Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz White
Hi Liz, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started teaching Kindergarten over a decade ago and became passionate about working with young children. As the years went on I started noticing that many students were coming to school underprepared. Many young students were lacking the fundamental skills they needed to be successful and confident in their first year of school. It was heartbreaking to see students already so hard on themselves, frustrated with the learning process, comparing themselves to peers and wanting to give up. Kindergarten is such a critical year that sets the foundation in learning and there was such a discrepancy between the students who came in ready versus those that didn’t. I created Primary Prep to help children develop Kindergarten readiness skills so they could start the year feeling confident and ready to learn. I have now been in business for 3 years and have worked with over a dozen of families in the San Diego area, many of which have to continued working with me beyond Kindergarten.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I have been lucky to have a supportive husband and family that have helped make the transition from school teacher to small business owner possible. Covid has provided some obstacles along the way as I was teaching in a mask my first year which was a bit of a challenge! There have also been some ups and downs between finding new clients, but lucky for me google has helped many families find my little business and kept me going.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in Kindergarten readiness prep and helping families navigate the transition from preschool to primary school. Not only am I passionate about helping students to learn and develop confidence in their skills, but I also enjoy supporting parents as well. After our initial consultation I start with a readiness assessment for the child and an online questionnaire for the parents. From there I develop a personalized learning plan for the child and present it during a virtual parent conference. Typically parents will purchase packages of private sessions and I will work with each student once or twice a week for an hour at a time with sessions designed specifically around their areas of need. It might include working on writing their name, letter and sound recognition, counting, patterns, rhyming or pre reading skills. For families that are interested in applying to private schools I also help them navigate that process and prep students for the admissions assessments. I taught at several prestigious independent schools in both Los Angeles and San Diego and have experience in the admissions testing process. Therefore I have a unique perspective about what schools are looking for and can help provide insight to families that may be interested in pursuing a private education for their child. I have also helped work with slightly older students who need extra support outside of the classroom.
My business is unique in that nothing like it really exists (at least here in SD!). There is such a gap right now between developmental/play based preschools and elementary school standards and it is setting many kids up for failure. I am grateful to be making a difference in students’ lives by helping set them up for success and build their confidence so they are ready and excited for school.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
If you have a preschool age child and are interested in working with me please reach out! I offer free introductory consultations and would love to help more families and children be prepared for Kindergarten. You can learn more on my website or send me an email to schedule a call.
In addition to working with more families I would love to expand my business and hire more qualified teachers to work with me! I miss working and collaborating with other teachers and would ultimately love to expand and grow my business. I would also love to develop more of a network with speech pathologists and occupational therapists that work with young children as those are always helpful connections to have in my line of work. I am also hoping to collaborate more with both elementary schools and preschools. I am hoping to offer my kindergarten readiness assessments at preschools so I can reach a larger pool of families and help prepare more students for the transition to primary school.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.myprimaryprep.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myprimaryprep/?hl=en
- Other: liz@myprimaryprep.com
