Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Spencer.
Hi Lori, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was an unhappy special education teacher working for public schools because I wasn’t allowed to help children. There was so much paperwork required from me that I had no time left for students. Between Georgia Alternate Assessment, IEPs, and the same paperwork required that the regular education teachers needed to complete, there was just no time left in the day. The Georgia Alternate Assessment requires students with mild, moderate, and severe cognitive delays to learn all the subjects that a regular education student was required to learn. The days became very frustrating to teachers and students. Because we were documenting everything to prove we were teaching these kids Algebra, Shakespeare and the like. My daughter owned Johns Creek and Alpharetta Counseling. and convinced me to resign from my unhappy existence and work as a tutor, so I could work with students one-on-one and could really make a difference! I now rent two office spaces from her in her building, and we share many clients that receive counseling as well as tutoring. It has proven to work very well as we can collaborate on what the needs are of the “whole child”. I advertised for students with special needs, and I was soon kept very busy. While tutoring several parents asked for advice on their children’s IEP’s and what to ask the school for concerning their child’s individual education. I set up meetings to go over the child’s past IEP’s and Eligibilities’ and advised parents how to move forward.
Ultimately, I was invited into the IEP meeting to guide the parent through the process with my experience. This has become an unintended service we now offer. Today we have ten teachers that work for Teachers as Tutors. We have special education teachers as well as regular education teachers. We are seeing real changes in students, and it is very rewarding! We serve special education and regular education students. We can tutor in our Alpharetta Office, in a student’s home, or online. Our goal is to truly help children thrive within their own abilities. We have in-take meetings to be sure we individualize the tutoring plan to fit the child. The parent helps with this plan by bringing in progress reports, IEPs, or any work samples that can help the teacher that tutors their child better understand the child’s needs. We like to say, “We are more than just another tutoring service!”
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been a very exciting road! The challenges have helped myself, and I believe the teachers that work for me grow as educators. We have “made up” this business because there’s not another tutoring service like ours. We truly individual tutoring the child’s needs.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We look at each child as unique, and tutoring should be approached the same way. We do set up a meeting with the parents before we tutor the child and decide with the parent what tutoring should “look like.” Should we just help with homework, develop our own lesson plans, or help with goals and objectives in a student with special needs’ IEP.
Our teachers are or have recently been certified to work in the state of Georgia. Our teachers have classroom experience, so we know what teachers and schools are looking for.
We are proud of our one-on-one support of each child and meeting the children “where they are.” We can also collaborate with students’ teachers.
Again, We Are More Than Just Another Tutoring Service!”
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I always wanted to be a teacher. I would pretend I would play the act that I was a teacher when I was young. I would find that I would try to figure out why children reacted the way they did. I found it a challenge to figure out how to approach each child in the best way they could learn. I moved to Georgia at 19. I met my southern boy and never went back to the Midwest. I feel my husband and I grew up together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.morethanjusttutoring.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alpharettatutors/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-spencer-73317222/
Image Credits
Erica Gregory
