We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Vincent. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.
Amanda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?
The harsh truth is that there is a lot of room for improvement in our education system, and this is as true now as it was in our pre-Covid world. Students are individuals, with unique thoughts, personalities, learning styles, life struggles, aptitudes, abilities, and talents. And yet we educate children with a broad brush, in classrooms with teachers who are expected to teach, coach, tutor, parent, and discipline. It is not a formula for optimal student success.
Students are behind in math and reading specifically. Our literacy rates are atrocious, with 68% of 4th grade children in the United States reading below grade level proficiency. As a side note, adult illiteracy costs the US up to $2.2 trillion a year, so this should be something every taxpayer should be concerned about. In the year 2022, not a single state improved in math testing scores, with scores falling in most states. National averages for 8th grade literacy proficiency are at an abysmal 31%, while 8th grade proficiency in math is at an even worse 26%. (Source: National Center for Education Statistics)
Combine our student literacy and math rates with challenges teachers meet in the classrooms and the current teacher shortages, and you have a perfect storm for an education crisis. We are now at a point where extreme intervention is needed, especially for our students in at-risk communities. One to one tutoring in high dosages alongside strategic plans and effective teacher training in literacy and math acceleration is a technique currently being used to move the needle in student progress.
Studyville is working on the front lines in education, tutoring students in at-risk communities at their schools in high dosages (2x a week minimum) as well as after-school tutoring for students from all walks of life. Through one on one intervention, Studyville has seen incredible success, with reading scores improving as much as 86% for some students, and math scores improving as much as 35%.
As CEO of Studyville, one of my favorite things to do is interact with students who are participating in our tutoring programs. We had one student who was failing just about everything when he first came to us, but with tutoring was showing remarkable improvement. He started scheduling a ton of tutoring back to back so our staff became concerned he may be failing again, so we contacted him to see if there was something wrong. He said, “No, I’m doing great! I have B’s, but now I know I can do it and I want A’s.” That alone makes it all worth it!
Amanda, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started Studyville out of my own frustration as a parent. I have two boys who are now teenagers. As I was living through the brain drain that encounters every middle school boy, I felt like I was beating my head against a brick wall. I had a smart child, but he would forget to turn things in, forget he had homework, forget he had a test…out of the blue it was like I had a completely different child. His brain just left him! So, I took him to every tutoring center I could find, I hired tutors for the house, I tried tutoring him myself . . . anything to help bring peace and relief in our house as I was so tired of being his taskmaster! Throughout this process, I noticed what he liked and didn’t like, what helped and what was completely pointless. He liked small group tutoring groups, where he could feed off his peers (typically one middle schooler would forget the math test, while another middle schooler would forget the social studies project. No one remembered everything, no one forgot everything. The group was a successful exchange of would-be forgotten vital information). He loved the younger tutors, typically college-aged students, with whom he felt a stronger connection than he did older adults. He hated the smell of some of the tutoring centers. While I was studying him and his tutoring journey, I thought, there has to be a better way. I enjoyed studying in college…why is that? I had a cool location, friends, and food. And so I started down the path of what it would look like to have a tutoring center that would look like the type of place my son would enjoy utilizing, and Studyville was born.
Studyville is an academic co-working space for middle and high schoolers, where members can come during all operating hours for homework support, studying with friends, private tutoring, test-prep, or just use the workspace to complete homework and studying on their own. We offer tutoring in all academic subjects, including standardized testing, study skills, and literacy. In addition to our location programming, Studyville also sends tutors to schools in at-risk communities to help the students in our regions who need it most. We offer online tutoring, and we recently opened a microschool (outsourced homeschooling) for students who are looking for more flexibility in their academic careers.
I am most proud of our work in at-risk communities; it absolutely drives me. Giving a teenager who is on the cusp of dropping out, who feels as though they aren’t smart enough, aren’t cut out for college, will not break the cycle of poverty a chance to succeed, helping that student to see that they can indeed make good grades, they can learn to read no matter how late it is, they can go to college, well, that is the absolute best reason I can think of for starting this business. I wake up every morning knowing what my purpose is.
I have a Bachelors of Music degree from Vanderbilt University and a Masters of Music degree from the University of Texas. I do not have a background in education, which I think makes me uniquely poised to address issues in education from an outsider’s perspective.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
When I first opened Studyville, I had doubters. I had friends who came to see it and I could see them thinking “Oh, I hope she doesn’t fail right off the bat.” I could genuinely see the concern in their eyes.
I ignored it. I knew we had a great concept, phenomenal staff, and the consumer need. I knew we would be successful, but I also knew we had to prove ourselves and gain the trust of the community.
We went about building our reputation by excellent customer service. When a customer first walked in the door, they had to feel like they belonged there. The parents had to trust us, and the teenager had to like us. We had to make the teenagers feel at home, and we had to keep the parents aware of their student’s progress on a regular bases. Client interaction — both the student client and the parent client — was key.
We also supported the community where our clients could be found. We set up booths at baseball tournaments, brought breakfast to teachers, and sponsored football and soccer teams. Our tutors went to see our students when they performed in a dance recital or a musical. We got out in the community to show we cared about our students, and that made all the difference. Once our customer base knew we supported them, they were not surprised at their student’s success, or Studyville’s success. It fueled our growth and grew our customer base even more.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
There is a proverb that states “Without counsel purposes are disappointed; but in the multitude of counselors they are established.” This is something I had to unlearn!
While it is good to have a business consultant or counselor when starting a business, you do have to be careful of getting too much advice from outside sources. My own experience taught me that sometimes the CEO knows better than everyone, and all outside advice needs to be taken with a grain of salt. As Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted they would have said ‘a faster horse.’”
I was told by an advisor that before Studyville really took formation I needed to have a focus group. I needed to listen to leaders in the community who would be my customers bash my idea to shreds, and then after I was black and blue from the process, maybe I would change the business entirely to fit their needs. So, I did this. I called 12 people and paid them all $100 each to come to my focus group. During the focus group, I was told I should have a traveling Studyville, where I buy vans and pick kids up or go to people’s houses, I should cater only to special needs children, or I shouldn’t charge so much work out a different structure. They were all very nice, but in their minds, I was asking their opinion, and in my mind I was doing this anyway and needed them to agree that it was a fabulous idea and to buy my services once I had built it.
My customers are the best at giving feedback. They will tell us what they like and don’t like, and I listen to them because they are the only ones buying our services! So, I have learned to not have a “multitude of counselors” unless they are buying tutoring services; then they have my full attention.
Now, for the majority of all business decisions, I have to go with my gut instinct and ask professionals with more experience in that particular area to help me get there. Tell me how to do this, because I am going to do it. Don’t tell me why it’s a bad idea. I’ll figure that out later!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://studyville.com/
- Instagram: Studyvillebr
Image Credits
Courtesy of Studyville