ABOUT THE FOUNDER

     Gina Johnson is the Lead Tutor and founder of Seed2Trees Tutoring. Passionate about empowering children through humane education practices and having a true gift for teaching, Gina has been planting foundational seeds for learning in the minds of young children more than a decade. A personal journey with her own child's struggle in the classroom motivated her to start Seed2Trees Tutoring. 
 
Gina’s Personal Story
     Gina's unique approach to teaching children was put to the test when she had to apply it to her own child. When their child was in second grade, Gina and her husband, Michael  learned that their child had not outgrown getting distracted by classmates during work time in class. The teacher reported that , "when they do their work they do it well, but we have to give them a lot of extra time to finish it." The challenge continued through third grade. Surely psycho-educational tests would help sort this out. Hopeful that a diagnosis would be given after pouring time and money into the testing, Gina and her husband were told their child had "Unspecified Neurodevelopmental Disorder" . The psychologist said their child moved "painfully slow".  Yet the tests showed intellectual "superiority". "Your child is very intelligent" they said, but they did not know how to help them. Disappointed with such a vague diagnosis and no leads for support, they sought out a second psychologist. The second psychologist at least tried to isolate the issue and said their child had "mild ADHD".  Frustrated with these diagnosis without any real solutions, and determined to make sure her child had a healthy relationship with learning, Gina and her husband decided to pull their child out of the traditional private school system and give them one-on-one instruction. They agreed that personalized teaching would be better adaptive to the child's learning style. This approach would build up rather than erode their self-esteem and confidence. At the same time, the anxiety and frustration that their child suffered from the "rigor" of a traditional classroom would be greatly reduced . 

    While healing and rebuilding at home, a dear friend encouraged Gina to research self-directed learning. What she discovered about this education style resonated with her and she knew this was what her child needed at this stage in her education journey. This new philosophy of learning was daring but life-changing. With a child-led, self-directed approach to learning, a reduction of academic pressure, and the gentle teaching approach of a mother-teacher, Gina witnessed the return of the light and curiosity in their child's eyes.
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   Today after great success in the classroom, Gina’s child joyfully graduated high school with a 4.0 gpa and was offered Merit Scholarships from nine of the nation’s top colleges. Their high school senior accepted the Founder’s Scholarship from Howard University in Washington DC,  the nation’s top HBCU. Their now college student is thriving and excited about the future!  All the struggles, testing, and use of  alternative learning models for their brilliant child paid off. Gina is most grateful for the Math tutor she hired to help her child excel in middle and high school math.  The years of support from this tutor was well worth the investment! Every child deserves this type of care and instruction in their developing years.
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   Why Call Us
As an advocate for holistic education for young children, Gina believes it is her calling to help other families who have similar challenges with their children. Her goal is to plant the seeds that would sprout into academic and emotional success in secondary learning and beyond.  For almost ten years, Seed2Trees has logged hundreds of hours of tutoring, helping families in person and virtually throughout the southeast and major cities like Chicago, Atlanta and New York.  Our goal  is to restore your child's confidence in themselves. Personalized one-on-one teaching and a spoonful of encouragement has reduced 90% of our students' anxiety in math, resulting in happy learners.  We are proud to say we have very satisfied parents who still report their children's progress long after completing their sessions. At Seed2Trees, we believe change is inevitable and we must be flexible and adaptable to change.  Educating children in the 21st Century requires it! 

"My heart leaps when I see the lightbulb moment in a student's eyes as they realize, "I got it. I can do this!."
                                                                                                                                                                                    -Gina Johnson

Gina's Education and Background
Determined to advocate for emotionally and mentally healthy learning environments, Gina has taken Leaders of Learning and Neuroscience courses at Harvard University to stay relative to the best practices in education. She is also currently the Director of Math Reasoning at the STEM Skool, Inc. in Charlotte , NC.  A lifetime learner of child development and education, Gina applies all she learns to speaking and advocating for holistic education for America's most precious minds, our young children, our FUTURE!
 
In addition to her work in Education, Gina holds an MBA in General Management and is the Business Operations Director for Inner Rest Counseling , a mental wellness practice located in Charlotte NC. It is through working at this practice that she learned about the prevalence of anxiety and depression among high school students due to the pressure of grades and a heavy school workload. Believing that the pursuit of education should not destroy your mental wellness, she decided to partner with the organization to design Mental Wellness seminars, presentations and workshops that empower parents with tools they can use to help their children manage their academic journey. These trainings teach parents how to give their children a healthy approach to school, grades, and competition. 

 A veteran of the United States Air Force, Gina holds a Bachelors in Computer Information Systems, and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Pepperdine University. She also participated in STUDY ABROAD programs at University of Antwerp in Belgium where she studied Business in a European Context and at Oxford University in England where she completed studies in Global Enterprise Management, Organizations, Environments and Political Economies.