Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Ledwith.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m a Houston native raised by a single mother with high debts and no child support. People repeatedly told me that my mother made too much money for me to get any college financial aid. But grants are just one type of aid. When I walked across the stage at a high school graduation, I had received so many scholarships that the announcer was still reading them after I was done crossing the stage. When I graduated from college with minimal student loan debt (only $1,000), I realized that I was an outlier: most of my friends and classmates took on massive student loans to pay for college. This was a key catalyst for me. In 2004, I created Scholar Ready to help future undergraduates avoid taking on unnecessary student debt. Initially, I focused on helping students write scholarship essays; however, realizing that scholarships are a function of several factors — PSAT scores, ACT scores, SAT scores, GPA, and essays — I expanded Scholar Ready’s services to include math tutoring and test preparation. I understood from a young age that education and literacy are crucial to success. To this end, I designed Scholar Ready to give students the help they need to succeed in school and achieve a better life.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
When enduring a pandemic, of course not. In 2020, income from the third quarter was approximately 39% lower than the income of the third quarter of 2019. Colleges announced that they wouldn’t require the SAT and ACT for admissions; parents weren’t motivated to pay for private test preparation. As a result, only 12 students enrolled in Scholar Ready’s August PSAT/SAT course, and revenue for teaching that class plummeted by over 58%. Houston’s struggling energy industry and widespread COVID-19-induced layoffs dampened Scholar Ready’s back-to-school blitz.
Consequently, I’m more clear-eyed about what I want Scholar Ready to accomplish. In this moment of test-optional college admissions, students’ urgency to prepare for college entrance exams has diminished. Therefore, I’ve shifted my focus to helping middle and high school students who struggle with reading comprehension. Reading strategies and critical thinking skills will be in demand no matter what happens with the SAT and ACT. In Summer 2020, I created a literacy program for rising 8th, 9th, and 10th graders.
We’ve been impressed with Scholar Ready, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Scholar Ready, we help students to improve their reading, writing, and math skills. We also prepare students for PSAT, SAT, and ACT. Our program has produced National Merit Scholars. National Merit Scholars score well on the PSAT and have a high probability of earning full scholarships. We also help students struggling with reading comprehension to become better readers and writers.
While parents hire us for a short-term goal of increasing their teens’ test scores or grades, I tell them that Scholar Ready is here for their college-bound journey. I joke that I’m running a “Distraught Parent Hotline” because parents call me to discuss their children’s academic, social, extracurricular, and general adolescent crises. As I listen and recommend resources to the parents, I’m building trust.
Sometimes, this advisory relationship means that Scholar Ready has to sacrifice a short-term sale for a long-term relationship. For instance, a parent wanted to enroll her son (who is heavily involved in marching band) during the height of the marching band season. His hectic schedule would have prevented him from fully participating in our classes. In short, the family would have wasted money. The parent was relieved when I recommended that he wait to take the class during the spring.
A typical test-preparation company would focus on the student’s current problem: low math grades and undesirable test scores. A typical tutor would teach shortcuts, neglecting the student’s long-term educational needs. However, Scholar Ready is a literacy-first service that prepares our students to excel in college. We examine students’ literacy levels and adjust our learning program to make sure they don’t feel lost or left behind. We address the current problem AND the underlying cause: poor critical thinking brought on by deficient math and reading skills. In turn, students develop life-long learning skills.
How do you think about luck?
Luckily, I graduated college as tuition costs began to skyrocket, creating a demand for scholarships. The company I created seeks to help students to improve their grades, test scores, and essays so that they can earn scholarships. I have also had the good luck to teach a daughter of a tech worker who convinced me to meet with her daughter (who was an hour away) online. Furthermore, the virtual meeting space enabled me to teach students from across the Houston metropolitan area, Texas, and the United States without fighting traffic. Because I shifted from in-person to online private tutoring about a decade before the Covid-19 pandemic, I was already familiar with effective, online teaching strategies when the classroom moved to Zoom. Additionally, a few years ago, a robust allergy test confirmed my various food allergies. Advocating for myself and making sure that I have what I need helps me to empathize with my students who have learning differences and must ask for what they need so they can learn effectively.
Contact Info:
- Email: jdledwith@scholaready.com
- Website: www.scholaready.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scholaready/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Scholaready
