About Chevy Chase Prep
Chevy Chase Prep offers exceptional academic guidance to navigate competitive secondary and post-secondary admissions processes, ultimately improving outcomes for both students and their families. Our lead coaches hold advanced degrees in their respective fields and possess decades of experience in teaching and mentoring students in grades 6 through 12, as well as at top-tier colleges and universities. We stay up-to-date on Common Core, AP, IB, and accelerated STEM curricula. Additionally, in researching and recommending academic placements, we draw on extensive expertise in high school, college, and university admissions.
Our services include customized coaching for standardized tests–the HSPT, SSAT/ISEE, PSAT/NMSQT, SAT/ACT, TOEFL, Praxis Core, and GRE. Also, we coach STEM subjects through the dual enrollment level, and advise on college and university admissions–especially on drafting and polishing college, university, and graduate school essays. We partner with families in Washington, DC and Bethesda, Maryland and are available to meet worldwide by Zoom. Our business leverages best practices to achieve optimal outcomes, innovates to deliver in-demand and cutting-edge services, and minimizes the overhead expenses that pass to clients.
The Chevy Chase Prep Team
Maggie Ronkin
Maggie Ronkin studied cultural anthropology, South Asian studies, and, ultimately, discourse analytic linguistics at Georgetown University. She completed intensive language immersion, taught rhetoric and composition, co-organized the University’s Round Table on Languages and Linguistics, and assisted the Dean of Languages and Linguistics in administering TEFL teacher certification and world language programs on campus and abroad. Maggie taught in South Asia, at Oberlin College, and in interdisciplinary, multi-site classroom initiatives that she launched at Georgetown and Harvard Universities. Since 2008, she has coached and consulted in Chevy Chase, focusing on academic discourse, standardized tests, and a diverse array of educational planning services. Maggie was a Georgetown University Fellow and a Fulbright Scholar.
Robert Bornick
Robert Bornick studied chemistry at Harvard University and chemistry and science education at the University of California-Berkeley. He then conducted environmental research and taught chemistry, environmental science, and K-12 science teacher professional development at Northwestern University and Pomona College, and in California’s public university system. Robert authored California’s criteria for evaluating K-8 science instruction resources and K-12 chemistry curriculum framework. Also, he co-authored two college chemistry textbooks. For 15 years, he has coached SAT mathematics and STEM subjects, including all fields of chemistry, environmental science, physics, and high school mathematics through AP Calculus. Robert was a National Merit Scholar and a Harvard National Scholar.
Ryan Benjamin
Ryan Benjamin is a seasoned teacher and preK-12 school administrator. He majored in Urban Studies and Spanish at the University of Pennsylvania, where he compiled student success stories and was named a DC Teaching Fellow. 20 years as a mathematics teacher, coach, department head, resource coordinator, and consultant to Khan Academy testify to his passion for empowering students through STEM education. Early on, Ryan co-revived and co-coached Anacostia High School's It's Academic team, scrimmaging Anacostia students against those at Georgetown Day School. Over the past three years, he has steered our motivated SAT math superscorers to National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist and Presidential Scholar Nominee status, as well as to admissions to their top-choice high schools, colleges, and universities.
Lindsey Foote
Lindsey Foote is a PhD candidate in chemistry at Georgetown University, where her studies focus on applications of organic, materials, and analytical chemistry in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. While at Georgetown, she has TAd general chemistry and trained students in lab methods. Earlier, she earned high school science teaching certification in Texas, where she taught on-level and honors chemistry and mentored future public secondary school STEM teachers and leaders with teachHOUSTON. Lindsey coached STEM subjects for ten years before moving to Washington, DC to pursue graduate studies.
Brendan Smith (Past Intern)
Brendan Smith was a biology major at the University of Rochester and our junior specialist in STEM during Covid. He attended Lafayette, Deal, and Wilson, where he developed interests in STEM subjects. At Deal, Brendan tutored science, assisted with labs, and coached the Science Olympiad team. At Wilson, he excelled in mathematics and science, earned summer research awards at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Carnegie Academy for Science Education, captained the squash team, and completed Outward Bound leadership training. Brendan shared his knowledge of STEM subjects with the next generation of DC students.
Simon Gigli (Past Intern)
Simon Gigli interned as our first Eureka/EngageNY mathematics tutor. He was a mathematics major at Wesleyan University with interests in modular arithmetic and algebra. At Lafayette, Deal, Walls, and Wilson, he participated in scores of cross-country events and the annual Harvard Model Congress U.S. congressional simulation conference. Earlier, Simon worked for the Lafayette Tennis Association in after school tennis camps and as a private instructor of children, teens, and adults. Through these community-based activities, he discovered keen insights and interests in human development and lifelong learning.
Coming soon: Canadian, UCAS (British), and EU admissions advising for U.S. students