Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Wagar.
Karen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
“It’s true; life really is generous to those who pursue their Personal Legend” – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
I remember fondly the first memories I have of my childhood dream, becoming a surgeon. To this day, I can still remember being unable to control expressing my longing for helping those less fortunate than myself. Looking back now, it’s easy to say I’ve been incredibly blessed to see this passion blossom in different areas of my journey. Although life had much different plans for me than I could have ever anticipated, it’s this desire to help that has shaped my life from a very young age. I grew up in a largely underserved neighborhood, in a small town in Puerto Rico called Cataño. Although surrounded by projects, loud music, and sometimes even violence, it was also a hub of hospitality and community. It was common for our neighbors to knock on our door asking for a cup of sugar or a couple of soursop fruit leaves for tea at any point, and we were always encouraged to do the same.
Unfortunately, all these memories of community are also tied to the biggest challenge of my life. When I was 14 years old, my mother suddenly became very ill and before I knew it, she was gone. Being the oldest of four sisters, it became my responsibility to attend to them. It didn’t take us long to realize that it was going to be just the four of us from that moment on and although this period marks a very difficult time in all of our stories, we made it work. Just like that, we inevitably accepted the challenge and learned not only to survive but also how to be successful. This was something our mother, without even knowing it, had instilled in all of us before passing. I’ll always thank her for that.
My childhood plans to become a surgeon found a newfound challenge when I became a mother myself while striving towards my undergraduate degree. With this came a sudden change of priorities I could have never imagined. I suddenly needed a job that would allow me to prioritize time with my daughter while continuing my education and finishing my degree. In an attempt to satisfy all these requirements, I found a job as a teacher in a private high school. It was at that moment I discovered my love for teaching. I decided then to switch my major and finish my degree in high school biology education. Fifteen years after that, I finished a master’s degree in English as a Second Language. I have taught in Puerto Rico, New Jersey and Texas and have bilingual, ESL, elementary and science teaching certificates. Today, my sisters are all professional outstanding ladies with college degrees. My daughter, who is 25 years old now, finished her undergraduate degree in Biology, a master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and is currently in her second year of medical school in New Jersey. Needless to say, I am beyond proud of all of them for their achievements especially knowing the road we’ve all had to travel to be where we are today.
After teaching for 20 years, I longed again to do more towards giving back. I wanted to feel like I was thanking life itself for all the blessings I could see when I looked back into my past. I always wondered; how early could we start making a difference in our children? That is how the idea of opening a daycare and preschool center began, and how Great Little Minds Academy came to life. Being bilingual myself, I have experienced the advantages and importance of speaking more than one language and I knew this was something I wanted to incorporate into my school. Research has proven how beneficial it is to start learning a new language as early in life as possible. That is why Great Little Minds Academy focuses on teaching Spanish to our little ones starting with the infant classes. A little more than two years after opening our center we are already experiencing the rewards from our students who not only understand Spanish, they speak it as well!
I want to think all the children who have been with us will forever be positively impacted by the love and dedication given to them by Great Little Minds Academy.
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?
It is not unusual for a new business to face challenges, however, we have taken the opportunity to learn and grow with every experience and circumstance presented. After getting all the permits and licenses, which was our hardest obstacle, it all has being such a beautiful and life-changing experience.
The location where we are located at was leased as a commercial property only to find out later it was a residential property. At that point, we had already invested most of our savings and two months remodeling the property. We had to work very hard to make the place habitable and to convert it not only into a commercial property but also into a daycare and preschool. All I knew at the time is that I had a dream and we had already started working on it, so I decided not to give up and to continue fighting for it. We kept on working and after a few months of hard work we were able to get all the permits and licenses necessary to operate.
My life and the lives of everybody involved with Great Little Minds Academy have changed so much for the better. We feel blessed every day we open the doors of our center to serve our children.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Great Little Minds Academy is an English/Spanish daycare and preschool (6 weeks – 5 years old). We believe every student has the ability to advance academically and progressively show observable and quantitative growth. Every child can learn when proper teaching techniques and assessment tools are put into practice. In order to achieve this goal, Great Little Minds Academy offers a safe, loving and encouraging environment in which students can holistically advance and become emotionally, physically, socially, and intellectually mature. We wish to be a positive influence in our students’ lives and help them formulate and achieve realistic but challenging personal and academic goals.
Our main objective as an early childhood center is to present the students with lesson plans specially designed to make it all possible while providing a dual language care and academic education. In order to achieve this goal, GLMA uses the HighScope Curriculum, which is one of the best preschool curriculum in the nation. HighScope describes teachers as facilitators, provoke critical thinking and assist students in developing analytical skills by using the “active participatory learning” approach. In this constructivist approach, students have direct, hands-on experiences not only with people and objects but also with events and ideas. They construct their own knowledge through interactions with the world and the people around them. Children take the first step in the learning process by making choices and following through on their plans and decisions. Teachers and parents offer physical, emotional, and intellectual support. In active learning settings, adults expand children’s thinking with diverse materials and nurturing interactions. Through scaffolding, which is the process whereby adults support and gently extend children’s thinking and reasoning, adults help children gain knowledge and develop creative problem-solving skills. This approach would not only prepare our students academically but personally and socially. In addition, it will provide the tools for them to become caring and active members of society.
What were you like growing up?
I always loved books, thanks to my mom, who although did not have time to read, had them all around the house. I remember she borrowed the books from a mobile library that would come to our neighborhood weekly. Studying, cooking, baking, getting good grades and reading were my hobbies. I also liked acting and dancing and was usually involved in all the plays and performances in school. I still love to do all those things and always try to find time in my busy schedule to enjoy reading, cooking/baking and dancing.
Contact Info:
- Address: Great Little Minds Academy
1102 Dorothy St.
Houston, TX 77008 - Website: https://greatlittlemindsacademy.com
- Phone: 7139009105 or 7134855567
- Email: greatlittlemindsacademy@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatlittlemindsacademy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greatlittlemindsacademy/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GreatLittleMin1
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/great-little-minds-academy-houston
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