Meet the team
Caring, friendly, and highly skilled professionals to support your child throughout their school journey.
Anita Samson
Director and
Principal Psychologist
Anita founded Recognition Learning in 2014, after seeing the need for a centre that could provide a truly holistic educational experience for children and adolescents.
Anita is a Registered Psychologist and a qualified teacher with extensive experience counselling children and adolescents, as well as teaching and tutoring. She has worked as a School Counsellor for fifteen years, and also has over twenty years of experience teaching and tutoring students in both the public and private sectors.
Anita has also worked extensively for the not-for-profit sector, providing psychology advice and delivering specialised workshops and professional development seminars to parents, teachers, school principals, and other professionals in education and child related services.
Anita is driven to find the most effective and meaningful ways of integrating psychology and education to support children and adolescents through their school journey.
Jessica Valenzuela
Teaching and Learning Specialist
Jessica is currently completing a Bachelor of Science / Masters of Nursing at the University of Sydney, and has a keen interest in public health. She has a number of years of experience writing educational materials and tutoring in English, Mathematics, and Science, and has supported many of our students through their HSC.
Jessica encourages our students to develop a reflective approach to learning and to help them find pride in themselves by recognising their growth. She assists our Tutors in developing an inquiry-based approach to teaching that maximises the student’s involvement in each lesson and facilitates analytical thinking, making learning a truly collaborative process.
Jessica’s knowledge of health science and her skills in the field of education make her uniquely positioned to lead our teaching staff to deliver services that incorporate an understanding of how a young person’s wellbeing can impact the way they learn. She is well regarded by all our students and clients for her warm and empathetic approach. Jessica’s skills and leadership help Recognition Learning to be a key part of the support network for many of our students as they progress through school.
Vivian Szeto
Teaching and Learning Specialist
Vivian is currently completing a degree in Mathematics, Statistics, and Econometrics at the University of NSW, and has extensive experience tutoring and teaching primary and high school students.
Vivian is a strong believer in adopting a strengths-based approach to education, and helping students learn strategies that assist in retention of knowledge over time. She uses the principles of Growth Mindset in her teaching to help her students improve not only their academic outcomes, but to also enhance their perception of themselves as learners.
Vivian’s innovative approach to teaching, and deep knowledge of the NSW syllabuses allows her to lead and guide our team of Tutors to deliver the most effective and engaging lessons to our students.
Her passion for learning is infectious, and the care she shows for all of Recognition Learning’s students is unmatched!
Grace Constable
Teaching and Learning Specialist
Grace has worked at Recognition Learning for a number of years, and is also completing her PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of NSW. She is a highly accomplished scholar and educator, with vast experience teaching primary, high school, and university students.
Grace is passionate about education, and has created and delivered education programs for Recognition Learning and UNSW. She is well versed in a number of evidence-based approaches to pedagogy, and is highly regarded in her field in as both a researcher and teacher.
Grace is particularly skilled in developing motivation and engagement with her students, by guiding them through goal setting and fostering an interest in the subjects they are studying. She believes that helping students develop a deep conceptual knowledge of their subject matter is one of the keys to understanding, retention, and academic success.
As a past recipient of the prestigious Westpac Future Leaders scholarship, Grace has developed skills in leadership and innovation that she brings to her role as Teaching and Learning Specialist. She is a wonderful role model and mentor to all our students and staff.
Our educators
Recognition Learning is also home to a team of talented Tutors. All of our Tutors are experts in their respective teaching areas, and have masterfully honed their skills to ensure that students receive a specialised service that suits their individual needs.
Tutors plan and deliver their lessons under the guidance of the Director, and Teaching and Learning Specialists. They attend training throughout the year to develop their understanding of pedagogy, as well as child and adolescent mental health.
Join the team!
Recognition Learning is always interested in hearing from talented individuals who believe in our approach to education and mental health. Let us know if you are interested in working for us in any capacity and we will be in touch!