Dear current and future students,

Welcome. I want to begin by telling you that NoteFull is the very beginning of a revolutionary concept in education. But, before I get too excited, let me tell you how it all began.

5 years ago I started my profession as an ESL instructor. During my first few months on the job, I saw that most grammar books taught my students important concepts, but they did so in a way that many couldn't really absorb and make a part of their everyday language. So, I began to play with the idea of trying to write a better grammar book, and within a few weeks that’s what I started to do. It was the birth of NoteFull.

After 2 years of feedback and hard work, the book was nearly finished, but (there’s always a but) I had another idea. You see, shortly after I began the book, I moved from teaching ESL to the TOEFL. As part of my preparation, I took the test, reviewed books, and learned as much as possible from other instructors. Soon, I made a sad observation: most TOEFL books were okay but weren’t very accurate and clear. It seemed as though the people who wrote them had an idea about the test, but hadn’t actually taken it.

I made the hard decision to put away the grammar book and begin a new project—a better TOEFL book. I began to test my strategies and methods in both the classroom and the exam room. Within a few months the first product was born and over the past year and a half a lot of amazing improvements resulted from the wonderful feedback I've received from students. During this time, I learned the stress that the TOEFL causes, the incredible importance of it to so many, and the real lack of knowledge available about what earns a high score. Many of my students were required to earn high scores too. Many needed a 26 in speaking and a 24 in writing to start a pharmacy internship or to enter into physical therapy. The TOEFL actually put their life on hold. It was a powerful learning experience that drove me to create the site and the products you see here today.

I believe that education has two purposes: the practical use of getting a result and the cultural use of opening and developing the mind. NoteFull was born from the first: getting you a result. After serious thought and work on my products, the revolutionary concept was born: help until. Every student succeeds—no doubt, no joke. You do the work, and you will achieve your goal or else you will get help until you do, however long it takes. Powerful, right?

The TOEFL speaking and writing are the first step . . . soon the reading and the listening will follow, and then every other standardized test in the world. You need the score, you invest in the right product, you do the work, and you earn your score or get help until you do. Your success comes first and everything else a distant second. Now you know the history, the story, the mission, and the dream. Thanks for being a special part of it.