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Meet Dana Lawrence Gillis of Tunes2teach.com, Dana Lawrence Music in North Suburbs

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Lawrence Gillis.

Dana, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m 42 years old, and I was born and raised in Highland Park, IL. I am a teacher and tutor (tunes2teach.com), a performing singer/songwriter (danalawrencemusic.com), a social media coordinator for a local athletic club (College Park Athletic Club in Bannockburn), and a representative for a health supplement company specializing in exogenous ketones. Education, music, health and fitness are my passions, and I’ve always tried to follow each of these paths in ways that would allow me to express myself creatively, and potentially allow me to make a living do so.

I began playing violin at the age of two and continued for 14 years, picking up piano, percussion and guitar along the way. I always loved school, and I clearly remember deciding I wanted to become a teacher at age 7 as I was sitting in my 2nd grade classroom- a room that I would eventually return to as a teacher almost 25 years later. At the age of 16 I began writing songs and singing with my guitar in local coffee shops and restaurants, at which point I decided I wanted to become both a teacher and a musician. I attended a liberal arts college (Colorado College, cum laude Class of 1998) and as a result was unable to pursue Education as a major, so I majored instead in French Literature and Civilization. I always had a passion for languages, and spent my junior year of college abroad in Paris and Aix-en-Provence, France.

After college I came back to Chicago and began performing regularly in local bars and music venues, while maintaining a side-gig as a full-immersion French teacher and pursuing my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education at Northwestern University. It was at this time that I met local musician and producer Derrick Suede Stout, who took me under his wing and produced my first professional studio album, an EP of original songs entitled “Easier.” The album features critically acclaimed musicians from bands including Smashing Pumpkins, Filter, Mighty Blue Kings, Peat Moss and more, and is available on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/album/easier/119559037.

After I received my Master’s Degree in 2001, I began teaching elementary school in the Chicago Public School System, and eventually ended up at my Alma Mater (Lincoln Elementary School) in Highland Park as a Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grade teacher. Having finally achieved my goal of becoming an educator, I was excited to be able to incorporate music into my teaching methods. I began writing and producing educational songs and music videos, including “The Scientific Method Rap,” (youtu.be/bUa-ilQqEv0) which went viral on YouTube and was even recognized by NASA! It continues to be used in classrooms across the country to teach the scientific method to students of all ages.

I eventually left the public school system in 2013 to pursue private tutoring in a setting unbound by the newly implemented Common Core system and teacher evaluation system, which didn’t adhere to my educational philosophies or allow for the freedom to teach and learn in the ways I believe to be best. I founded a K-8 Learning Center in Highland Park called Tunes2teach.com, where I was able to continue to teach with integrity and freely integrate music, mental health and physical fitness into my teaching methods. Making the connection between education and fitness allowed me to focus on the whole child in my approach, and inspired me to pursue my own physical health in unprecedented ways.

After my daughter was born in 2009, I spent years combatting escalating health issues due to the impact my pregnancy had on my body. I decided to deliberately lead an active lifestyle with my growing daughter to help us both stay healthy. As she grew, she also showed an interest in singing and making music; she began performing at public venues with me at age 5, and now at 9 she regularly performs with me, often singing lead vocals and harmonies. We love to record and make music videos for our songs (including her original song “Secret Powers” youtu.be/074yKGubAvg), and share them on our YouTube channel playlist “Mother-Daughter Videos featuring Clara Rose” (bit.ly/2s0ZvuX). This past weekend we performed our longest set yet, a 2-hour mother-daughter show at a local music festival where Clara Rose sang all the lead vocals! (Check out a song from our performance at https://bit.ly/2MyN05D). She has continued to follow the fitness route with me as well, and we regularly inspire each other to be active together as much as possible. We’ve documented this journey on Instagram at @motherdaughterfit (www.instagram.com/motherdaughterfit/).

All of these passions have led me to where I am today: living my best life on the north side of Chicago, working with children to empower them to be their best selves inside the classroom and out, playing music and performing regularly, and wearing multiple hats within the fitness industry to keep myself and my family as active and healthy as possible. Though my path has often been untraditional and diverged in many directions, it has taught me so much about myself and what I am capable of in this world. I am making a living doing what I love and creatively contributing to my community, and I am looking forward to continuing to learn and grow as I move forward in my endeavors!

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I have faced many obstacles and challenges in pursuit of my passions, some of which really took a toll on me. I am a bit of an idealist, and I came into my teaching career with nothing but optimism and pure motivation to positively impact as many children’s lives as possible. This optimism and motivation have never left me, but my belief in my ability to accomplish these goals were virtually crushed by the public school system. After I achieved tenure in my teaching career, I was targeted by administration as a vocal advocate for my students who refused to compromise my values and beliefs about what was best for each of them, just to conform to rigid administrative standards that were completely disconnected from their best interests. I spent many years struggling to do so with as much integrity as possible in the face of outlandish punitive measures implemented by administrators and a system who simply wanted me to be another cog in the wheel of the “education business.” Ultimately, when it became clear that there was no longer any way for me to adhere to best practices in my teaching philosophies (i.e. treating my students as whole children vs. pieces of data, and not letting statistics drive or define my approach to each individual in my classroom when everyone learns and grows differently), I decided to leave the system and teach as an independent educator. Though this was an extremely difficult decision to make, as I left a steady paycheck, benefits, years of experience and the group classroom setting behind, I have absolutely no regrets about making the choice to do so. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to work with students in a private setting, not just “teaching” them, but also helping them to successfully navigate their classroom settings, to unlock their learning potential and optimize their own personal independent learning strategies, to engage them in meaningful learning opportunities otherwise unaccessible at school, and to truly help them grow to become their best selves both inside the classroom and out!

