Who We Are

Strong scholars, high scores, and great schools: academic achievement is our passion. At Academic Achievers, our mission is to give students the tools to thrive in school, to conquer exams and to love learning every day of their lives.

Academic Achievers Services provides the best tutors for one-on-one, in-home or online private tutoring for pre-K through college, including award-winning ISEE, SAT and ACT test preps. "Best Test Prep in LA" according to CBS local.

The Academic Achievers Academy is a unique K-6 one-to-one private school and Reading Tutor in Santa Monica providing personalized education, customized curriculum, and flexible schedules.

Academic Achievers Homeschool will prepare or augment your child's current curriculum. Our homeschool teachers will teach one-to-one and small groups in your home or online.

Founded by a former teacher with three high-achieving children, our company knows that the secret to successful results is the quality of the teaching. Unlike many other companies, Academic Achievers’ tutors are not beginners but experienced professionals with a track record of improved student scores. Your child will work with a teacher who has extraordinary communication skills, an advanced educational degree, and a profound love of teaching.

We are devoted to engaging all of our students with our team members. Our private tutors and educational managers will create a customized tutoring program for your child, track your child’s progress, motivate your child to break through barriers, as well as maintain strong communication with you every step of the way. We cherish the size of our small company; it allows us to get to know all of our families personally.

Join the Academic Achievers family. Whether your child needs KinderPrep, elementary, middle school, high school tutoring, SAT, ACT, ISEE prep, or homeschool, we're here to help. Academic Achievers has proudly taken its place as one of the top educational services agencies in Los Angeles. We welcome the opportunity to guide your child toward great accomplishments in the classroom, on standardized tests, and in life.

Meet Our Staff

Janis W. Adams

Founder/CEO

Pennsylvania State University, MA, BA
University of California at Los Angeles
California Multi-Subject Teaching Credential

Janis has been the CEO and Founder of Academic Achievers since 2010. She is passionate about education and has taught private as well as public high school in both Pennsylvania and California. As an educator, Janis has designed curriculum which included cooperative learning and teacher collaboration, and has team-taught several innovative cross-disciplinary courses. Janis designed and implemented the first paperless classroom in California. She believes we are life-long learners and learning is an intrinsic part of every child’s life.

She has raised two sons and a daughter who have attended Harvard-Westlake, Loyola High School, UCLA, Harvard University, UC Berkeley, Harvard Kennedy School, USD School of Law and USC Marshall School of Business. 

Janis has written articles and been interviewed for LA Mom magazine, Beyond the Brochure and MomFair. Janis has presented “Pre-School to Harvard: How to Guide your Child Happily to Academic Success” to several parent associations and entrepreneurial organizations.

In 2011 she originated KinderPrep® and KinderPrep Camp® as a play-based academically oriented transition to school for the young learner.

In 2017 Janis founded Academic Achievers Academy, a unique one-on-one K-6 school with interest-based customized academics, flexible scheduling and differentiated instruction.

Janis has twice received the Women in Business Gold Stevie Award in national recognition of “Entrepreneur of the Year - Small Business”. She has been nominated by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a "Woman Making a Difference" for five straight years. She was LABJ runner-up for "Rising Star". Janis has been recognized by the SBDC and the County of Los Angeles for her dedication to educational services.

Aseya Jooma

Director of Administration

CSUN, BA, Child and Adolescent Development

As Director of Academic Achievers' Administration, Aseya co-ordinates all tutor and client relations, scheduling and homeschool operations. An invaluable member of the team, Aseya previously counseled and mentored students at California State University at Northridge teaching time management and executive functioning skills. Aseya co-founded the non-profit Ramaden READy and creates programs to provide materials and cultural awareness to libraries throughout the US. Aseya enjoys working in the education field, especially helping children develop a love of learning. She lives with her husband and three children in Santa Monica.

Grace Ly

Administrative Assistant

Baylor University, BS, Business Administration

Grace comes to Academic Achievers from Houston, Texas, where she worked in Finance as a Loan Technician, Loan Administator, Loan Processor and Billings Administrator. For over 5 years Grace has managed the day-to-day aspects of Academic Achievers' business including customer service, test-prep, and billing. She is the mother of two teenage girls and lives with her daughters and husband in Artesia.

Tina Van Berckelaer

Executive Assistant

Stanford University, BA

Tina has been with Academic Achievers from its inception. After graduating from Stanford University with Honors, she worked for the New York Times in their west coast office. She subsequently came to work for Academic Achievers, first as a teacher and then as a bookkeeper. Tina has managed Academic Achievers business affairs for the past 11 years.