Inspiring Conversations with Helen Panos of Dynamis Learning

Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Panos.

Hi Helen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I began my teaching career in 1995 in a large metro Atlanta school system. By my 4th year, I began the process of getting a gifted certification which allowed me to teach 6th-8th grade gifted students. This position allowed me to grow into a lead gifted position at my school and from there was able to review and assess children for the gifted program.

As I taught regular and gifted education within my school for many years, I continued to notice a weakness in basic skills such as reading, writing/grammar and math. My position as a Section 504 chair brought that more to light. We all know that class sizes are large, and thus every concept a child hears cannot be learned the first or second time. Teachers are just not able to provide individual attention due to class sizes. This, coupled with my passion to help children, birthed Dynamis Learning, a K-12 Tutoring/SAT/ACT Prep & Executive Function Coaching company. We also tutor SSAT/PSAT, offer advocacy, college essay writing & application assistance. Why the name Dynamis? Dynamis is a Greek word which means “the state of that which is not yet fully realized”. Its power and potentiality. At Dynamis Learning, our goal is to help children reach their full potential and that is what we strive for every day!

At this time, we have 20 qualified tutors who work for my company assisting kids with academics and test-taking skills. I am in the 5th year of my podcast, “Smart Parents Successful Students”, which can be found on my website, Spotify and the company YouTube Channel. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to speak to different groups on a smaller scale, so that parents can get to know me, my knowledge, experience, and the value I can bring to their family. Today, I am happy to say, we are helping hundreds of children be successful in school and in life.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
After 25 years of working for a public school system and now the owner of my own tutoring business, I can definitely say it wasn’t always a smooth road. Over time, education has changed in so many ways, especially since 2020. As a country, we are always looking for a better way to educate children, thus county school systems are always changing things. What this means as an educator is that we must always be changing and adapting with the times to help improve the academic growth in our students.
Growing Dynamis Learning has been a challenge but a rewarding one as I know getting to this point could not have been done without the help of my team: my tutors, a very part-time assistant and a very part-time graphic/technology person.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dynamis Learning ?
As an educator with 25+ years of experience, I have the ability to listen to what a parent is saying about their child and then match the child up with the best qualified tutor on our staff. The tutor then gets to know the child’s strengths and weaknesses and customizes the tutoring to fit the child’s needs. The fact that my staff has many years of experience allows us to be able to cater to the child and to assess any issues that are currently present and/or arise VERY quickly. I believe in helping children reach their highest potential, so they can become successful and productive citizens in society and the world. My company hires the most qualified tutors with experience in various contents and grade levels. These are teachers who have worked with thousands of students over the years.

Additionally, our SAT/ACT test prep experts have provided us with much insight into how the SAT and ACT are structured. My tutors work with kids of all levels. We have been known to do SSAT bootcamps for private schools as well.

Our most recent offering has been essay writing and application assistance along with executive function coaching for 6th-12th graders. These skills are so valuable to have in life.

In addition, we offer one-hour webinars on various topics like organization, ADHD and study skills.

Additionally, Dynamis Learning provides another type of tutoring. Many students are interested in the gifted program in public schools, thus I personally tutor children who plan on taking the test. I have also helped parents understand the gifted eligibility process in Georgia for 9 years now.

Dynamis Learning also offers advocate assistance for SST/RTI and Section 504 meetings. I also have staff that can help advocate for a child prior to and during an IEP meeting. We assist parents/kids in getting accommodations that are needed, especially before tests are taken.

Lastly, I have a podcast for parents: Smart Parents Successful Students podcast. We provide valuable information for parents on this podcast via our own team or through experts.

How do you think about luck?
Luck has shown up in my journey in unexpected ways. 9 years ago, I was getting my cell phone repaired, and I met a parent who worked there. Her son became one of my first tutoring clients. That “chance encounter” turned into multiple referrals and gave momentum for my business.

In terms of bad luck, I lost my job in 2020 as I was part time. This was when I was able to build my business up because I had the time now and didn’t have a full time job to distract me. I’ve also had some bad luck early on with webinars when I could not get parents to attend. This forced me to rethink what and how was being presented and I adapted quickly.

What I’ve realized is that luck isn’t the whole story. It opens doors or throws curveballs, but how you respond—staying flexible, resilient, and ready determines where you land.

Pricing:

• K-12 tutoring: I offer packages of 8 and 16 sessions
• Executive Function Coaching: 1 month, 4 or 6 month package

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dynamislearningacademy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dynamislearningacademy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dynamislearningacademy
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC-DBFY2KmyXii8Zp41R0RbQ
• Other: https://linktr.ee/dynamislearning