Steve Saso

Hi, I’m Steve Saso founder of Saso High School Prep and I have over thirty-six years experience teaching high school. I have had every student imaginable in my classrooms. My sincere conviction is every student is able to experience academic success—if they are taught how with proper instruction and guidance. Everyone is capable of learning.

For the past eighteen years I have tutored middle school students to successfully prepare for high school math and English and for the High School Placement Test.^® 

When a student tells me they can’t do math I take it as a personal challenge to build their self-confidence by proving them wrong.  It is a great joy to me when I work with kids who have been labeled as poor students, and they experience success. As confidence increases so does motivation. I love doing this work!

After graduating from Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose, CA and Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA I began my teaching career at Jesuit High in Sacramento followed by Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. Moving to San Luis Obispo I helped re-open Mission College Prep and was Assistant Principal. Later, I returned to my alma mater and taught at Bellarmine for more than two decades.  

In addition to teaching, my wife Patt and I are authors of two books and national speakers on parenting issues. To learn more about our work with parents visit www.sasoseminars.com. We have been married for twenty-five years and have three college age children. I am an avid Oakland A’s fan, love to work in my garden, and have recently taken up recreational running, participating in the San Jose Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon in October.

TOP

Molly Golden McDonough
I am a Bay Area native having been raised in Los Altos. I attended Pinewood High School in Los Altos Hills and enjoyed a wonderful high school experience. I graduated from Santa Clara University and went on to the School of Education at Stanford University, earning my Master’s degree in Education with a focus in Language Arts Instruction. 

Since graduating from Stanford, I have taught English in Palo Alto School District’s middle schools. I have had the opportunity to participate in numerous professional development programs primarily in Reading and Writing instruction including a summer at Harvard University’s Project Zero program.

In 2006, I joined Saso High School Prep as an HSPT instructor. Soon afterwards I designed the High School Application Essay writing workshop and summer writing classes.

In my spare time, I enjoy running, being outdoors, and especially, spending time with my husband and extended family—including our dog and two cats. I enjoy teaching writing to middle school students. This age group, in particular, has a fascinating worldview and I learn almost as much from my students as they do from me.

TOP

Emma Dunbar
As a Bay Area native, I graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School, in San Francisco, in one of its first coed classes. From there, I went on to the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, graduating with a European Master's of Arts in English Language and Literature.

After two years working in public and high school libraries, I enrolled at Stanford University to pursue my desire to teach. At Stanford, I earned a Master's in Education along with a secondary teaching credential in English Language Arts. That is where Molly Golden McDonough and I met and became friends. In 2007, I joined Saso High School Prep.

My teaching experience includes Language Arts, Reading, History, Math and Science for junior high school students in public and private school. I also helped St. James' Episcopal Church establish an after school tutoring program in a public San Francisco junior high as part of their community outreach. In addition, I have tutored junior high and high school students in English and Study Skills for the past four years, assisting with high school and college searches and applications as well as ordinary studies. I live in San Francisco's North Beach with my husband and three young children.

TOP