You can just call me “Yawn”
I am the founder of Great Plains Tutoring, former ecologist, current Private Tutor & English Language Teacher, proud Husband & Father.
My name is
Jan Alexander Rataj
The Origin Story
My path as an educator began 10 years ago in the bright & bustling city of Las Vegas, Nevada. While finishing my Master’s program at UNLV, I worked as a high school biology/chemistry teacher & private tutor.
I enjoyed teaching, but what I really loved were the 1-on-1 connections I was able to establish with my tutoring students & families. I could see the immediate impact that my teaching had on my students’ grades and academic confidence — and thus, the idea to create my very own tutoring service was born!
It was only after moving my family to the beautiful - but freezing - state of South Dakota that I decided to take the leap & found Great Plains Tutoring — a tutoring service dedicated to providing every student with a great tutor and a brighter future.
what sets us apart
Who We Serve
Our team of professional tutors works with many unique student populations:
Elementary, Middle & High School Students
English Language Development or ESL
Multilingual Students
(Spanish & English)Adult Spanish & English Language Learners
Our Core Values
Great Plains Tutoring was created to support students who feel overlooked in the public schooling system. We aim to help those students by employing our core values in every learning session:
Meet students where they’re at
Maintain clear communication with parents & families
Employ high expectations paired with consistent encouragement, patient guidance, & goal oriented learning.
Serving Community
We proudly support families in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and adjacent towns!
We work with SD state standards and academic based expectations to ensure student success.
Our ultimate aim is to enhance the academic welfare of our great state’s students and community.
student successes
“My daughter was able to finish her online geometry course in 2 months thanks to her tutor Bryce. She was so happy she didn’t have to retake the class over the summer!”
-Carmin
“My boys have always struggled with math, but after Jan worked with them for a few months, their grades in math & English went from D’s to A’s! They also don’t complain about doing their homework as much anymore which is a bonus.”
-Brionna
“Mr. Rataj is reliable and always works with me & Michael’s crazy schedules. I can tell he really cares about helping my son get his grades up. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
-Sabrina
“Jacqueline helped me to learn English and edit my papers for my college course. She went above and beyond and helped me so much with my business too. Thank you so much.”
-Maria B.
“Jan is easy going and a very fun tutor. I never feel the time pass when we’re tutoring and he always knows how to make my math homework fun & simple.
-Adam
“Jairus used to be so frustrated with math but after learning with Jan he loves it! Every day he’s got tutoring he gets excited to tell Mr. Jan how much he’s learned and how good he is at times tables now.”
-Lynette