What I do
Others change the contents of students’ minds. I aim to change their architecture.
To my students, this means tackling fun problems and challenging puzzles that they’d never see in a classroom. To their parents, it’s about authentic engagement, permanent advancement, and self-management under pressure.
How it matters
Gifted students often flip from learning to coasting, and no one notices.
And yet, these are the kids with the most power to change the world.
So I challenge bright kids in order to turn complacency into determination, disinterest into engagement, and frustration into delight.
Get to know me
I’m a real person. If I don’t pick up right when you call, I’ll get back to you fast.
Find other informative and useful links through my linktree.
Teacher
Helping bright students excel at math and general problem-solving has been my vocation since 2002.
Leader
I’ve twice served as president of the Bay Area Tutoring Summit.
Competitor
In 2009, 2015, 2017, and again in 2023, my team won the MIT Mystery Hunt, the most challenging amateur puzzle competition in the world. (Ask me about intellectual success under pressure.)
Coach
From 2008 to 2013 I was Head Coach of the (SF CA) Urban School Math Competition Team. I now coach students throughout the country.
Musician
As a former professional musician, I believe in synergy between art and craft, and in the value of balancing intellect with emotion.
Yet more info
Visit my Linktree for more.
Wes Carroll’s Blog & Puzzler Podcast
Below you'll find my most recent posts and episodes. Click the posts to access my blog and podcast.
Testimonials
Focused families like yours get the most out of our work together.
I wanted to let you know that I got a 5 on my AP Environmental Science test.
Thank you so much for all of your hard work with me. You taught me a lot, and I will use the knowledge throughout my life.
I appreciate all the help you guys have provided and can't thank you enough!
I cannot say enough great things about Wes Carroll. ... Thanks to Wes' wonderful teaching skills, my son did exceedingly well on his tests and is an incoming freshman this fall at his first college choice.
That was probably the most efficient tutoring session I’ve ever witnessed.
His one session with my daughter solved the problem! She is documenting her work more thoroughly and is doing better on tests - partly because she makes fewer mistakes, and partly because when she does make a mistake she gets more partial credit due to having shown her work. She got an A in honors math last semester!
Thank [Chris] for your support. It was instrumental and he would not have gotten a B or learned deeply without you. You were stellar.
Thank you so much for all of your support over the past years.
You have helped me arrive at a place where I feel both confident in my mathematical abilities and excited to continue learning. Thank you!!
A high-energy, no-nonsense force.
I'd call that the most efficient intervention I have seen!
Went from a failing grade in calculus first semester to an A second semester. Very helpful! Thank you!
Wes has the ironclad content knowledge vital to being a professional tutor/teacher/instructor, but he also has the (rarer) ability to understand how you understand something. Sit with that for a second…make sure that makes sense, because it’s absolutely essential to high-value tutoring. Wes knows if you understand something or if you don’t. If you don’t, he will (instantaneously) devise another way of explaining it to you, via metaphor, via comparison, via personal experience…whatever method that will resonate with you. Guess what happens next? Yep: you understand it.
I’ve been a teacher for over thirty years and Wes does some things–many things–better than any other tutor I’ve witnessed. He doesn’t just explain, he really teaches, helping students to learn how to solve problems as puzzle rather as rote exercises. He’s patient and respectful but also appropriately demanding.
Wes has the ironclad content knowledge vital to being a professional tutor/teacher/instructor, but he also has the (rarer) ability to understand how you understand something. Sit with that for a second…make sure that makes sense, because it’s absolutely essential to high-value tutoring. Wes knows if you understand something or if you don’t. If you don’t, he will (instantaneously) devise another way of explaining it to you, via metaphor, via comparison, via personal experience…whatever method that will resonate with you. Guess what happens next? Yep: you understand it.
Wes works with your child’s direct needs— zero’s in on what the issues are, and corrects and helps them to succeed. As a parent, you sit in on the first session and pretty soon your kid and Wes are off into a math world all their own.
Wes helped my granddaughter Bella in Ohio by using [Zoom] with her over a mere 18 days to prep for the ACT. Bella increased her score from a 32 to a 34 which made the difference in how much college scholarship money she was offered. Wes knows all the techniques and is so encouraging; Bella loved working with him.
Wes’s impressive and efficient approach includes quickly and clearly assessing individual needs and building rapport during intake, filling gaps in skills and underlying understanding, teaching strategies tailored to student needs, and building the confidence necessary for success in students with test anxiety. The resulting scores are testament to his effective teaching.
Please introduce yourself.
Schedule an initial consultation with Wes down below, at no charge.
Learn more about...
Wes Carroll
Math, Physics & AMC Tutor
(415) 937-1729
[email protected]
Available worldwide via videoconference
Math Competition Coaching
Experience the joys of elegant solutions and personal expertise even before you learn to drive.
(Math competitions also provide students with unique avenues for entrance into some of the best schools in the country.)
Online Video Courses
Academic Assistance
