Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Teresa White.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Student Solutions started as a tutoring and summer literacy idea. The inspiration came from working as a public-school teacher and twice teacher of the year who understood the importance of reading and its influences on every academic area. Cold calls to family shelters and daycare centers were made offering a “free literacy party” to include an interactive read-aloud, a culminating craft, and a teacher break! Doors were opened, the car was loaded, and college students were recruited. All expenses were covered by my personal teacher’s salary. Those opportunities benefitted everyone involved! Ah! Unforgettable times!
Eventually, the literacy party idea grew into a Summer Literacy Camp! With nowhere to house a camp, our church supportingly offered space on the campus. College students were recruited, veteran teachers were hired, curriculum identified, a shoestring budget, a summer schedule, and enrollment was opened. We served PK-5th grade scholars from across the upstate on Saturdays from 9a-12p! We always ended with a priceless, picturesque, proud readers theater parent production. Summer learning was soaring!
The more I worked and reflected, the more I thought about my years as an early interventionist and the incredible difference it made in building a solid foundation for learning and development. I understood that I could no longer leave out offering this service in the work that I deeply love
Being married to an entrepreneur, led to the leap of investing in a brick-and-mortar company. We purchased a dilapidated building that ironically sat near a stop sign that was part of my ride home every day as a school teacher. After 8 grueling months of renovations by my husband’s construction company, JWE, we passed all building inspections and gained approval to open for business. The city of Spartanburg joined us in our Grand Opening!
With a fierce commitment, the journey to becoming a Baby Net-approved provider started. We are thankfully a respected, selected and growing agency in the upstate!
I am irritated by being stuck, mediocrity, and less than the best. This is the Student Solutions culture. We intentionally build a team that helps scholars soar! Our team understands birth to 6 developmental skills, the need for optimism, the willingness to advocate, and the joy of results. Our team, without a doubt, is trustworthy in your scholar’s and family’s best interests. Don’t defer giving your scholar their chance to SOAR!
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?
It has not been a smooth road!
I’ve been challenged not to get stuck on thinking about “How” to accomplish a goal and to improve my ability to focus on “Who” can help me accomplish the goal. I’ve learned that a vision… if big enough will require a lot of “who’s” in the right place at the right time! My natural inclination is to figure out “How can I ALONE accomplish this or that?” When I stopped thinking about how I ALONE could accomplish a goal and began to identify “who” could help me accomplish the goal, the mountains became climbable!
Another challenge was to form processes to make the client experience special, consistent, and sustainable. It took several approaches to integrate our niche and personality into our client experiences.
Growth is a challenge. As an agency owner, I’ve had to overly enjoy my appetite for learning to remain relevant to current best practices. And, become increasingly vulnerable to asking more questions, even when it was uncomfortable! Asking, takes courage.
Lastly, I used to be challenged to reduce my natural proclivity for excellence so that others were not uncomfortable. This did not work for me. So, I’ve decided to keep the bar high! Our scholars and families deserve nothing less!
We’ve been impressed with Student Solutions, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Student Solutions is a Baby Net Early Intervention agency serving scholars birth to 6 years old in Anderson, Blacksburg, Boiling Springs, Gaffney, Greenville, Greer, Simpsonville, Spartanburg, Taylors, and Union. All of our service are free and every parent should know this!
Early intervention affords a brighter future for qualifying children between birth to age 6. A child needs early intervention to make developmental gains in the early years. I have had the experience of teaching school-age children, and it was there that I had a profound realization. Some of the children who struggled in the classroom could have had a much easier time if they had received timely intervention before enrolling in formal school. I congratulate parents who act on their concerns about their scholars early! Don’t defer giving your scholar their chance to SOAR!
A lot of people defer intervention to a later time, which is usually an irreversible mistake. When a child is growing up, especially between the ages of 0-3 they develop connections in their brain. These connections, or neural circuits, are responsible for the baseline of a child’s health, learning, and behavior. As time progresses without opting for support, children stand a very high chance of struggling unnecessarily. Sadly, this is a consequence of denying a child the essential intervention during an irrecoverable time.
There are wonderful early intervention agencies across the upstate. However, what sets us apart at Student Solutions is us! Our team culture, my leadership, our circle of community support!
What does success mean to you?
I define success as “being love” and “being loved!” Giving and receiving love.
Contact Info:
- Email: drtwhite@studentsolutionssc.com
- Website: https://studentsolutionssc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studentsolutionsllc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studentsolutionssc
Image Credits
Smitha Lee
