Our Story
We started Principia…
…with our daughter in mind. She hadn’t been born yet, but we’d already heard the stories from friends in the DC area — how hard it was to find academic support that was not only effective, but personal. There were plenty of options out there, but few that offered everything a parent would truly want: consistency, quality, and care.
So we built the kind of company we’d want for our own family — a place where long-term relationships matter, intellectual curiosity is nurtured, and students are guided with both warmth and strategy. At every stage, when faced with big decisions, we asked ourselves one simple question: Is this what we would want for our daughter?
Years later, with hundreds of students supported and a team of nearly 40 exceptional educators, the answer is still yes.
Our instructors and consultants are chosen first for their empathy, energy, and communication. They don’t just teach — they mentor. And they don’t just understand the curriculum — they take the time to understand the student behind it: their goals, their story, their spark. Whether we’re working with a seventh grader just beginning their journey or a senior finalizing essays, we bring a hyperlocal approach to each student, learning not only their schedule and school but also their family, community, and values.
Today, Principia works with students across the country and abroad, but our founding mindset remains the same: this work is personal. We’re proud to be a team, a community, and a part of your family.
With love (and plenty of erasable pens),
Oliver & Elaina
Our Community Impact
We believe in the power of community.
At Principia, we are invested in giving back, partnering with local and national organizations that reflect our company values. Over the past five years, we’ve worked to support unhoused families through Homestretch, restored native species at Daniel’s Run Elementary through environmental nonprofit Lands and Waters, put together meal packs for subsidized student lunches at Food for Others, wrote letters to senior citizens for Love for Our Elders, and stuffed holiday stockings for soldiers through Soldier’s Angels. Every quarter, we look forward to stepping away from our desks to play a small part in addressing the issues that mean the most to us as a company.
Beyond our causes, we also donate to our community in other ways, supporting the McLean Community Center for McLean Day, the Rotary Club for Viva Vienna, and the Fairfax County Police Association for their youth programs. We also contribute to our local schools, including the Langley Band Association, Kent Gardens Elementary, and McLean High School’s Highlander Magazine.
Our Partners:
What Makes Us Different
One-Stop Shop
The phrase “one-stop shop” is overdone, perhaps, but that’s exactly what we are — a family-owned education group of tutors and consultants dedicated to providing our families with comprehensive educational support.
That means you can come to us for reading/writing support in 5th grade, come back for TJ prep and private school admissions in 8th, continue on during high school for SAT and academic support (remotely, if you’re off to boarding school), and then work with one of our trained college counselors for your application essays.
There’s nothing more rewarding for us than to see students through their academic journey, and we’re grateful to have helped hundreds of students achieve their goals.
Personal Attention + Mentorship
When we book 1:1 sessions with students, we mean what we say — one student, one instructor. We’re focused on our students throughout, tracking learning styles, academic and extracurricular interests, and overall improvement (we always start our sessions by checking grades and test scores). We also follow up each session with feedback which will be sent directly to parents.
Above all, we care about student-instructor chemistry, which is the key to improvement and mentorship. It’s why we always book one session first to ensure it’s a good match for both sides.
Full-Time Instructors + Staff
No revolving door here — unlike other tutoring centers, we don’t hire seasonal instructors (i.e. high school and college students). All of our instructors have extensive teaching experience and are trained to align with Principia’s teaching and communication standards; we also hire full-time instructors and curriculum designers to ensure we can provide consistency and up-to-date curriculums for our students. Our instructors often work with the same student from Algebra 1 all the way through multivariable calculus, for example, and we’ve found it’s incredibly effective and efficient to be able to offer that consistency.
Flexibility + Ease
Some education companies seem to expect a Faustian bargain (500 hours?!) to lock you in for the long-term. Not Principia — once your account is set up with us, we’ll bill your card at the end of the month for that month’s session, and you can track all invoices through your account.
Results-Oriented
We're proud of our track record — our academic students routinely raise their grades a full letter grade, our test prep students improve an average of 270+ points on the SAT and 5+ points on the ACT, and over 90% of our college consulting students are accepted to one of their top three choices. The proof? We’ve grown entirely through word-of-mouth, and continue to rely on happy parents and students to grow our business organically.