We engaged Maria to work with our son, Robby just past half way through his 3rd Grade year. He had…read morebeen diagnosed as ADHD and was struggling to adjust to the ever increasing expectations. His grades had gone from A's and B's in 2nd Grade to C's and D's and F's in Third. Robby's motivation was down. He was repeated stating that he wasn't smart (not the case!) and that he didn't like school. My wife and I were a bit at wits end as to what to do. Additionally, Ohio has a high stakes test at the end of the 3rd grade that every student must pass in order to advance to the 4th grade. Maria really turned that around. She focused on developing strategies that he could implement to succeed at his day to day school work as well as better understand the context of the lessons. Additionally she gave him tools to help with focusing, always a challenge with an 8 yr old boy! Within a few weeks we began to see positive results. By the beginning of the 4th quarter his teachers had noticed a positive change in Robby's behavior and motivation and he achieved an award for academic excellence in the 4th quarter. He stopped saying he couldn't do things and he looked forward to going to school. Oh, and he passed the final exam without issue. We were disappointed that Maria moved to Atlanta as it would have been fabulous to have her work with Robby next year. (Just for context - Maria worked with Robby 2 times a week most weeks and 3 times a week to prep for the final exam from early February through the end of May.)

I am very impressed with how Maria works with kids, she encourages them to do their best.read more

John is an awesome tutor! We've been with him since virtual learning made it hard for my son to…read moregrasp concepts not taught in person. His approach just does something magical that my child really taps in to. Highly recommend!

From the owner: - Develop important study skills…read more - Confront problems in new, unorthodox ways - Work faster and excel in school

My crazy 13-year-old wants Ukulele lessons and I'm like..."JC, who teaches that?" Lucky for me, the…read moreStudios by Sarah Strout teaches yuke and more! Central to my East Dallas abode, on the northeast corner of Abrams and Mockingbird...Hillside Village for those in the know, nestled between Steinmart and Lakewood's 1st and 10 (excellent place to park as you wait for your spawn's lesson to finish). In a nutshell, Sarah is the broker between aspiring and broke musicians. She provides beautiful studio spaces and matches teachers to students. So far, so good, but you do pay for the overhead of studio space. Lessons are a bit (but not much) more than in home lessons.

I never do this but this place has me hoping mad. I tried…read moreto sign up for guitar lessons for my daughter. I received a confirmation on the time and date, mind you this place has strict rules on not showing up and prepaying for lessons, showed up for the lesson only to find out that Sarah had booked a second student for that time and the teacher was in with another student. We waited 10 minutes for someone to help us try and figure out the situation but the only people there were other teachers who did not know how to get a hold of Sarah. We went home and I checked my email and found that Sarah had sent a confirmation and changed the time to 4:30 instead of 4pm which had been on all the previous emails. We jumped back in the car and rushed back to her studios got there on time for a 4:30 guitar lesson and again the teacher had a different student scheduled and took them back and just told us sorry. No one could find Sarah to speak to me. I decided to take a break and try to find another guitar teacher. But then emailed Sarah again a few weeks later and asked her to sign us up for Guitar and voice lesson. We had one lesson last week and then this week I get an email half an our before our lesson time canceling on us because the teacher cannot make it. NO phone call just an email. Thank goodness I was right at my computer when it came in. But thats not the best part of this here is the email exchange from today. I cannot believe it. My advise is find somewhere else to take music lessons. On 11/12/14 3:19 PM, "studio" sarah@stroutstudios.com x-msg://155/sarah@stroutstudios.com wrote: HI Tracy, I am so sorry for the late notice. Nick just called to let me know that he was having a hot water heater emergency. His hot water heater exploded and his having to deal with flooding and plumbers, etc. He is not able to come in today.. He will be emailing you guys to schedule a make up possible Friday.. or when you guys are available. So sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks so much, Sarah Strout Talley On Nov 12, 2014, at 3:22 PM, Tracy Nymeyer Re: Olivia's lesson today Ok then we need to cancel the voice lesson too. Please let the teacher know. Also Olivia does not want to take voice at this time she hated that class but loved the guitar class. She is too shy to sing in public she says. I know you have strict rules for last minute cancelations but I hope that since you have cancelled on me last minute that I will be allowed to cancel the voice lesson. Thank you, Tracy Nymeyer On 11/12/14 3:46 PM, "studio" sarah@stroutstudios.com wrote: Dear Tracy, So sorry for your disappointment. The fact that you enrolled for voice where we scheduled you a lesson during the week is a very different cancelation then one of our teachers having an emergency and not being able to come in. We never cancel lesson without offering a make up (as in Nick's lesson today) When you enroll in a lesson you are reserving a spot with one of our teacher for the semester, unless you give the studio 30 days notice that you will be withdrawing. I feel that you are not or have not been happy with our studio from the beginning. Hearing from you that Olivia "hated" her voice lesson is not what we want to hear and feel that maybe we are not a good fit for your family. I haven't received payment from you for lessons( November) so lets call it even and not continue with either guitar or voice lessons. We are so sorry we were disappointing to you. Thanks so much, Sarah Strout Talley Baffled I wrote back to Sarah: When I signed up you took my cc for payment on your system, I thought you were billing automatically. Olivia did not hate the teacher just having to sing in public. But you seem to have made your mind up and don't want us at the studio. I was more than happy to pay for my lessons and thought I had signed up for you to bill my cc. If you need me to give you 30 day notice then that is not a problem on the voice but it has certainly been very difficult working with your studio and things seem to have been a challenge at my inconvenience but when I say I don't want to come today after you cancel on me all of a sudden you are kicking us out. If you don't want Olivia back then let me know. Thank you, Tracy

This is a very effective way to learn Spanish (or English) through practicing conversation and…read moreevery day application, rather than the traditional large classroom setting or memorizing long vocabulary lists. Micah is a great teacher! She's very friendly, patient, and helpful. I had lessons once a week for a 2 months with 2 other friends to divide the cost, and my Spanish speaking ability improved immensely!

