James R. Denke, Executive Director.  james@watertongroup.com

James is the founder of The Waterton Group.  After scoring in the top 2% of test takers on the SAT® and a perfect 800 on the math portion, James began teaching the SAT® and ACT in 1998.  He was part of a team that helped build the Distance Learning department of the Princeton Review and the principal SAT® and ACT tutor for the lower Manhattan office through 2004.  He then moved to build a financial training department for a boutique Wall Street brokerage firm from 2004-2005.  Since 2005, James has been instructing students from some of the most affluent and well respected families in both New York City and Beverly Hills.  Upon returning to his home town of Dallas, James launched The Waterton Group in early 2009 to spread his skills and experience to families in the Dallas/Forth Worth area.  James holds a bachelors degree in economics from New York’s Fordham University. He is also a principal at Rivermark Research, LLC (http://www.rivermarkresearch.com), a boutique wall street research firm specializing in ETF demand intelligence.

Mark S. Hastings, Director of Operations.  mark@watertongroup.com

After having been referred to the founder of The Waterton Group for PSAT/NMSQT® and SAT® preparation in 2002 and experiencing great success, Mark consistently held an intimate professional relationship with the team that led to the formation of The Waterton Group. Mark holds a Bachelors of Science in Media Studies and Technology from the University of Texas at Austin. He now handles all internal operations, scheduling, and web presence for The Waterton Group's Park Cities headquarters, while participating in the assessment of all new candidates. He proves to be a shining example of how The Waterton Group positively affects the lives of its students.

John P. Denke J.D., Director of Business Development.  john@watertongroup.com

John has been with the Waterton Group since inception.  He actively works in all areas of legal, business, and marketing affairs. John has helped grow Waterton from an infant stage tutoring company to a dominant force in the Dallas market.  Prior to joining Waterton, he worked on legal projects throughout the US including corporate legal cases in New York, Dallas, and Houston.  John holds a bachelors degree in Biology from the University of North Texas and is a graduate from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans.  He also maintains active bar licenses in both the states of Texas and Louisiana.

Brett P. Stone, Director of Analytics.  brett@watertongroup.com

Brett has been working with The Waterton Group since November, 2009.  He coordinates lessons with students and tutors and administers all areas of finance for the firm.  He has proved to be the backbone for our growth and brings over six years experience to his role.  He has worked in both operations and promotions for major companies throughout the United States.  Originally from Beverly Hills, he has lived in Dallas since 2007.  Brett holds a bachelors degree in Education from Pepperdine University and an MBA from the University of Exeter.

Simply stated, our tutors are the best in Dallas because The Waterton Group has the highest standards for tutors in the industry.  They bring out the best in students through experience and patience.  These strict standards limit the yearly capacity of The Waterton Group to only 100 students per year.  We would gladly hire the dozens of tutors that contact us every month, but most of them fall short of these minimum tutor requirements:

• 5 years one-on-one tutoring experience
• A test score in the top 95% of test-takers
• A bachelors degree from at least a 1st tier university
• Successful completion of The Waterton Group's training and series of mock-tutoring sessions

These reasons are why the Waterton Group is the most confident test prep firm in Dallas.  We command higher score increases from our students because our tutors are some of the most experienced one-on-one tutors in Dallas.  More experience means that tutors do not rely on tricks and tips to teach students how to beat the test.  Rather, our tutors are so seasoned, that students begin to think like the test makers.  Also, we typically advise students complete several official practice tests.

The Waterton Group also contracts the expertise of PhD consultants on a quarterly basis to advise on techniques and approaches that maximize the time our instructors spend with students.  All of the elements are in place to ensure that students’ experience with The Waterton Group is second to none.