Beam Learning provides academic tutoring and social-emotional support services that meet students ages 5 and up where they are and help them find their best path forward. Mission Statement
Beam Learning provides academic tutoring and social-emotional support services that meet all students where they are and help them find their best path forward. We specialize in working with adolescents (ages 1
0-19), as we find this age group to be some of the most dynamic learners who also face the most challenges at a critical period in their development. All learning involves some elements of therapy and self-exploration.
…the student-teacher relationship is sacred. Teachers not only instruct students in various content, but are also constantly modeling ethical and socially-appropriate behavior. Teachers create a dynamic that students will expect from future role models in their lives, as well as setting an example for who the student might want to become when they grow up/begin to practice their own craft.
…the best kind of learning is a journey, an exploration, and a process of growth. It must incorporate joy, ignite curiosity, and be individually relevant to students. Beam Learning was founded in 2021 by Felicia Kazin, an experienced and passionate educator and forever-student. Felicia earned a BA in English Literature from Roger Williams University. Felicia’s emerging interest in sociology, gender studies, and comparative pop culture were evident in her final undergraduate thesis, which focused on how society’s both evolving and stagnating views on the role of women are reflected in novels and films. After college, Felicia taught English in Hokkaido, Japan from 2003-05, where her students ranged in age from 18 months to 65 years. During this early teaching experience as a language instructor, Felicia first began to develop her own brand of purposeful, research-based, interactive education. After returning to the States, Felicia completed a dual master’s program in International Relations & Diplomacy and Asian Studies at Seton Hall University. Her coursework and research continued to focus on sociological themes, particularly relating to gender - in 2009, she conducted research in Japan exploring advancing attitudes about women’s role in the workplace. In summer 2011, she served as a Summer Fellow for the Nanubhai Education Foundation in Gujarat, India, teaching spoken English to middle and high school students while conducting research on the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency. After completing her MA in 2012, Felicia taught Japanese language and culture as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall while transitioning into K-12 private education. From 2014-2021, she taught social studies and ELA at private middle and high schools in the NY/NJ metro area, including Golda Och Academy and Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County. In her most recent position, she taught high school US history at Ethical Culture Fieldston School in the Bronx before deciding to dedicate herself full-time to Beam Learning. Over the last five years, Felicia’s areas of particular interest have focused on gender, ethnic, and sexuality studies; local NJ/NYC history; historical pop culture; social change throughout human history; media literacy; comparative government and economics; and US history.
