Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess Arce.
Hi Jess, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I never planned to become a Dyslexia tutor or expert. 3-D Learning Experts wasn’t a planned business. The journey that began ten years ago, happened completely unintentionally. You see, in 2012, after living in Texas for eight years, we decided to move back West. I planned on homeschooling my youngest 2 children and my youngest son’s Dyslexia teacher told me I needed to learn how to teach him, so he’d understand. Since I was going to be homeschooling them, it made sense to teach him in a way that would be beneficial to him.
Special arrangements were made, and I was accepted into Scottish Rite’s Orton – Gillingham program my kids did in Texas that was specifically for educators. However, participating in this program meant that I had to go to New Mexico for 3 weeks shortly after we moved. At first, I thought I will do whatever it takes to obtain the training I needed to teach my son, however, once we moved it became clear to me that I couldn’t just up and leave my family in a new home, in a city they barely remembered having ever lived in, so I turned down the opportunity.
I was confident something new would come along and it turned out that a couple of months later something better did come along. I found a program where I could do the training by watching DVDs at my own pace, in the comfort of my home. That was perfect for my busy lifestyle raising my four children. By the fall of 2012, I was tutoring my son and then I realized the program was even better than what my daughter had gone through in Texas, and I started tutoring her as well. She improved about 3-grade levels in reading through working with me.
One day at a homeschool class I was talking to another homeschool mom and she said that her daughter who was in 5th grade could not read very well and the descriptions she gave about her daughter’s experience sounded a lot like it could be Dyslexia. So, I offered to tutor her daughter. Her daughter’s reading started to improve, and she told a friend. Her friend’s daughter started working with me and her reading improved as well. Then she told a friend, and the rest is history.
My unplanned company quickly grew, and I found that I was working 30 hours a week. A few years later, I decided to hire I’m a tutor I met at my Dyslexia certification training class so that we could help more students become successful. Today, I have 3 amazing full-time tutors that I have personally trained. They are all amazing and so dedicated to helping our students gain confidence and learn to read, spell, write and do math, virtually anywhere in the United States.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For the most part, everything has run smoothly. We’ve had a few hiccups along the way, and all of the hiccups became benefits. Because things took off so quickly and I was homeschooling 3 of my kids by then I and I needed help with some of the household chores and so from then on, each member of my family started taking turns cooking dinner. There were 6 of us and so 6 days a week dinner was covered and on Fridays, we had “Fend for Yourself Friday”.
As I was moving my company out of my home and into a location I learned the hard way about betrayal by an employee, however, looking back now I can say that I learned many lessons early on about employees. At the time, it was an awful experience, however, it helped me to set up my company in a way that protecting my assets was in the forefront of my mind.
In January 2020, right before Covid hit, I had just decided to start my next expansion and opened up at a physical location. Talk about timing. By May I told my landlord that I wasn’t going to be able to continue to rent the location. So, I pivoted. I hired my first virtual assistant and we worked diligently to move the company to become a 100% online business. Today my company is thriving online, and we are able to serve students all over the country, from small-town Midwestern cities where specialized tutors are nonexistent, to busy urbanites that don’t have to deal with traffic jams.
We’ve been impressed with 3D Learning Experts, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
3D Learning Experts specializes in private reading, spelling, writing, and math tutoring for learners with Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, and similar learning differences virtually anywhere in the US. We teach our students differently than they teach in school. We use sequential, systematic multi-sensory, and Orton- Gillingham programs to teach our students in a way they understand. We are a positive light for many families that feel like they are in the dark because they don’t know where to go, something I personally experienced many years ago. We motivate our students to learn skills that are hard for them while building their confidence in themselves.
What sets us apart from other Dyslexia tutoring companies in America, is I didn’t start my journey as a special ed teacher. I didn’t even intend to start a company over ten years ago. My goal was simply to learn how to help my children succeed in school and life and others took notice and asked me to help their children succeed as mine were.
I understand Dyslexia from every angle because:
I am Dyslexic (VERY ADHD, mildly on the Autism spectrum and I have Sensory and Visual Processing Disorder).
I married a profoundly Dyslexic man.
I am the mom to four (now adult) children with 9 neurodiversities, and three of my kids have varying degrees of Dyslexia
Since 2012 I have been working with students with Dyslexia.
I focus on educating parents and teachers about Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia throughout the United States because too many people think Dyslexia is seeing letters moving on the page or reversing letters (thanks to movies) and it is important for people to understand the truth.
My staff is trained to teach our students with learning challenges to make 2-3 years of improvement in one year in areas they were failing in before coming to 3D Learning Experts.
The thing that I am most proud of is that we are changing the trajectory of hundreds of individuals and improving the lives of so many students and families!
Two of my goals are to help students, parents and teachers focus on the positive aspects of Dyslexia. My second goal is to raise awareness through publications, like the SD Voyager, in-person, virtual presentations, and training about Dyslexia so that parents and teachers understand correctly what Dyslexia is and can get their struggling students the help that they need. My desire to get the information out to the American public has led to my Podcast and YouTube channel called “The Learning Disability Experts” as well as three books I’ve published and more to follow.
How do you define success?
Success looks different for each and every one of us. In my opinion, success is achieving your goals or surpassing your expectations for yourself. In my case, I am successful because all of my personal and professional dreams come true!!!
Professionally, I believe I am successful because I have taught over one hundred students personally and touched the lives of several hundred more struggling students that are being taught by my tutors, to reach their academic potential.
Personally, I am a success because I have succeeded well beyond the expectations of the high school that rejected me over thirty years ago because they didn’t feel “I had college potential”, and after losing everything in the crash of 2008, when my husband and I lost everything in the crash, we have built our selves back up with our real estate business and my tutoring company and most importantly we raised four amazing children (all with varying academic challenges) who are all making their way in this crazy world, together! I think that is my biggest success, that my kids (and their significant others) all enjoy each other’s company and meet to play games together two times a month.
Contact Info:
- Website: 3DLearningExperts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3DLearningExperts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3DLExperts
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/3DLearningExp
- Youtube: https://wow.link/3DLEYoutube
- Podcast: anchor.fm/theldexperts
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/3DLearningExperts
