Education & Classes in Gainesville

Though the certified dive instructors at The Dive Shop on McEver follow strict teaching guidelines put forth by PADI and SSI, they allow students to learn at their own pace. Diving classes and open-water certification courses take place inside the center's heated pool and at local open-water dive sites. Instructors also help students earn certifications in diver rescue and offer specialty courses in underwater digital photography, navigation, and night diving, which can foster an aquatic skill set more varied than that of Aquaman's go-to handyman. Staff members also teach swimming lessons for infants, toddlers, and children in the center's pool. Within that same building stands a full scuba gear repair shop, a stockpile of new and rental diving equipment, and a tank fill station for air, nitrox, and trimix.

In the late 1970s career educators Eileen and Raymond Huntington opened the first Huntington Learning Center in Oradell, New Jersey. Their goal was to take an individualized approach to education, adjusting instructional tactics according to each student's set of needs. Their success in helping K–12 students prepare for exams and improve grades and study skills quickly spawned franchises across New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere.

Today, the certified Huntington tutoring staff utilizes testing and rubrics for assessing each child's skills, academic needs and potential for growth. The teachers even note the student's behavior in different testing and academic situations to craft a methodology sensitive to each child's learning style. Teachers also adhere to the company's code of ethics that stresses professionalism and confidentiality and encourages pupils to improve their grades honestly through dedicated study rather than shortcuts.

Chi Chi Randolph has choreographed routines for hip-hop artists including Nelly and the Black Eyed Peas. Kari Lehman has 15 years of ballet training experience. Viviane Bressan turned her love of belly dance into a career, traversing the globe while teaching and performing the ancient art. At Dance Austin Studio, these three number among more than a dozen dance instructors whose dazzlingly diverse backgrounds enable an array of classes for everyone from preschoolers to grownups and fitness buffs to serious students of dance.

Zumba combines fast-paced cardio choreography with dynamic Latin rhythms, and the 18-and-older Sexy Stiletto Fit class uses high heels to tone calves and build confidence. Students can choose to learn fundamental positions, steps, and vocabulary during structured ballet, lyrical, and jazz programs, or they can develop video-ready swagger during hip-hop classes. The studio’s sense of fun occasionally spills out into the community—it recently teamed up with the city’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to spark a flash mob at city hall, held to raise awareness of emergency preparedness and help officials practice what to do if invaded by dancing aliens.

Culled from Colombia, Mexico, and the French-speaking quarter of the College of Charleston, the staff at Foreign Language Adventure specializes in Spanish and French lessons for grade-school students. With classes spread across Roswell, Milton, Marietta, Norcross, and Alpharetta, the teachers cast a wide net and pull up eager pupils as young as 2 years old. During the summer, the schools host half-day camp sessions that liven up the learning process. They also offer adult classes periodically, laying a foundational overview of basic communication to prepare for upcoming vacations, international-business meetings, or kidnappings from UN translators.

Artist Joanne Hunter opened The Art Garden as a place where children and adults could engage their creative minds and escape the clutches of modern technology, such as video games or iPods set on bear traps. She explained her goals to Meghan Kotowski at the Gwinnett Daily Post, saying, "I want kids away from controllers, cell phones, TV remotes. I want them to sit in conversation and use their imagination." Under her fun-loving guidance, people from all walks of life explore the art of painting and assemble themed projects using attic treasures, scrap metal, and other mixed media.

Hunter encourages self-expression during open studio sessions, weekly kids' classes, and group events such as birthday parties or girls' nights out. Hunter keeps works in progress on a brag wall, so-named for its incessant boasting about how it makes a perfect 90-degree angle with the floor.

The folks at Georgia Security Agency believe that more than 300,000 new security positions will become available in the state of Georgia over the next five years. To meet the looming demand, they offer certification and licensing courses and maintain a large database where interested parties can search for security jobs and register their information. But their classes don't stop at merely prepping individuals to one day guard the state's nest of golden eggs. They also delve into private investigation and store detective training. For civilians, they offer bodyguard services or self-defense and firearm-training courses.