Long-time Oakland educator and innovator Phair Brand began Turning Point Tutoring in 1979.  A determined, humorous woman, Phair was respected by her peers for her methods of explicitly teaching writing and her smoothly running classroom “stations” which allowed students to work at their own pace even in a large classroom.  At her memorial service in 2005, friends and family remembered her warm mentoring, her tastes for fashion, fine cooking, and the arts, and her fierce focus on rights of all human beings to be educated to the full extent of their capacities. After Mrs. Brand’s retirement from the classroom, she focused on offering personalized instruction to students in their own homes. In 1995, Phair placed the direction of Turning Point into the hands of Carolyn Edwards.  Phair and Carolyn had worked together for four years and shared a common philosophy and dedication to children. Carolyn has since expanded the service to include both educational therapy as well as school-site and office visits.