Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcia Tate.
Marcia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
A successful career in education began for me over 40 years ago as a classroom teacher and reading specialist in the DeKalb County School System, Decatur Georgia. When I was promoted to Language Arts Coordinator and Professional Development Executive Director for the school district, I realized that I loved teaching adults as much as students and began to consider starting my own business once I retired.
After 30 years with the district, I did retire in 2003 which is the same year that the company Developing Minds Inc. was launched. My husband, Tyrone, and I named and founded the company whose mission was to provide quality professional development for educators throughout the world.
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?
The road has been relatively smooth since the plan for the business was put into action long before it was implemented. I began the business of teaching educators outside of the school district 20 years before I retired but I could only do it in the summers when I was off contract. In 2003, when I retired and my first book was published, the requests for workshops quadrupled. I was now in a position to live out my long-range dream.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Developing Minds story. Tell us more about the business.
Developing Minds Inc. is an international educational consulting firm that provides professional development for administrators, teachers, parents, business and community leaders throughout the world. It provides keynotes, workshops, and classes in 12 different areas including brain research, classroom management, assessment, effective parenting, positive thinking etc. The business is best known for the workshop based on the best-selling book I wrote called Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites: 20 Instructional Strategies that Engage the Brain which is now in its third edition. The book delineates 20 instructional strategies which every teacher should be using to deliver content regardless of age or grade level of the students. These strategies even work with the adult brain. The books have made millions of dollars for my publisher, Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks California.
Since that time, I have written eight additional books, seven of which are best sellers and two of which have won national awards. I have presented my workshops to over half a million people in 46 states and on five continents.
Initially, I was the only consultant in Developing Minds Inc. Since the business’s inception, I have added five content-area specialists, including my daughter, who also present my work since the demand for the workshops is so great and two Administrative Assistants.
The thing that sets us apart from other consultant firms is that we engage every audience by modeling the 20 instructional strategies in every keynote, workshop, or class. This means we have adult audiences engaged in singing, dancing, roleplaying, drawing, etc. as we teach them about the brain research and the 20 instructional strategies they must use if they want students to retain their content.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t attribute my success to luck as much as I do to careful planning and hard work and my visualization that all of this would one day come to fruition.
Contact Info:
- Address: 82880 Conyers, Georgia 30013
- Website: www.developingmindsinc.com | www.drmarciatate.com
- Phone: (770) 918-5039
- Email: marciata@bellsouth.net
- Instagram: @DrMarciaTate
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/DrMarciaTate
- Twitter: @DrMarciaTate
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