Study Skills and Academic Coaching

SMITH RIVAS is the first and only education company in the United States dedicated exclusively to Study Skills & Academic Coaching.

We don’t do tutoring and we don’t do test prep. We take research about how people learn and translate it into practical study skills that students can use to succeed in school, work, and life.

Students from 136 schools in the Washington DC area have used our study skills system, with many more nationwide. We know about ADHD, anxiety, artists, athletes, depression, executive functioning, high achievers, homeschool, STEM, and video games.

SMITH RIVAS students are the most accomplished kids in the country, the biggest slackers, and everybody in between.

Click here to schedule your free consultation!

  • Paul Rivas
    Paul Rivas Study Skills Specialist

    Paul Rivas is the author of This Book Will Not Be on the Test, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2019.

    Prior to discovering study skills, he studied literature in Mexico City, backpacked from Spain to Syria, performed stand-up comedy in Spanish in Buenos Aires, and traveled from Argentina to the United States by bus.

    Paul has a BA in Mathematics, Sociology, and Spanish from UC Santa Barbara, and an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from The New School.

    He lives by the beach with his trilingual wife and Barry the Study Dog.

  • Laura Rivas
    Laura Rivas Study Skills Specialist

    Laura Rivas is proof that the benefits of good study skills & time management extend beyond the classroom.

    Her organizational and study skills contributed to her success in high school, college, and graduate school, and allowed time for extensive volunteering, a part-time job, study abroad in Querétaro, Mexico, and lots of travel.

    Laura has a Master of Public Policy & Master of Social Welfare from UCLA and a BA in Chicano/a Studies, Global Studies, Sociology, and Women’s Studies from UCSB.

    She lives her professional life in LA around calendars and to-do lists.