Pursuing a career in music has also posed many challenges for me, not quite as intense as those I faced in the world of education, but certainly greater in number. The music industry has always been an extremely difficult one to crack, notwithstanding knowing the right people and being in the right places at the right time. I had grand aspirations as a young performer of becoming a “rock star” that would become famous and bring my music to an international platform; but traveling this path has taught me two things: this is neither a realistic or easy goal to achieve, nor is it the path for which I was meant. I’m very excited that technology and social media has opened up a new inlet into the music industry: that of the self-made musician. With the advent of reality shows, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, etc., and with the help of simple easily-accessible technology, musicians no longer need to record in music studios and professionally release original content to be marketed and sold in order to be successful in their own ways. There is SO much talent out there, and so much of it these days is “homegrown.” Due to my online music presence, I have been scouted by a few agents to audition for shows like “America’s Got Talent;” but after going through the nerve-wracking and high-pressure experience, I realized I am happy just to be able to share my music- and my love of music- with a like-minded community online and in local venues.

My health has also presented me with many obstacles in my adult life, and though these issues are not uncommon, for me they have been some of the most difficult to reconcile. I’ve always been fitness-minded, beginning with dance, tennis and softball growing up, to varsity track and cross country in high school. Post-college I did full-contact Karate for many years, achieving brown belt with black stripe, which is one step away from black belt, and always tried to stick to a routine of running or working out. Then, when I got pregnant with my daughter in 2009, everything changed. Pregnancy, labor and delivery forever altered the internal structure of my body. Some changes affected me right away, but the most impactful changes took some time to do their damage and make themselves known. I have spent the last five years seeing various specialists and going through uncomfortable tests and physical therapies, and was ultimately diagnosed with post-pregnancy organ prolapse which has resulted in radical lifestyle changes regarding exercise and diet. I was no longer able to do any high-impact activity, and my doctors significantly restricted my diet. These changes helped in their own little ways, but still I was unable to regain my previous physical functionality. Refusing to accept this as the new norm, I continued to research, experiment with what I could eat, and do everything I could to be able to keep up my level of activity. Finally, earlier this year, I found the magic element that would help me not only get at the root of my issues, but has also helped me achieve unprecedented levels of health, energy and well-being! I am thrilled to have discovered a supplement that has allowed me to easily adopt a Ketogenic lifestyle, which has drastically improved or virtually eliminated all symptoms of my post-pregnancy conditions and health issues that I’ve been dealing with for the better portion of my life! I have had such success with this path that I decided to become a representative for the supplement so I could share its amazing benefits with my friends, family and community.

I am so grateful for all of these experiences in spite of their intensity and difficulties, as they’ve all taught me incredibly valuable life lessons that have allowed me to move forward through life with heightened awareness, broader perspective, and stronger resolve.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Tunes2teach.com, Dana Lawrence Music – what should we know?
I am the Founder and Owner of Tunes2teach.com, and I provide tutoring and education services for students and parents of students preK-8th grade. I specialize in helping children optimize their learning process and grasp their potential by discovering how they learn best, and helping them to develop strategies and skills to become successful independent learners in all contexts. Many tutors or learning centers focus on homework help or self-contained concepts, but I go above and beyond this approach to provide individualized academic support and enrichment with a focus on personal learning strategies, empowering students to become their best selves, inside the classroom and out. To help my students learn and grow beyond the classroom, I present various strategies to increase student understanding, connect to school curriculum through games and activities, understand and acknowledge individual learning styles, use quality and creative materials and methods to meet current educational standards, guide students to become independent learners, and consistently engage my students in meaningful learning opportunities that are often not able to be implemented within the context of the classroom alone.

My intimate knowledge of the way things really work inside the system has provided me with valuable insight to share with parents of students navigating the system themselves, and serves me especially well in my role as outside consultant for parents who have children with IEPs or 504 plans. I am most proud of my ability to connect with my students and establish an authentic and inspiring student-teacher connection, which can make all the difference in unlocking a child’s potential. I have had countless students come to me who either dislike school or hate learning in general for various reasons, and I have always been able to break through within our first hour of meeting together to show them that learning can be fun, and that they are capable of way more than they may give themselves credit for. My favorite teacher-student connections include that light bulb moment when a student really starts to get it, and the immediate growth that takes place when a student becomes aware of his or her own learning potential. At school or home, students often may not have the opportunity to learn what does and doesn’t work best for them in their own study practices; but by helping students figure out how they learn best and giving them a toolbox full of learning strategies, their academic confidence and accomplishments can skyrocket! See what parents have to say about tunes2teach at https://t2think.wordpress.com/parent-testimonials/.

What are your proudest moments?
My proudest moments happen every time I watch one of my students grasp a new concept or conquer an academic obstacle. However, the proudest moments of my career so far definitely include watching my daughter Clara embrace the same passions that have carried me through my own life. She genuinely enjoys singing and performing, she absolutely adores school and learning, and she is thoroughly motivated to engage in physical activities and sports. Not only does she enjoy all of these things in much the same way I do, but she seems to possess a natural inclination and growing skill set for each that is allowing her to set her sights on successes far beyond any that I was capable of at her age! My heart is full seeing the teacher, musician, and health and fitness awareness come out of her in such amazing ways, and on her own terms.

Pricing:

  • Tunes2teach Session Rates: Pre-K & Elementary $95/hr, Middle School $100/hr
  • Dana Lawrence Music Rates: $100/hr for private engagements; final pricing determined upon booking

Contact Info:

Group of cute school friends in casualwear looking at camera

Image Credit:
Elizabeth Sattelberger

Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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