A community education organization led by educators Dori Isakson and Todd Valentine. We create welcoming spaces where students follow their curiosity, build confidence, and discover what they are capable of.
Learning Without Limits.
Child, teen, or adult, through personalized education, advocacy, and community. Alongside our other professional roles, we are building Unbound Potential to expand access to the learning opportunities our community deserves.
We make room for different ways of thinking and learning. From reading and writing to math, science, art, and engineering, we connect learning with students' interests, strengths, and lives.
Every session is taught by Dori, personally. We start where the student actually is, not where a worksheet says they should be. Sessions use manipulatives, books, drawing, talk, and real problems, so understanding sticks and confidence follows.
Math is Dori's specialty, and reading, writing, science, and study skills get the same treatment. Dori works especially well with students of any age who have decided they are "bad at" a subject.
$65/hr
One-on-one
Any subject, any age. In-home, online, at a library or cafe, or at school. Free 20-minute consult first, if you want one.
2–4
Small groups
Share the hourly rate with another family. Kids learn a lot from thinking out loud together, and it makes tutoring far more affordable.
18+
Adults welcome
Plenty of grown students come to us for the one class standing between them and a degree. Nobody here will make you feel behind.
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Sliding scale
If the rate is what's standing between you or your child and this support, say so when you write to us. We'll find a number that works. No forms, no explaining yourself.
Free
20-minute consult
Not sure where to start? Talk through goals and see if it is a good fit.
Book a Free Consult60 min
One-on-one session
The standard session. One subject or a mix, at the student’s pace.
Book 60 MinutesBooking and payment run through our sister shop, Unbound Joy Studio. Need the sliding scale? Write to us first.
We partner with schools to run Learning Labs over winter, spring, and summer break, plus afterschool blocks. Five to ten days, four to five hours a day or full days, snacks included.
Labs can center reading, writing, science, math, art, or engineering, or move through all of them across a week. Dori and Todd lead them together, write the curriculum, and source every material. Your school provides the space and helps get the word out. Pricing is set together when we build the plan, so it fits your community and your funding.
01
Tell us about your school
Grades, break dates, expected headcount, which subjects your families need most.
02
A 15-minute call
We talk through scope, staffing, and what the week could look like.
03
A Lab plan and a price
Written proposal with subjects, daily schedule, materials list, and cost per student.
04
We run it
You get photos, an impact summary, and families asking when the next one is.
Each Lab takes one subject and makes it physical: a room lit only by blacklight, a table of slime chemistry, a sticker design studio. Families arrive, we do quick introductions, explain the setup, and then let kids loose. Parents can stay and play or take the time back. We bring everything.
We run Labs for
A blacked-out room with party lights, blacklight paint, glow-in-the-dark toys, glowing face paint, and games you can only play in the dark.
Measuring, mixing, and testing until it stretches right — chemistry and ratios wearing a very good disguise. Everyone leaves with a jar.
Kids design, cut, and print their own sticker sheets — part art studio, part design lab, entirely theirs to take home.
Surface tension, one drop at a time: students loaded syringes and counted how many drops of water a single penny could hold before it broke. Predictions first, then the count, then the argument about why.
169
students & families served
1,375
hours of direct service
525
hours of 1:1 academic mentoring
30
students in Summer Learning Labs
One middle school learner arrived identifying as "bad at math" and left calling themselves a "math mentor in training."
One family left a harmful school placement and built a custom homeschool plan with our guidance, and reported less burnout and more confidence.
One neurodivergent student who had daily meltdowns at school learned to self-advocate, request breaks, and finish complex projects on their own terms.
"Unbound Potential has provided incredible learning for my child, building confidence not only in math, but also in herself overall, that extends far beyond mentoring sessions. Unbound Potential creates a safe and supporting space for each student to be celebrated for who they are."
"My kiddo is in second grade and loves spending time at Unbound Potential. It's a loving and student-centered environment where every child can nurture their love of learning, curiosity, and individuality in a safe setting."
"That's why you're the best. You give me time to do the thinking I need to and you make learning really fun!"
"I wish my kid could go to school here all year and not just in the summer!"
Families, students, and teachers: a few sentences from you help another parent decide to try us. We read every one and will ask before publishing anything with your name on it.
they/them · Math Specialist · Educational Equity Advocate
Dori holds a master's degree in elementary math education and spent more than ten years teaching in classrooms while tutoring on the side, helping students uncover strengths they never knew they had. In 2025 they left the traditional school system to run Unbound Potential Learning Labs full time, building the safe, accessible, joyful spaces they always knew were needed.
Their work is individualized, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive, with real depth in supporting neurodivergent learners and kids who have been harmed by school. Healing education takes more than reform — it takes new models that affirm identities, honor community wisdom, and nurture students and teachers alike.
any pronouns · S.T.E.M. Instruction · Wellness Specialist
Todd teaches full time at Bridges Middle School, where he is known for turning lessons into experiences and inviting students into science through pop culture and real-world connections. His classroom runs on questions, laughter, and "aha" moments.
He co-founded Unbound Potential because the mission mirrors his own: unlocking untapped potential in every student. Todd leads the Summer Learning Labs and school break Labs alongside Dori, and he is the reason a week of Labs feels like a week of camp.
Dori consults with schools and districts on educational equity, curriculum, and supporting neurodivergent learners, runs staff sessions, and speaks at regional and national education conferences on equity and racial justice in math.
Families come for help too: building a homeschool plan, preparing for an IEP meeting, or deciding what comes next after a placement that was not working. Consulting and speaking engagements are Dori's alone.
Enquire About a Session| Mar 2025 | NCTM Annual Meeting | New Orleans, LA |
| Apr 2025 | NAPE National Summit | Washington, DC |
| Oct 2026 | Northwest Mathematics Conference | Portland, OR · upcoming |
Education · Mentorship · Creativity · Community
Learning Without Limits.
Tutoring, Learning Labs, and consulting in St. Johns, Portland. Every subject, K through adult, with a sliding scale so cost is never the reason a student goes without.
You are here.
Create Without Limits.
Our design and print studio inside treeHAUS gallery. Logos, business cards, stickers, signs, shop window installs — professional work for artists, educators, and small businesses. It started with students teaching us how to make handmade stickers, and the revenue funds the sliding scale here.
Visit unboundjoystudio.comWhether you're a parent looking for a tutor, a school planning a week of Learning Labs, a district looking for consulting, or someone who wants a Glow Lab at their event: write or call. Dori answers everything personally.
Portland metro area, plus online anywhere.