Business & Tech

Local Learning Center Arms Kids and Teachers With Skills to Succeed

DaVinci Learning Center, of St. James provides support and skills for teachers, districts and students.

After nearly a decade working as a teacher for the Kings Park School District, Kerry Leo made a bold move and walked away from a career, which in that time that was sound and fairly certain, and launched her second career with former Kings Park teacher Elaine Macali, and opened DaVinci Learning Center.

Leo, of Kings Park, spent most of her career as a special education teacher and felt a bit limited by a dictated curriculum. She was interested in branching out in bigger ways to help not just kids with learning but teachers as well.

She batted the idea around with fellow teacher Micali, now her business partner and they decided to take the plunge.

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“We didn’t even have a business plan,” said Leo. “We stared in a tiny office in Stony Brook, next to the museum.”

Leo had a reputation for working with children who were dyslexic. Not long after they opened shop, the Three Village School District rang them up looking for help teaching their teachers, and today remains their biggest client. Schools will often reach out to the learning center to do student evaluations and also help bring their teachers up to speed on curriculum and program changes.

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“Schools will hire us to do an independent evaluation,” said Leo. They send parents to us if they are in disagreement with findings. The crux of what we do is in reading and language.”

The center also offers specialized instructional support for students and specializes in specific learning disabilities like dyslexia, ADD and spectrum-based disorders.  The center employs certified teachers as tutors who work one-on-one with students.

“Our work is tied to science based and research proven methodologies. I can use what I want,” said Leo. “Schools use one product.”

Partners Leo and Micali said there was no model for them when they started ten years ago and say they are different from other learning centers.

“We never tried to compete with Sylvan or Huntington Learning Center,” said Micali. “They are great for homework help, but they aren’t going to help the kids we work with. We want to change their weakest areas, improve them."

Clients aren't just kids, but adults as well.

"We range from kindergarten to age 47 and beyond," said Leo. Adults who struggle with ADD or dyslexia use DaVinci for help. "We have at least one adult student at all times."

The duo stays current by attending ongoing educational conferences and say they are not contained to using just one method or one resource.

"We have the freedom to do that. Quarterly we are taking conferences or symposiums. We have a pediatric neuropsychologist on site, Hillary Gnomes who hangs her own shingle here." said Leo.

The switch from a steady schedule with summers off to owning their own business was not something they questioned. Both say the freedom that comes along with being their own bosses and the ability to dig in without restraint is something that exhilarates them.

"We are fulfilled everytime we get feedback from a parent who sees what a difference they have made in their child's life. This is where students learn how they learn best," said Leo. "We are teaching them not content, but how to access the content and what works for them. We are giving them a skill set."


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