Hidden Gems: Meet Cassandra Bruington of Supplemental Education LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassandra Bruington.

Hi Cassandra, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Sure! I have always been passionate about doing what is best for children, even when I was a child. In school, I used my voice to share my ideas for improvement with teachers, administrators, community members, and parents. I enjoyed organizing our summertime activities and planning fun events. I would find new adventures in our military neighborhood and make sure my friends had Little Debbie snacks and cold Capri Sun daily.

Having nurturing parents who supported my interests and strengths gave me the confidence to lead in middle and high school and pursue more college adventures. While studying abroad in South Africa during my senior year of college, I volunteered as an assistant teacher and developed a passion for instruction and connecting with my students and their families. Now, after 13 years in education both in the U.S. and internationally, I know that when students, parents, and educators partner in learning, there is no limit to what is possible.

The year 2020 rocked parents to their core due to the uncertainties of COVID-19 and its impact on education and learning. As a new mom myself, I wanted to help. The idea hit me as I began to think about how I could advocate for children, support parents, and empower educators: virtual tutoring! I launched Supplemental Education LLC three weeks after giving birth to my son.

Supplemental Education LLC provides parents with customized learning roadmaps that focus on a child’s strengths to help meet their unique needs and learning goals. We match students with a tutor to help them achieve those goals! Last year, I hired a company to help me develop a WepApp for Supplemental Education’s services so we can reach any student, anywhere!

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course, I can.
Short answer. No way!

Long answer: I have learned that owning and operating an education technology (EdTech) business takes time, teamwork, and transparency. Conceiving an idea for a business is one thing. Implementing the plan for that business is another. Staying the course and trying again when things don’t go as planned is different altogether. I knew virtual tutoring was the answer to the challenges of education that COVID-19 and virtual learning highlighted. As I discover new obstacles to building a business and developing a tutoring WepApp, I invest in finding experts with a successful track record. These professionals know their way around the challenges.

Supplemental Education is 100% personally funded. I have grown a solid community, and many of our families come from personal referrals. Tutors have come from recommendations from within my network. Our biggest challenge is sharing the business to expand our efforts. Our goal is to secure funding that matches our marketing, operations, and recruitment budget as we scale. Meeting our funding goals will allow us to support 1,000 virtual learners by 2024 and grow our level of impact.

Thank you, Voyage KC, for allowing me to share my passion and journey. I’m so grateful to our students, their families, and our virtual tutors for trusting in my vision of virtual tutoring and creating a new way of learning that addresses the needs of individual students. Our families witness both social and academic growth. We know our program works!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Supplemental Education LLC provides a tested tutoring program for students and a coaching program for educators with proven results. Our WebApp is in beta testing and offers one-on-one virtual tutoring for children in her grades K through 12th. We create customized learning roadmaps then our tutors deliver engaging virtual lessons that help children meet their goals. We are known for our results.

Parents love to share their children’s progress. One of our tutoring students grew 3 reading levels in her initial 8 weeks of summer tutoring. After a month of meeting 2-3 times weekly, another student advanced from the 42nd to the 79th percentile on a national math test. Our students experience the joy of learning and ownership over their growth because they have the support of their parents and the instruction of qualified tutors. Our personalized program is perfect for the busy intentional parent who wants to partner in their child’s education.

We provide families with options. Supplemental Education offers additional products and services to support student learning, parent education, and teacher development. Supplemental Education ships individualized tutoring kits containing supplies like a whiteboard, markers, tutoring notebook, and math manipulatives used during virtual tutoring or at home to practice skills connected to their learning roadmap goals.

I also host FREE monthly webinars that teach parents to understand learning support services that build the skills to support their children. Our WebApp allows students to access our services on any compatible device, which is a bonus as they develop the confidence, organization, and soft skills needed to dominate in a technology-driven world.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
In 2008, I bungee jumped from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. It took 7 minutes to consider the risks involved with this adventure and inch my feet to the edge of the cliff before leaning forward into the air. Time suspended as I flew from the world’s largest waterfall and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Big risk, BIG return! Flying.

In 2020, doctors diagnosed my unborn son with Spina Bifida – Myelomeningocele (open spine, the most severe form). After hearing all my options, I agreed to undergo surgery while pregnant so surgeons could stitch his back closed, giving him a chance to live and one day walk. Three and half weeks later, as I lay on the operating table, I was aware of the risks but hopeful of the outcome. Then the world “shut down” due to the spread of coronavirus, and I spent 3 months on bedrest, away from loved ones with limited visitors, attending weekly ultrasound appointments until I delivered my son Josiah  (Jehovah Heals) by C-section as scheduled. And he’s walking now. Big risk, BIG return! Motherhood.

I returned home from the hospital with a miracle baby and this crazy idea that I could start a virtual tutoring business in the middle of a global pandemic, without a full-time job, and as a newly single mom. Risky? Absolutely. As a business owner, risk-taking is a way of life. Start a new business. Recruit teachers. Market to busy parents. Build an app. Big risk, BIG return! Entrepreneurship.

I understand that playing it safe or waiting for the perfect time is tempting. Waiting to get started may have even helped me feel a little more grounded. However, I still remember what it feels like to be off the ground, like in Zimbabwe. I remember what it feels like to fly!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.supp-ed.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/supplemental_education?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supplementaleducation/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/supplementaled1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmRIcVdtx9fuZkYRIEAg8EQ
• Other: https://linktr.ee/SupplementalEducation

Image Credits
Reagan Fraser Photography Kenney Ellison Photography