ABOUT Luke

Pathways of Potential is owned and run exclusively by expert educator Luke Staszak. Luke has more than a decade of experience in the classroom teaching AP US History, leading school-wide initiatives to raise standardized test scores in ACT, SAT, and AP courses, and individually tutoring high school students to raise their standardized test scores above their hopes and expectations. Luke routinely helps students gain 7+ points on the ACT, 250+ points on the SAT, and coaches students to earn 5 on their AP exams. Luke is an annual grader with the College Board for the AP US History exam, and he has personally graded over 10,000 AP essays.

Luke frequently completes full-length practice ACT, SAT, and AP exams himself — consistently earning perfect scores of 36, 1600, and 5.

LUKE’S EDUCATION & BACKGROUND

  • Masters in the Teaching of History (MAT), University of Illinois Chicago

  • Bachelors in Communication Arts (BA), University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • 10+ years teaching AP US History in selective-enrollment high schools in Chicago Public Schools

  • Annual AP US History exam grader for The College Board

  • Alumni Advisor to the Teaching of History Program, University of Illinois Chicago

  • Board Member of the Oak Park Educational Foundation

  • Former Editorial Assistant for the academic journal The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

  • Former Resource Officer for the New Zealand Ministry of Education

Family & Community

Luke is a dedicated and involved member of Chicago’s North Shore educational and business communities. He and his wife, Claire Staszak, co-own the nationally recognized interior design firm Centered by Design with locations in Lincoln Park and Glencoe. Claire and Luke are the proud parents of Willa (age 6) and Jude (age 3).