I've been learning Spanish with Micah and her team for almost 3 years, and she and her teachers…read moreare awesome. Two classes per week in my office and two classes per week on Skype when my schedule allows. Micah is enthusiastic, encouraging, and professional, and I recommend her company to anyone with an interest in learning another language.

Garth is an amazing Physics and Math Tutor! He helped both of my high school age sons with AP…read morePhysics and taught them to be confident students of the subject. He has a very patient and effective teaching style!

From the owner: Great students deserve great support. Help bring your…read morestudents to a deeper understanding of physics and math. I offer high-quality private High School Physics & Math tutoring. I'm available to meet individually or in small groups on-campus, in-home, or in virtual sessions.

Lindsey met me and my oldest daughter about 5 years ago, and Lindsey connected with my daughter…read moreimmediately. She just really understands kids, and although she's well trained and has years of experience, the key to Lindsey's success with kids is this innate ability she has to understand what makes them tick. I've turned to her again and again for help in relating to my daughter, and she always gives me both insight and practical advice that I can put to good use. Lindsey really cares about "her" kids and their families. If you're looking for just a tutor, sure, Lindsey's amazing. If you're looking for an ally who will understand your child, care for your child, and fight for your child's success, Lindsey is the person you need.

Lindsey really understands kids with unique learning needs and is passionate about helping them…read more She was able to assess why there were inconsistencies with my son's math progress, and help us address them. He absolutely LOVES Lindsey! He said she explains things so perfectly/clearly where the teacher does not. She also encouraged him to help himself by attending teacher tutorials before and after school when he doesn't understand a concept. On top of everything, Lindsey is passionate about the whole child, including their emotional well-being. It seems like that's what drives her to help them in school, because she knows its one of the key components to their happiness. We're lucky to have found her!

Do not do anything over the phone, in person is best!…read more I've been renewing my medication aide license here for 2 years after taking their course a few years back and not once has it ever been this difficult. Each receptionist years prior has been polite, helpful, and made this the easiest, fastest and simplest transaction but the receptionist they have now is rude and disrespectful. A week ago, I contacted them stating that I need to renew my license and asked for the cost, she said she could do everything over the phone and would "text" me the information. I was glad and very grateful to her because I live 50 minutes away but when she texted me that the price is $120 and to pay using someone's "zelle" I called her back because I've never paid over $75 for a renewal fee there let alone using Zelle (always in cash or online). When I called back she immediately had an attitude changing the price to $100 and said she "accidentally gave me the price for a different renewal" (there's no renewal fee on their website for $120) very unapologetically. After that, I was still polite but no longer trusted doing anything over the phone. A couple days later, I decided to drive up there and do everything in person like I'd done years prior, and when I got there, she told me up front it would be $80 cash. I went and got cash and when I came back she said there's a state fee of $16. Okay, definitely not used to this price but things have gone up everywhere so no problem, I filled out the form and asked her a few questions and those were met with nothing but dismissiveness and passive aggression. Now a few days later, she calls me without a greeting or telling me who she is, asking me for some information, and to call her back when I have it. When I get it less than 30 seconds later and call her back she's immediately snappy with 0 patience when asking me for it and eventually hangs up in my face without even getting all of the information. When I immediately try to call back, she doesn't answer. But then calls back 2 minutes later, trying to act polite for the first time, as if nothing just happened minutes ago. From giving out the wrong information to not wanting to give out any information at all, to the bad manners, I truly hope that by next December, she is gone. The past renewal experiences were great, the receptionists were efficient and had me renewed within a day or two! I've referred so many coworkers and friends to go there for the quick course and the simple, VERY convenient renewal but right now, I wouldn't recommend a hamster.

This facility is very poorly run. They are very unorganized, if you are looking to become a CNA,…read moreMedication Aide, etc or if you are just looking to renew your certification, please, look elsewhere and do your homework! I also found out from others who actually did there training here, that the equipment was not even in working order, and the instructor was a former student. It took more than two months for me to just get in on a date to have my exam renewal, and when it finally came around, the facility over booked too many students, the State Examiner was not happy. This place does not keep in contact, you have to chase them down to find out whats going on and when and where the tests are going to be at. The owner is very hard to understand on the phone, and doesn't return calls very often.

I attended a talk here called Who am I. The school is all about applied metaphysics. I was so…read moreintrigued on how the brain works that I signed up to take some more in depth classes. The business looks like a house when you first pull up, but don't be fooled. The staff was friendly and the house was clean I will be there every Tuesday.

I'm a skeptic and even though I've had amazing meditation experiences, even though I have seen…read moremyself accomplish a lot, I still doubt myself. This place is amazing. The people are all about just wanting you to understand what motivates you, what stops you, what scares you? They do it in a fun way. There is dream interpretation, goal setting, visualization and real conversations that get past all the bullshit. I took classes here when I lived in Dallas and I still have the literature that was given to me. I've moved from state to state and I still have them because I recognize the value. It raised my awareness gave me a greater understanding of what consciousness is, about living meditatively. I would definitely go back, I would definitely participate in there activities. I could never forget these great folks even if I tried. You can choose your level of commitment, if you want a short class or if you want something more extensive. This place is definitely worth it and they survive completely off donations. This is a not-for-profit 501c3 status organization, and that to me added a real feel of legitimacy because I didn't feel like they were just a bunch of kooks who wanted my money. They are just a bunch of kooks who really care about humanity. I know this may sound corny but if you got with open arms these people will embrace you and connect with you. My words are really not enough to truly explain. Thought is cause.