Today we’d like to introduce you to Holly Barber.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have been a teacher for as long as I can remember. I studied and planned to be a doctor, but the universe (and my mother’s prayers) had other ideas. I started as a teaching assistant at an Oklahoma City charter school and soon realized how much I enjoyed the progress that my students were making. Soon after, I was offered a teaching assistant position at my college. Learning and teaching were my passion. Because I was excelling in school, I was being pursued by various recruiters from different post-collegiate organizations and employers. Teach for America was among the few I was seriously considering. I was torn between applying for medical school and the Teach for America Corps. It was shortly after Hurricane Katrina and I thought I could do some good by applying to teach in New Orleans. I applied and was accepted to Teach for America…in Houston. While I was apprehensive about returning to my hometown, I felt encouraged that I could contribute there too. I thought I would complete the two-year requirement and then go to medical school. I was wrong, I fell in love with teaching. I ended up having a teaching career that ranged from teaching pre-school to college sophomores.
Eight years in, I began to feel that “itch”. I needed to do something new to challenge myself. I began researching and trying things out. I ended up transitioning to the private sector and running a faith-based pre-school that was struggling. I’d found a new love and, as a bonus, my children were able to attend my school! I settled in and worked hard on the task ahead of me. I was happy and settled. After three and a half successful years, and despite the efforts of my team and school improvements, the management team decided to close the school. It was heartbreaking, exhausting and defeating. I knew that I had done my best, but still felt a great loss.
During that transition, I was approached by the parent of a former student who was interested in childcare. He talked to me about starting an early childhood center school system. I thought he was joking. After a few more discussions, I realized he was indeed serious and had a plan to accomplish his goal. He was inviting me to be a part of a team whose mission was to provide an innovative alternative to traditional early childhood learning. Little did I know, I had the same ambitious dream. When considering his offer, I began drafting my ideas for a school. I quickly realized my years of schooling and classroom time had left me with very non-traditional views about how children learn and achieve. My time as a school leader had allowed me to develop my thoughts about evolving school philosophy and student development. My experience has shown me that community dynamics and truly dedicated educators can greatly impact early childhood development. In my head, I had already developed a school. It was time to put the pen to paper.
The Lux School was born.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Ha! I’ve always struggled with redefining and normalizing being a working mom. What I mean is -I love my kids, but I also love to work. I have been criticized for years for wanting to do both well. I was once told (while being offered a very prestigious opportunity) that I had to choose one or the other. I absolutely refuse to accept that! I have spent years raising my family and developing myself both personally and professionally. Some years were great and others weren’t. The truth is, I had to learn to analyze my own successes and failures. By doing this, I learned to explore the things that worked well and avoid potential personal and professional pitfalls.
As I matured, I began spending more time in prayer and reflection. That is when I began to progress the most! I became more mindful of my plans for success and what I needed to do in order to accomplish my goals. My high functioning norm is very much like a distance race. I train, compete, rest and repeat. Once I figured out what I needed to function (Jesus, family, gospel music, Beyoncé and the gym), I made sure that I had accountability partners at home and at work to help me monitor my balance. When I am balanced, I can slow down and celebrate my milestones.
I would advise any young woman starting out to dream big and to define your normal! Be it for yourself or for your family, own what works. It is perfectly acceptable for your life and/or family to be structured in whatever way brings success to all. If you do it all – great! If you have a nanny…equally as great! Whatever routines, norms, support, prayers, encouragement or tools you need to be you and live your dreams, use them! I think sometimes women do not feel empowered to break the norm or do things differently and those thoughts can hold us back.
Please tell us about The Lux School.
I am the Creator and Executive Director of Operations for The Lux School. I will serve as Head of School for The Lux School: Creative Movement Campus.
The Lux School(s) are Montessori – inspired, innovative learning environments where care is provided for children from 3 months old to exiting 4th grade (after-school care). The school concept was born from analyzing my needs as a working mom and my time as a classroom teacher. We focus on enthusiastically engaging students and truly supporting parents. At our schools, students are exposed to various enrichment areas, such as fine arts, and allowed to explore them. By exposing children to interests at a young age, we allow them to truly find themselves as well as allow teachers to see how they learn best. We teach students using this information. Our curriculum embeds the various enrichment areas into a state-aligned curriculum from birth through preschool. Our school is also unique in that we work to support parents by allowing extracurricular activities to take place during the day so that parents can allow their children to participate but also reserve precious after school hours for family time. By partnering with parents to help students love learning and school, we benefit families and make stronger communities.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
I think women are well positioned or skilled to be in managerial or supervisory roles regardless of the field. We are hardwired to multitask, delegate and assess. Women use these three natural skills coupled with academically or experientially acquired skills to manage offices, homes, classrooms, hospitals and beyond. Our opportunities are endless. Be a changemaker. Redefine the world around you!
Contact Info:
- Address: 2555 County Road 58
Manvel, Texas 77578 - Website: theluxschool.com
- Phone: 8335895437
- Email: Director@theluxschool.com
- Facebook: facebook.com/theluxschool/
Image Credit:
Lifetouch Photography, Pisces310 Photography
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