Victoria
Tutoring

James Elliott

Centre Director

Hi! I'm James, the Centre Director at Oxford Learning Victoria. I am a Lakehead University alumnus with Bachelor's Degrees in both Business Administration and Education.

When I joined Oxford Learning in 2013, I discovered my passion for teaching and immediately fell in love with the Oxford Learning program. Since then, I've become the owner of three locations across British Columbia and Saskatchewan and continue to work with students of all ages to improve their academic skills.

It is our job as educators to help students discover that learning can be enjoyable! Without the element of fun, a student will cease to connect with the materials and become disengaged. If a student enjoys developing new skills, they will be motivated to take responsibility for their own learning experiences in all areas of life. Working in tandem with the Oxford Learning Interactive Coaching philosophy, my goal is to run centres that leave students feeling excited for their next lesson with us.

Hanna Buchanan

Education Director; Teacher K-12 French and English; K-9 Math

Hanna has a Bachelor of Arts in Honours English and Creative Writing from Concordia University in Montreal. She was a French Immersion student for thirteen years and put her French knowledge to use in real-life contexts during her time in Montreal. Coming to Oxford Learning, Hanna had four years of experience as a private tutor for French, English and math, and two years of experience as a Teacher's assistant in high school math and French Immersion science. 

Hanna is passionate about learning in all its forms and loves helping students build self-esteem over the course of their programs with Oxford Learning. It is our job as educators to build an environment that fosters the growth of self-esteem. In order for a student to achieve their full potential, they need to believe in their own ability to learn, think, make connections, and problem-solve. Once a student has that, he or she is equipped for any situation life throws at them, in school or out. 

In addition to being the Education Director at Oxford Learning Victoria, Hanna teaches English, French, and math.

Amy Brassington

Education Director; Teacher K-12 English

Amy has been working within the public and private education sector for over 11 years. After graduating with her teaching degree, Amy was catapulted into a full-time lecturing position within a further education college in the UK. Within a year, Amy was managing and teaching across 7 Performing Arts programs. As an avid and passionate lifelong learner, Amy then completed her Master's in Education before uprooting to South Korea as an English teacher for Busan International High School. Amy's last position was Academic Director for Education First, and now she is very excited to be a part of the Oxford Learning Family. 

As a teacher, Amy brings creativity and fun into a classroom, facilitating an enjoyable learning experience for all students. Amy's main goals are to support students in finding their own passions for learning, growing in confidence, and becoming well-rounded, independent, and creative students of life. 

Max Gordon

Teacher K-12 English, K-8 Math, K-6 French

Max has a Bachelor's of Arts in Literature from the University of British Columbia and a Certificate in Business Administration from the University of Victoria. Max has lived in four Canadian cities and has spent 20 years working in youth recreation and education. His experience coaching sports to youth aged 18 months to 12 years, managing summer camps, facilitating professional development workshops for professionals and teaching literacy to elementary, middle and high school students makes him a great fit for working with students of all ages here at Oxford Learning.

Max excels at making a strong and authentic human connection with students and using the Socratic method to guide students towards taking charge of their own learning. Max believes that every child is born curious and that it is the teacher's job to create meaning and make content relatable to students. If they don't, a student's curiosity won't be challenged and they won't become invested in the materials.

Max has been with Oxford Learning for three years and has occupied both Teacher and Education Director roles. Currently he teaches English, French, and Math.

Yousra Foufa

Teacher K-12 French and English; K-8 Math

Yousra has a Bachelor's of Social Sciences in International Development and Globalization with a Minor in Law from the University of Ottawa. As a university student, Yousra worked as a student mentor and a bilingual tutor in the French Buddies Program where she developed a passion for teaching languages in particular.

Yousra is a dynamic and caring teacher who excels at maintaining a fun and positive learning environment. Her goal is to help students identify their own strengths and how to use them to their fullest capacity. She wants her students to leave her class with a smile, increased self-esteem, and, of course, a better understanding of French, English, and math concepts.

Sebastian Kaltwasser

Teacher K-12 Math, Physics, Chemistry, and General Sciences

Sebastian received his Doctorate of Natural Sciences at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. In 2014, after working as a scientist in the field of basic psychiatric research at Munich's Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Sebastian moved to Canada to work as a Math and Sciences teacher for the Vancouver Schoolboard at the former Downtown East Educatoin Centre. In this position, he discovered his passion for teaching and moved on to a four year stint teaching part of the "Women in Trades' program at the Open Door Group.

After six years of teaching experience, Sebastian is convinced that students can choose to take responsibility for their learning at any point, a philosophy that fits well with our Oxford Learning beliefs. Sebastian believes in using goal setting strategies and positive feedback to inspire his students to work hard and find their own source of motivation, and he excels at establishing deep connections with students who have had negative school experiences.

Josh Gronotte

Teacher K-12 English, K-8 Math

 Josh has a Bachelor’s degree in Education with specializations in elementary education and music. Josh has worked with youth from the ages of 2 to 18 for almost a decade. Josh has filled a variety of roles including coach, summer camp leader, instructor and teacher. Josh has worked with youth throughout the Greater Victoria and Westshore community.

         Josh believes in creating a space where students can feel safe and take risks. Josh believes the key to this is making strong and genuine connections with students. Building relationships is essential to his pedagogical beliefs. Josh also believes that it is vital, as educators, we move students towards independence, and give them agency in their learning. Josh believes it's a teachers role to be a facilitor to students learning, not the 'sage on the stage'. Josh strives to get students engage with their own learning and to become intrinsically motivated.

Kayci Lesosky

Teacher K-12 French, K-8 Math and English

Kayci has just completed her Bachelor of Science in Geography at UVIC. She is now working towards getting into the Post-Degree Education program at UVIC, with hopes of becoming a French Immersion High School teacher. Kayci has spent time working with youth at summer camps where she has learned to maintain a balance between learning and having fun!

Kayci strives to create a learning environment that is both encouraging and enjoyable. She works to build connections with students, heighten their self-esteem and to help them thrive throughout their personal learning processes.