Private school.
Individual-focused.

Hi, my name is Julie.

While raising my children, I taught vocal and piano lessons to the neighborhood kids. I also completed my degree, and graduated Summa Cum Laude, a fancy way of saying that I know how to get good grades.😊

The State of Arizona certified me a “Highly Qualified Teacher,” and I started teaching in public school.

Does anyone think that large classroom sizes meet the needs of every child?

My own children showed me that some kids will do well, and some will come to believe that they will never succeed at school. It is ironic that only one of my children who has a college degree attended all 12 grades to graduate from high school.

So I kept pondering a small-class, or microschool, model: personalized tutoring when a child needs it, plus group instruction and conversation to build social skills. Just like the little red schoolhouse of old.

Then the pandemic hit, and the kids who struggled got their own name: Covid Kids. They weren’t just not progressing; they fell off an educational cliff. In our first year, some kids were five grades behind!!

The microschool worked. Through hard work, and what educators call “differentiated learning,” every child experienced success and gained belief, which let them see a brighter future. By the end of that first year, the whole group had moved forward an average of three grades in reading and math.

Years later, children here still get that same caring culture, with an even better ability to get what they need.

I’d love to meet your child and talk with you about what you want to see in their education.

What custom education means here

Custom education is the opposite of one-size-fits-all, assembly-line schooling. Here’s what it looks like day to day:

• A small group, on purpose. No more than ten students, in my home in North Mesa.
• Each child, where they are. I find out where each child is and teach what they need to learn next.
• Learning together. Group discussion, reading, writing, history, and hands-on science projects are how we learn most.
• Computers are tools, not babysitters. They help me check levels and measure progress, but they don’t run the day, and we don’t play games.
• You’ll always know how it’s going. Parents get constant feedback on how their child is progressing.