About Us
Peak Academic Solutions (PAS)™ provides Expert Online Tutoring, Test Prep, and Academic & Executive Function Coaching. The PAS™ tutoring model is a trusted, proven approach that empowers students through personalized support, Active Assessment™, and close collaboration among students, parents, and educators.
Uninterrupted Academic Support - from Anywhere:
Our online model allows students to tutor from anywhere in the world, providing uninterrupted academic support to busy students.
Subject-Matter Experts (SBE):
-
PAS™ tutors are Subject-Matter Experts (SBE), carefully selected for their depth of teaching and tutoring experience—ensuring every student receives exceptional academic support and measurable results.
Academic & Executive Function Coaches:
-
Our Academic & Executive Function Coaches help students plan, organize, and complete assignments across multiple subjects, while building essential executive function skills, including time management, task management, organization, and follow-through.
Michael and Jen Birdsell are college professors who built a successful online tutoring method, now expanded to support students worldwide. By combining expert tutoring and personalized, holistic academic coaching, PAS™ equips students with the tools, strategies, and confidence to achieve lasting academic success.
Our Founders
Jennifer Birdsell
Director of Student &
Academic Services
Jennifer is a full-time mathematics faculty member at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC), where she has taught since 2012. At Peak Academic Solutions (PAS), she is highly focused on creating, refining, and managing the personalized support systems that define the company’s approach to student success. She is the primary architect of PAS’s Active Assessment™ process, which drives the organization’s individualized tutoring model. At AACC, Jennifer teaches developmental and college-level mathematics courses, including College Algebra, Statistics, and Calculus. Prior to her full-time appointment, she served as an adjunct faculty member at multiple Maryland community colleges and taught high school mathematics in both private and public schools in the United States and abroad.
She graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Pure Mathematics from Eastern University and later earned her Maryland Secondary Teaching Certification and completed an M.S. in Applied Industrial Mathematics from Towson University. Over the course of her accomplished teaching career, Jennifer has devoted extensive time to working individually with students who need additional support, helping them build both confidence and mastery in mathematics.
Jennifer is especially passionate about one-on-one instruction and meeting students’ individualized learning needs. She has extensive experience supporting students with executive function challenges, including ADHD and ADD, and is committed to helping each student build both mathematical confidence and durable learning strategies.
Michael Birdsell
Director of Operations &
Community Outreach
Michael teaches philosophy at Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, and Wor-Wic Community Colleges in Maryland, where he developed the AI-Prompted Inquiry Method of Learning™ (AI-Prompted Inquiry™) to help students engage more actively and thoughtfully with course material in the age of generative AI. His work emphasizes structured inquiry, critical thinking, and collaborative learning.
He has taught in the United States and abroad and tutors across a wide range of humanities subjects. Much of his work with PAS students focuses on Academic and Executive Function Coaching, where he helps students organize, plan, and develop higher-order thinking skills. Michael has extensive experience supporting students with executive function challenges, including ADHD and ADD, and is committed to providing practical, personalized strategies that help students succeed.
Michael earned a B.S. from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Arizona State University, completed post-baccalaureate studies in Education, then earned a M.A.L.A. in Classical Studies from the Graduate Institute at St. John’s College in Annapolis, where he deepened his commitment to discussion-based learning rooted in the Great Books tradition.
In 2019, he completed certification in best practices for online college instruction and has since designed and launched multiple online courses, including two developed through national grant initiatives.