Necessity creates new business

WILLIAMSBURG — With a teaching degree under belt and a job with a home-school organization, Mindy VanZuiden was well-equipped to help her family financially when her husband lost his position at work.

VanZuiden opened a tutoring service which has grown into a teaching tool for teachers and parents as well as for children.

VanZuiden began Tutorburg in March of 2019 while working for Mid-Prairie Home School Assistance Program.

VanZuiden had a daughter in high school and a son at Mary Welsh Elementary School in Williamsburg, but she was also home schooling one of her daughters using the Barton Reading & Spelling System designed for dyslexic students.

When she picked up her son at Mary Welsh one day, she mentioned to another parent that she was going to open a tutoring business. That parent was thrilled, said VanZuiden. She’d been driving her child all the way to North Liberty for tutoring.

“The day I decided to do it, I had my first student,” said VanZuiden. She had three students in the first three weeks.

The following year, COVID hit. “By then I had already moved [Tutorburg] out of my home,” said VanZuiden. She was tutoring out of a small space behind the Edward Jones office.

VanZuiden planned to tutor virtually during snow days and had already figured out how to do that before COVID became an issue. “It was a flawless transition for students,” she said.

VanZuiden hired her daughter, who was in high school, to help part-time. “We continued to expand and grow rather quickly,” said VanZuiden.

When the Edward Jones building sold, VanZuiden looked for a larger space to keep up with demand. The current space on the second floor of 600 Court Street in Williamsburg fit the bill.

The new space has three offices so three tutors can work on-site at the same time. All of the tutors work part-time, and some, like VanZuiden, have other jobs in addition to working for Tutorburg.

Tutorburg also has a couple of contractors who come and go.

“We have a little over 25 [students] right now,” said VanZuiden, though Tutorburg has had as many as 40 students when they’ve offered special classes.

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The writing classes drew a large number, said VanZuiden.

The agency will tutor anyone from the ages of 5 ½ through adulthood, said VanZuiden. It serves clients in seven different states.

The curriculum is designed for students struggling with reading and spelling, but tutors also teach math, using My Multiplication Magic, a multisensory learning system created for dyslexic students.

Writing courses use materials from the Institute for Excellence in Writing and Handwriting without Tears.

Students can take advantage of the tutoring for as long as they’d like, but those who complete all 10 of Barton’s curriculum level will have the most benefit, said VanZuiden.

Tutorburg has had three students graduate from the program. That takes two to four years depending on the student. Most have 50-minute sessions twice a week.

Not everyone has the time or finances complete the program, said VanZuiden. “Not everyone chooses to finish, but those that do, they really reap the rewards.

“My whole life has changed because of the program,” said VanZuiden, who has never been good at spelling, she said.

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The first student to finish the Barton program at Tutorburg was the son of Angie Baughman, one of Tutorburg’s tutors. Baughman had been a special education paraeducator for more than 20 years before going to work for Tutorburg, said VanZuiden.

Kati Spore also works out of the Williamsburg office. Jaime Edwards tutors online from Virginia. Steph Jones contracts with Tutorburg.

Randall Gingerich is adding art to Tutorburg’s options. He taught English at Pathway Christian School in Kalona. “We brought him here to do math support,” said VanZuiden, but he really loves art, so he’ll teach that as well.

Though it doesn’t meet the primary goal of Tutorburg, “I think it’ll just be an extension,” said VanZuiden. “I see it as an outlet for students.”

The founder

VanZuiden is originally from the Chicago area. She always knew she wanted to teach. “I just knew. I just loved my teachers growing up. I felt like they poured a lot into my life.”

Her teachers encouraged her and kept her motivated, she said.

“I was afraid to become a teacher,” she said, so she became a P.E. teacher.

VanZuiden still is sometimes anxious about teaching reading and spelling because she had difficulty with that growing up. But she loves the English language and likes to talk about it and learn about it.

More than tutoring

Tutoring is only a quarter of what Tutorburg is all about, said VanZuiden. The business offers professional development, advocacy and consulting as well.

“I travel all over the state doing professional development for teachers,” said VanZuiden.

“That’s one of my favorite things is teaching teachers,” VanZuiden said. She reaches more students by teaching their teachers.

VanZuiden recently finished training from the Dyslexic Training Institute to become a dyslexic advocate. She now helps families navigate issues faced by dyslexic children.

VanZuiden provides consultation for families who home-school, helping them design curriculum and work with school districts.

“We are in that rare place for accepting new students,” said VanZuiden.

Burg Reads

Last summer Tutorburg started an outreach program called Burg Reads for parents at the library. “It was just something I really wanted to bring to our community,” VanZuiden said.

“I envision Burg Reads as an annual event that grows … until we become the … leading conference for reading in our state.”

The library, the school district, Tutorburg and Navigation Play participated in Burg Reads.

“We really focused on literacy as a whole,” said VanZuiden. Dyslexia affects about 20% of people, but literacy affects 100%, she said.

“I brought in some very fun speakers,” said VanZuiden. The sessions gave parents information about phonemic awareness, fluency, alphabet letter sounds and building a literacy tool kit.

A speech pathologist and librarian were among guest speakers.

Burg Reads attracted about 15 the first year, which was fewer than what VanZuiden hoped. But she’s not discouraged.

Parents said the sessions weren’t long enough. The event was scheduled for only two hours, and all of the team members were volunteers.

“I thought it was great for our first year,” said VanZuiden. “I am blessed. I feel like this is a ministry.”

Tutorburg is on Facebook and Instagram and has a website — tutorburg.com. VanZuiden can be reached at 630-209-6281.