My Story...

My Advantage Learning is owned and operated by Rian Polak. Rian grew up in Chicago, IL and attened college at Illinois State University, where she majored in Marketing. While in school, she supported herself financially by taking on various jobs, all of which involved teaching and mentoring children; child development is something Rian has always been very passionate about. These experiences include: being a gymnastics coach, a day-care provider, a coordinator for state-funded child resources training, and even a nanny.

After graduation, Rian quickly realized that the Marketing industry wasn't for her, and she decided to pursue her true calling: education. She enrolled in the Early Childhood Education program at Governor's State University in Chicago. While obtaining her Education degree from GSU, Rian worked at a day care and at also at an experimental, child-development research labratory on the GSU campus.

Upon graduating (the second time!), Rian moved to Los Angeles and began teaching first grade at CHIME Institute's Arnold Schwarzenegger Elementary School. CHIME started as a model demonstration project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The goal of the CHIME Project was to develop an effective model for providing special educational services at an existing child development program. The CHIME Institute is a national leader in the development and delivery of quality inclusive education.

In the summer of 2008, Rian moved to Fort Collins, CO and founded My Advantage Learning. Her experiences with model, cutting-edge education systems and individualized lesson planning are a perfect fit for tutoring. Rian specializes in helping children of all abilities reach their potential; not only children who are behind, but also those who are ahead and need more challenge than their peers.

To learn more details about the services offered by My Advantage Learning, please refer to the Services section of this website.