Meet Matthew Smith
When I was in middle school and high school, my schedule rarely ended when the final bell rang.
I was balancing academics with Tae Kwon Do, Volleyball, Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling. Eventually, I reached a point where I had to make a difficult decision: I couldn’t do everything. I had to choose between Tae Kwon Do and Volleyball and later, wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu.
That lesson stayed with me.
Success rarely comes merely from working harder. Success comes from when we learn about our core motivations, our mindsets and attitudes toward learning and performing, how to prioritize, manage small windows of time, how to stay organized, and make wise decisions when every opportunity seems important.
Years later, I found myself facing that same challenge again.
While interning full-time with the University of California, Santa Barbara’s International Students Center, I also worked part-time and attended graduate school, and graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
A few years later, while teaching full-time at Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, I also served as a Boys’ Dorm Head, managed student life outside the classroom, and commuted to Miami to complete my second master’s degree, again earning a 4.0 GPA and being inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society.
Those experiences shaped how I coach students today. Because balancing school with athletics, music, sailing, equestrian sports, dance, theater, robotics, or other demanding activities isn’t simply a scheduling problem. It’s a life skill.
Over the past 20+ years, I’ve taught students in the United States, Czech Republic, China, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Kosovo, and the Philippines. Along the way, I’ve earned two master’s degrees in education, became a credentialed K–12 teacher, a Certified Academic Life Coach, and a Certified Cognitive Skills Development Trainer.
But perhaps the experience that has taught me the most has been raising my own daughter.
Like many parents, I watched her struggle academically at times. As both a father and educator, I made the difficult decision to have her repeat fourth grade so she could build a stronger mathematical foundation. It wasn’t an easy choice, but it proved to be the right one. Through consistent habits, perseverance, and growing confidence, she became a straight-A student, joined the National Honor Society, and was accepted into her first-choice college.
That journey reinforced something I’ve believed throughout my career:
Students don’t need someone to simply help them finish tonight’s homework.
They need someone to teach them how to learn, how to think, and how to manage the increasing demands of school and life.
That’s why I founded Ascend Education.
As an Academic Performance Coach, my goal isn’t simply to improve grades. I help students develop the executive functioning, study strategies, organization, time management, learning habits, and confidence that allow them to excel—not only in the classroom, but also in athletics, music, leadership, and whatever passions they choose to pursue.
Because when students learn how to manage themselves, they become confident, independent learners for life.
Credentials
- Head Volleyball Coach (for Quality Schools International, Shenzhen, China)
- Certified Academic Performance Coach (ICF-approved Coach Training EDU)
- Certified Cognitive Skills Development Trainer (LearningRx)
- Credentialed K–12 Teacher (State of California)
- Registered Teacher (Hong Kong)
- M.S. in Higher Education Administration (4.0 GPA)
- M.A. in Education: Teaching (4.0 GPA)
- 20+ years teaching in the U.S., Czech Republic, China, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Kosovo, and the Philippines
- Member, Association for the Coaching & Tutoring Profession
- Member, Golden Key International Honour Society
- Member, Pi Lambda Theta International Honor Society in Education