Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Brazda.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Amy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I studied Elementary Education at the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with the degree Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a minor in English. Before graduation, I was tested and certified for life by the Texas Education Agency. Immediately after graduating I went to work at Roberts Elementary in the Houston Independent School District as a fourth-grade teacher. I absolutely loved teaching! After one year of teaching all subjects, my final years were spent teaching only language arts and writing since that was my expertise and at that time the TAAS test had an essay portion which was part of the fourth-grade curriculum. Most teachers spent their time just putting a “story starter” on their boards and having their students write. However, I wanted students to have fun while they wrote and to be inspired by using creativity. I was known to dress up as different characters, sing, play instruments, and really invoke a sense of fun in my writing class so my students would laugh and WANT to write. Teaching writing is difficult. I made hands-on games and manipulatives for the students to use, as they would in a math class, so language arts became interactive and a problem-solving class, I was awarded two grants for outstanding ideas in creating new and unique techniques and used the money to make even more manipulatives for my students to use for poetry and creative writing.
After teaching my own curriculum, my students maintained 100% pass rate on the TAAS which the superintendent commended me on and after visiting my class as invited by my principal, asked me to join the HISD Staff Development department to teach these award-winning ideas to teachers throughout the district. I was honored and thrilled so along with teaching, on Saturdays, I would hold make-and-take workshops, guiding teachers first on how to use the manipulatives, and then making them. It was so much fun and I received great positive feedback! Many parents wanted my help with their children outside of school as a tutor, and at that time I was not allowed to teach “my own” students and since I taught the entire grade so it was difficult in me not being able to assist them. It was then I realized I could make an even greater impact on kids if I could tutor them one-on-one, so I left the district and started to tutor, gaining so many students I was completely booked!
To this day, I really do not even advertise much because many families have been with me for years and years with their kids starting with me to teach them how to read and now graduating high school! They refer me to friends and I am quite selective on who is part of our GRADE A TUTORING “family.” However, I am always willing to take on new families/students and give reduced pricing to those who may not be able to afford. There are many tutors with such high pricing! My goal with my company is to help kids to do well, help their confidence grow, and for them to make improvements. The “A” in my company name is not for grade A, it is for my name, Amy. I do not believe in “all A’s.” If students are happy learners and understand skills, I feel I am doing my job! And, in my tutoring, I use the same creative hands-on approach I used when I taught in the classroom setting, so when they come, I put their curriculum whatever grade into a game format so they have fun when they come to tutoring, which means they will remember the skill and be successful.
After having two children of my own and being a stay-at-home mom until they entered Kindergarten, I then took my ideas to a private school where I had a blast teaching kids creative writing. I motivated the kids to complete units on figurative language, poetry, making menus, creating great stories for the rodeo, and giving them many opportunities to write in story-writing contests, which many of them won! Still, I kept tutoring through all, while all the while wanting to write a children’s book. I would start and then put my notes away and start and repeat. I never found the time to finish! I enjoyed being back and this time in a private school setting, but wanted more time with my children who were then in high school and middle, as these are the most critical years, in my opinion, so I left private school teaching and grew my tutoring business to its successful entity that it is today, and as mentioned previously, so lucky to have families who have been with me since my early beginning! Fast forward all of those years, now 25, to just last year, when my kids and I decided to finally get a pet dog. We got an irresistible chocolate Labrador pup, and within about three months I had knocked out a manuscript of 32 pages of poetry stanzas about him… my first book for children, set for release this spring 2019!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been smooth because the parents initially did the asking. I did not intend to become a private tutor or run my own business, but I was not allowed to teach students I had in my class. So, when I left HISD, I had an instant clientele, and then it kept growing through their word-of-mouth. There are a few struggles annually in that summers many take off or tutoring is obviously more sporadic, but that is the time I can offer even more creative classes such as art because I used to teach art in private school. Managing my own business has allowed me personal growth, though, in being highly organized and “practicing what I preach” in time management and using study skills to make daily life easier and less stressful. I have come up with payment plans and learned other financial ways that benefit me and my personal financial goals.
Writing a book has been an amazing journey. From scribbling notes to forming poetic stanzas, was fun! Hiring the most amazing Houston artist and children’s book illustrator, Bill Megenhardt, has been fantastic, watching him make my story and characters come to life over a year-long process. It has been so exciting to see each page and then wait to see the next, and our collaboration has been great because he knows kids and teachers, as well, so he is in tune with what kids like. Many authors are not teachers, per se, and don’t inherently have the “it” factor when dealing with children, and Bill and I certainly have the experience.
GRADE A TUTORING and children’s book author – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
My company is small. I am booked solid with students pre-K through high school. I teach from when school is out at 3ish to 8 o’clock and beyond for my high school drivers who may just need that last edit of an essay. Although totally booked, I say I am small in that I am not one of these places where parents take kids, drop off, and there are people who had the students repetitious worksheets to complete. Many students actually have left those types of services and landed with me, because I provide a total personable experience in which I know the strengths and weaknesses of all kids and can really work on an individualized plan for them to exceed. I try to work closely with the child’s teacher(s) so we are a team, and I am always most communicative with the parents letting them know my thoughts and giving feedback. They can always call, email, and text, and most of my upper middle school and for sure, high schoolers, have me as a contact in their phones, and if allowed by their parents can call me anytime for help, or for a quick answer to a question. These personable qualities definitely set me apart. My pricing is much lower than the area tutors. I want all who need not to be deterred by high pricing. My goal is to help kids feel successful! And, to understand what they are learning! I am known for my tutoring style to be fun, and according to students “not like going to a tutor” which is exactly what I am trying to accomplish.
Most kids perceive going to a tutor for help as negative like they are not as smart as their peers, so when they come I praise often and provide constant positive reinforcement during all sessions! As a company, I am most proud of all of the above, and that if a family has left me, it has either been due to the fact they have graduated or moved from the city… so I am clearly making a positive impact. I am also very happy that I have incorporated community service into my company. Each semester we complete one project, whether it be collecting canned food for Souper Bowl of Caring annually, or holding book drives to donate, especially after Harvey or collecting candy for renal patients at Texas Children’s, we are annually reaching out to the community, which also sets GRADE A TUTORING apart from others.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for me is solely in how my students feel. As long as they are happy, content learners, they will be okay academically and socially. If they improve and understand what they are doing, then I have done a good job of assisting them as a tutor. As a children’s book author, if I have motivated a child to write their own story, I am successful. If I have made them enjoy what they are reading and want to reread my writing I feel highly successful! If they smile, laugh, or say, “I just read and looked at pictures in that great dog book!” then I feel super successful! Success for me will always be making kids happy through writing, school, being a positive figure in their lives and someone they and their parents can turn to for help, advice, and care.
Pricing:
- pricing per session between 25-60 dollars depending on family needs/student needs/times weekly
- first book due to release this spring April 2019 is $18.95
Contact Info:
- Phone: 713-791-4047
- Email: hallebrady2003@yahoo.com
Image Credit:
Halle Brazda
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