That's tip number one. Tip
number two is manage your time well. Sometimes and I
see this, my own kids spend so much time complaining.
I got so much homework things, spend twenty minutes complaining
(05:58):
about homework that takes them twenty minutes to do. Could
just be self disciplined, get it done. Little pro tip
even specifically for the set and act and any students
that are working me knows this number one. Be consistent.
Consistency wins with those tests. So just quick back to
(06:21):
school things that all kinds of little tips that color
code and your stuff, you know, being organized, different color pencils,
things like that. But really what it comes down to
is being organized, planning ahead, being proactive, understanding when you
might need help, to reach out. I am here to
help you. You want to come one hour, never see
(06:42):
you again, that's okay. You want to come three times
a week, anything in between. That's where here it is
a customized one on one boutique service. Now I'm gonna
be a little spoilert here. I'm getting closer to the end.
In the beginning thirty years, I never thought I'd tutor
for thirty years, never five to ten. And the reason
(07:03):
I started was because, Yeah, I became a parent, stayed
home right, thought I'd eventually go back to the classroom
or university. I just liked it, loved it, have passion
for it still do. Okay, lots changed. For example, I started,
(07:24):
they didn't have cell phones. Now I could teach on
the cell phone. Think about that. There wasn't even any internet,
there was no web, there was nothing, no Wi Fi.
Now I could run an entire tutoring center from a laptop,
and I do for the most part. I have very
few people come to the office anymore. Kind of miss it,
(07:46):
but it's so much more convenient. Last year I was
lucky I got to go to Australia for six weeks.
I didn't miss one minute of tutoring. I was getting
up three in the morning there to do it because
that's where coordinated with the times here. Didn't miss one minute.
Right through a really heavy SAT season, a lot of
tests tail into midterms. Zero interruption in what was going on.
(08:09):
So I want to conclude here by saying thank you
to all the families that worked with the last thirty years.
Thank you to the students who have carried over, who
were students in the spring when school ended, who are
now you know, stepping back in and met with you
earlier today. In fact, we're going to be here another year.
And thanks for everybody. It's just said nice things and
(08:31):
referred to people really appreciate it. So that's why I
little back to school get fired up message. If you
have any questions, please reach out, okay and we'll roll
from there. So again, Doctor Stephen Green, make the grade
SMATH Sciences sat Acts one on one boutique. Best we
(08:53):
can do for you. It should reach your goals. Thank
you very much. I hope we work together soon. See
you later.
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