Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Galindo. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Laura Galindo. Ed. D. is the Founder and Executive Director of Schelastic Academy. She is a degreed and certified educator and administrator in the state of Texas. She has been in education for over 28 years and holds a BA in Social Psychology as well as a master’s and Doctorate degree in Educational Administration. She has four beautiful children and a loving husband who, aside from God, always come first in her life. Education is her passion, and she has always been an avid learner and educator. She founded Schelastic and built it to provide the diverse educational opportunities she wanted for her own children.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
This road toward growing a school from the ground level has not been a smooth road. Not by any means. Growing something from scratch took humility, perseverance, and a willingness to grow while growing others. The ability to take “hits,” aka problems, obstacles, opposition, negativity, setbacks, etc., and overcome the mental overwhelm in order to pursue what I believe I was called to do despite what others believed about my goal, or myself has been a priceless part of my journey. I seriously do not believe I would be the same person had it all been handed to me or come easy.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Schelastic embraces students needing a non-traditional school system as if they were our own children, and we focus on equipping them for the real world with all types of engaging, hands-on programs such as creative problem-solving and financial education, entrepreneurship, college, trade school, or career path prep. We love to play with technology and learn new things by executing ideas that come straight from the students. They love that we encourage hands-on learning and give them the opportunity to do projects when they have a little bit of test anxiety. Students can show us the knowledge they have acquired through lessons with special projects other than just taking a test. Why? Because we know that when they go out into the real world, they’re going to be asked to present solutions and ideas, and we want to prepare them for those moments. How many tests have you been asked to take at work? Most people answer none or maybe one. Through creative problem solving you build up more than test-taking skills, so teaching with the intent to pass a test is just not as useful. We also know they’re going to need these skills in our ever-increasing world of entrepreneurship, so we are sure to educate and prepare our students with creative options for the path that they desire to pursue and how to use business skills to not depend on working for others alone. The best preparation we can give them is to help them build the qualities of entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. We love it; it’s one of our favorite things to teach. I really love that this format of teaching is for all students neurodiverse and neurotypical students. We are not a special-ed school, but what we do embraces all learners in multi-level classrooms that meet students where they are and challenge them all with a flexible environment. We recently had a team of middle schoolers Shawn Collins, Emily Gomez, and Rook Block win first place in state at Texas Invent (Invention Convention) and a high schooler Alex Green, win “Most Patentable Project” award for the state of Texas. They are all headed to the U.S. National Invention Convention in Dearborn, MI in June 2023 to compete at the next level. Schelastic offers real-life experience where students can learn to succeed after “failing forward” and build character and integrity for their future endeavors.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
As an educator, the best thing I can do is build myself up as much as possible. I read a lot of books, but I have to say I am not even the sharpest knife in the drawer in every subject. I love discovery in math and science or STEAM topics as well as sociological and psychological topics. My favorite resource is the Bible, and I love reading memoirs, biographies, and non-fiction books; my favorite mentorship groups are 100x, The Kings Company, and groups that promote introspection for better leadership. One of my favorite podcasts is great because it is short and sweet. It’s titled “Posture” by Lindsay Van Zyl.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.schelastic.com
- Instagram: Schelastic_Academy
- Facebook: SchelasticAcademy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/schelasticacademy/
- Twitter: Schelastic
- Youtube: @schelasticacademy3616
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/schelastic-academy-arlington?osq=Schelastic+Academy
