Summer of Satisfaction

Michael John Mannion

Michael John Mannion When Michael John was growing up, he was the eldest of twelve grandchildren. The family gathered at Grandmom’s house, and even when invited to sit with the adults, Michael John always opted for the kids’ table. He was involved with athletics, scouting, and the church community throughout his youth. His father struggled with sobriety until Michael John was in high school, and Michael John often spent weeks or months at his aunt's home to be shielded from an abusive setting. As a result, Michael John was not a high-performing student. He struggled in high school as a result of ongoing family distractions and drama. During his first semester as an undeclared university student, Michael John took a position near his dorm as a behavior interventionist and counselor at a newly opened group home for men who had previously been institutionalized. He continued his work there and soon after took a position as Recreation and Assistant Director of Camp Joy: an overnight, recreational camp program for people with multiple physical and mental handicaps and what we now refer to as neurodiversity. This is where Michael John and Jaz met. Michael John began his education career after graduating from West Chester University, formerly known as West Chester State Teachers College. His first position was in the Philadelphia area as a teacher for children with multiple physical and cognitive challenges at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. Later, he took the position of behavioral specialist and SIED self-contained classroom teacher at Academy Park High. Following a visit to the Bay Area, Michael John set out to take another SIED classroom position at SFUSD’s James Denman Middle. For five years, Michael John taught mathematics and sciences to some of San Francisco’s most challenging students. Michael John and Jaz founded a partnership with SFPD and California State Parks and launched a backpacking program for Excelsior District students. Michael John soon got the attention of the superintendent’s office and was recognized with awards and scholarships for innovation as an inner-city teacher. He seemed to pick up tutoring clients at every turn and built a strong after-school clientele. Meanwhile, he began playing in various surf rock bands on weekends. In the late nineties, Michael John and Jaz were married and moved to Boulder, CO, where Michael John became a program director, behavior and learning specialist, and case manager for BVSD’s C.H.O.I.C.E. Program: a hands-on, outdoor-oriented, middle-level, charter school. During this time, he studied Gifted & Talented Education at the University of Northern Colorado. Again, requests for after-school tutoring emerged, and Michael John got involved in the Denver music scene. After three years of teaching at BVSD and shortly following the Columbine shooting, Michael John resigned from twelve years of tenure and launched Just2 Tutoring. His first day of business was the morning of September 11, 2001. No lesson plans could have prepared them for that day! Michael John has always had a passion for good food and had several cooking lessons from non-English speaking grandmothers while in California. Upon arriving in Boulder, he was a personal chef for several families and helped out at Jaz's dance studios: Express Yourself and Mosaic Movement Arts. During that time, Michael John and Jaz founded CAMP of Boulder- a multi-generational, inclusive, community, performance troupe. Over time, word of Michael John’s tutoring work got around the Front Range, and with the support of Michael John's mentor, Pam Allen, Just2 Tutoring became a household name. In 2013, Jaz joined Just2 to support the organization, and soon after, the Just2 Team began to emerge. Michael John and the Just2 have been serving students in their homes, local coffee shops, and public library branches for over two decades. Over the years, he learned firsthand the importance of executive function skills and incorporated coaching techniques long before EF was even named. At BPL, Michael John is often mistaken for staff and is known by patrons as “That Tutor Guy” and “The Professor”. Today, Michael John and the Just2 Team have served thousands of young people to improve not only their GPAs but also their relationships with their parents and themselves. While all students experienced academic improvement, some got themselves healed from trauma, sought sobriety, and overcame mental health challenges to be successful in college and later, in the workplace. Michael John says, Just2 coaches must be committed to being the person they themselves may have needed when they were growing up. Michael John is now the founder and head coach of Just2 Tutoring Michael John and J2 serve neurodiverse students with unique needs who are enrolled in local public and private schools. Additionally, Just2 serves homeschool students and frequently meets with students via video conferencing. J2 specializes in a global approach to academic support, including time management, organization, and study skills.