StudyBuddyCSTAbout StudyBuddyCST
A study platform built by someone who understands the journey
StudyBuddyCST was created to help future New York educators prepare for certification exams with more clarity, confidence, and support. It combines targeted practice, thoughtful instruction, and a collaborative spirit to make studying feel more focused and less overwhelming.
Meet the Founder
Jenna Cooper
New York State certified teacher, tutor, and creator of StudyBuddyCST. Jenna built this platform to give teacher candidates the kind of preparation support she wished had been easier to find.
What is StudyBuddyCST?
Too often, teacher candidates are left piecing together random materials, guessing what to focus on, and trying to study without a clear plan. StudyBuddyCST began with a simple but important goal: to close the gap in study resources available to candidates preparing for New York State teaching certification exams.
After passing the CST exams herself, Jenna spent years tutoring teacher candidates and saw the same challenges appear again and again: difficulty finding representative practice, uncertainty about what to focus on, and a lack of study tools that felt truly supportive. She wanted to create the kind of study support that feels encouraging, practical, and genuinely helpful.
StudyBuddyCST was created to extend the benefits of high-quality tutoring into a more accessible learning platform. Through practice tools, review resources, and structured support, the goal is to help future educators prepare more effectively and move toward certification with confidence.
Why “Study Buddy”?
The name reflects the belief that learning is stronger when it feels supported. A good study buddy helps you stay motivated, gives honest feedback, and makes difficult material feel more manageable.
That same idea is at the heart of this platform. StudyBuddyCST is meant to feel encouraging, practical, and grounded in real experience. It is not just a bank of questions, but a space that helps future educators grow through reflection, practice, and persistence.
The goal is to make preparation for certification feel less isolating and more connected, effective, and empowering.
About Jenna Cooper
Helping future teachers prepare with confidence
Jenna’s journey began in Spring 2021 while working toward becoming a New York State certified teacher. During that process, she experienced firsthand how difficult it could be to find accurate and representative practice materials for teacher certification exams.
Through consistency, strategy, and practice, she passed all of her exams on the first attempt. That experience later became the foundation for her tutoring work, which began in Summer 2022 when she helped a friend successfully prepare for the Math CST.
Since then, Jenna has supported more than 370 teacher candidates across New York in improving their scores on the multi-subject CST exams. Her approach is comprehensive, combining content review, competencies, practice questions, test-taking strategies, and confidence-building support.
StudyBuddyCST is an extension of that work — built to help more aspiring educators access meaningful preparation tools and feel supported throughout the certification process.