Tutoring can help build confidence, improve learning skills and give students the individual attention they may not receive otherwise.
Recently, we sat down with Carri Dunning to learn more about her business, her approach to tutoring, what she does in her spare time and why she chose El Dorado Hills.
Tell us about your company and what you do?
Education Enrichment Services (EES) provides students of all ages with supplemental instruction and individual tutoring to achieve mastery in the desired content areas. We inspire a desire to learn through marked moments of achievement, followed by the lasting effect of success.
Is EES is a tutoring service?
Every program is customized to that specific child. We create a customized plan using researched-based methodologies. While there is a time and a place for content tutoring, we like to provide high-leverage intervention. We remap the brain, for more efficient and effective learning, instead of just propping up a particular subject. We do address individual subjects, such as reading, math, writing—we even support chemistry, physics, Spanish–and we are also equipped to provide so much more. Every student has a unique plan of action and a dedicated teacher to facilitate the desired, measured results.
How many teachers do you currently have, and how do you decide which tutor to place with which student?
Right now, we have 27 tutors, and we serve the greater Sacramento area with offices in Roseville/Granite Bay, Folsom and El Dorado Hills. We also push into private schools upon invitation.
We begin the process with an assessment that helps us discover the learning style of the student, and therefore we can hand-select a teacher that will be a proper fit. Some students really benefit from structure, all students need a nurturing environment, yet some need to work slowly toward a more challenging pace. With a strong connection with the family, prior to placement, I can match a teacher that will meet the student right where he/she is!
What makes your process unique?
I try to facilitate a change within the brain and behavior because all learning struggles have an associated behavior. If you can change those behaviors and you can change the way the brain processes information, you can improve the ability to learn new material. The source of the learning struggle may be dyslexia, a processing disorder, ADD or associated attention issues, autism, or developmental delay.
Some typically developing children will benefit from our customized plan as well. Every learner can benefit from personalized instruction.
Why did you choose Business Workspaces and how has working here helped your business?
We were invited to teach some students in El Dorado Hills, and we’ve grown organically. We’ve just grown from one student too many students, in response to the community demand. There were students in El Dorado Hills who wanted our expertise, and the customized programs we offer. El Dorado Hills is growing a lot right now, so Business Workspaces is the perfect location for us.
I am very impressed with the schools, private and public, that I’ve interacted with here in El Dorado Hills, and I think parents are education-minded. I’ve been serving EDH for about seven years, our program has been positively received—sometimes we teach on campus, and it’s a very warm, supportive, and collaborative environment.
I feel like education is a priority within this community, and I also feel like the schools understand that every student is unique, and some learners may need tutoring. Some students just need one-on-one instruction—that’s just a reality, and to have the schools acknowledge that with support is positive.
What energizes you about your business?
I meet with parents every 90 days to report our outcomes, and what is really exciting is when you see that not only are the results of the program positive, or the numbers are improving, but you can see that convert into a child who can read, or a child who feels capable in math, or write, because that is a big deal.
It doesn’t matter what program I’m using or how excited I am about it, but when the child is able to feel the difference and they can learn something or they can do math in a way that they couldn’t previously—I mean, that’s pretty much everything. That’s why we all exist at EES, so that conversion can occur for the child.
Do you have a daily habit that helps you be successful?
Right now, I’m doing the Start Today journal by Rachel Hollis. It includes writing out what you are grateful for, and part of our company philosophy is expressing gratitude. Something that I started at the beginning (with EES) is I try to express my gratitude to all the families that we work with and all the teachers that support EES.
I try to demonstrate that I am grateful for all the help of others because not one of us can execute a plan by ourselves– it has to be a team effort. Living out a life of gratitude really is the core of our company and the type of attitude that we all have toward each other and toward the community.
What is the “why” of your business, or the goal that matters the most to you?
It really is my goal to teach as many children as I can and to change the lives of children through personalized instruction, and it’s also my goal to help teachers do what they love, which is teaching. They have a relationship with the student, and they change that child’s life. So, if I can help more teachers do that, and make the child happy and help the family, then it’s a win.
What do you like to do when not working?
I’m married with two kids, almost 18 and 20 so my family is very important to me. Between work and my family, I’m also a decent cook, and I like cooking. I make a mean Bolognese sauce!
I’m also obsessed with inspirational podcasts- Rachel Hollis and Dave Ramsey for starters! Looking outside of my comfort zone and learning something new—it actually changes my perspective, and I think that’s important.
Other than work, what is another passion you have?
My dream is to become a runner someday, that’s one of my goals, is to run a half marathon. I would say I’m an aspiring runner.
What advice do you have for others interested in becoming either a teacher or a tutor?
Don’t fall prey to limiting your beliefs for each student, even when they have a challenge.
Do you have a book that you often recommend or gift to people?
Right now I’m very into Gary Vaynerchuk– Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. I have a degree in literature so that’s where I started—all the way through college I was kind of a fiction girl—and as an adult, I’ve gotten into non-fiction out of necessity.
But another book I love is called Thank you Therapy (by Don Baker). It’s basically talking about how gratitude reduces anxiety. And To Kill a Mockingbird (by Harper Lee)—we studied it when I was in 10th grade as a literature study, and they didn’t even get to the bottom layers of it. That’s where I feel like a piece of literature really has value–when you can continue to read it, continue to enjoy it, learn something, and it makes you think.
If you or someone you know is interested in a personalized solution to a child’s academic needs; you can contact Carri through her website.
