Atherton is hosting free SAT prep courses after school!
To prepare juniors for the SAT (March 11th), ESS days for the SAT will be taught by certified teachers in the 8 weeks leading up to the SAT. The Math SAT days will be every Monday from 1/5/26-3/2/26 in room 208. The English SAT days will be every Wednesday from 1/7/26-3/4/26 in room 218.
Laura Allen, Atherton’s Academic Instruction Coach and Building Assessment Coordinator, organized the SAT workshops after seeing it could be a need for students. Allen describes how the SAT workshops will work.
“The teachers will be working with students and they will be sharing general test taking strategies. Then each week they will focus on a different skill that makes up a major portion of that section on the SAT, and they’ll work and teach them a strategy for that section.,” said Allen.
John Shiner, Atherton’s Pre-IB Geometry’s and IB Analysis HL’s teacher, one of the current ESS teachers, is leading the math SAT days. Shiner further explains what math will be taught.
“I’m also going to have geometry available each week, and I’ll also have students from the new Alpha Theta organization that are going to be assisting with general math help. We’re going to try to focus on one major standard each week. It might include stats and probability, geometry, algebra and functions,” Shiner said.
Shiner notes the importance of the SAT Prep days.
“Students get very anxious about a math test especially when it’s timed, so I think it’s important to help our students become more comfortable about the subjects and also the testing strategies and “tricks”. We want to increase our students’ confidence, have them feel better going, and feel less stress while they’re taking the test,” said Shiner.
Shiner encourages students to come check it out.
“If you’re not really sure about it, grab a buddy and come because my students are really nice and patient students who’ve taken it already and have really nice testing strategies. You can try it once, you don’t have to come all 8 weeks,” Shiner said.
Douglas Gibson (Atherton’s Freshman and IB Junior English teacher) will be leading the English SAT days. Gibson expands on the class’ organization and courses.
“We’re going to set it up kind of like a mini classroom. There’s gonna be a bell ringer and then a mini-lesson teaching a skill. Then students will practice in groups the skill that we just went over. Central ideas and details, rhetorical synthesis, words in context are examples,” Gibson said.
Gibson motivates those interested to attend.
“Come by we’ll figure it out, and have fun. We’ll learn something,” Gibson said.
Allen highlights the great opportunity to learn and grow in the workshops.
“Any amount of practice and exposure to the test style beforehand is going to increase your score and giving students an opportunity to have that practice with the teachers here in the building is huge. A lot of places charge a lot of money and this is a free opportunity for our students, since our SAT scores increase our KEES money, chances for scholarship money, chances at being accepted into colleges and universities,” Allen said.
Allen comforts students who are stressed about the SAT.
“To students that are nervous, take a deep breath, know you’ve been well-prepared, rely on the strategies you have learned in class, and do your best,” Allen said.
