Normally, I don’t like to talk about myself, but I believe that every business owner at some point should pull the curtain back and reveal their origin story to their audience. Today, I’m going to do just that! 

People often ask me why I left the classroom to start a tutoring business, and this blog post captures a composite of those questions and my answers. 

Haha! 

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved being a teacher and all of my students! But, my favorite part of being a classroom teacher was forming those one-on-one relationships with my students, and that was just taken away with Zoom. I didn’t want to be teaching from a computer, and there was no clear sign of when students would be returning to the classroom. Like many others, I didn’t enjoy teaching remotely, and I didn’t want to lose my passion for helping students by staying in a job where I couldn’t give 100%. I have so much respect and am so thankful for all of the teachers that stayed in the classroom over the past two years; all of their hard work and dedication to their students does not go unnoticed over here!

Ultimately, I knew that I wanted to stay in education and help kids in a different way. As someone who used tutors growing up, I knew how beneficial that extra support was, and I knew there were going to be many students needing help after having to learn remotely for an extended period of time. 

I’ve always had an interest in starting my own business. I never thought I’d actually do it, but I figured why not take a chance? What better time than right now? 

First and foremost, I wanted to make sure that I was in an area where I knew that education was going to be super important to families. I realized how invested families were in their child's education in these communities when I did my student teaching at Washington Elementary School and when I was a long-term substitute at Glen Grove School in Glenview. I had the opportunity to work with incredible teachers and communicate with many parents in the community, and I was impressed with how both the teachers and parents would do anything to help their kids receive the best education. As I was deciding where I wanted to open my business, my experiences at these amazing schools were a huge reason why I chose Glenview and Northbrook.

It’s all about connecting with the community. I do a lot of outreach on social media--Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn--and I’m heavily involved in networking and community organizations. We participate in large community events such as Northbrook Days and Glenview Blocktoberfest. Most recently, I became an ambassador for both the Northbrook and Glenview Chambers of Commerce because they were both instrumental in helping me get started back in October 2020. I’d love to be able to help new business owners in the same way! 

When you give back and help others, you build trust, which is the cornerstone of a successful relationship. Trust is so important and just being present, ensuring that I’m communicating with parents and being accessible to them and their kids makes a big difference.  

I think it provides an added level of comfort to parents and students. They look at me and say, “This person’s not an outsider. He’s a teacher. He’s been in the trenches.” I know the proper academic vocabulary, I know what parents are looking for, and I’m tuned into common student struggles and challenges. 

I have over ten years of experience working with children of all ages, so I have a good idea of how to help all different types of learners. Most importantly, I have a great team of tutors that are dedicated to their students and would do anything to help them build confidence and feel successful. 

I’d say there are five elements that make us unique:

1) Individualized Instruction - We recognize that all students are different students, which means they have unique needs. We tailor our instruction to them, and they reap the benefit of one-on-one attention, developing better study habits, becoming stronger self-advocates, building self-confidence, and of course achieving better grades and test scores.  

2) Student-Centered - Part and parcel with individualized instruction is our student-centered approach. Whereas other tutoring approaches can be quite rigid with their own methods, our student-centered model does not follow a prescribed curriculum. We focus on the content that students are learning in their classrooms so that we can address their specific challenges. 

3) Collaboration With Schools and Teachers - There’s a misconception that tutors and classroom teachers step on each other’s toes. We view our work with students as a type of partnership with their teachers and schools. To that end, we maintain open lines of communication and coordination, not just with them, but also with parents so that everyone is aligned for the benefit of students.

4) We Hire Locally - As important as credentials are--and they’re very important--educators with ties to the community create more meaningful connections with their students. 

5) Communication- When a parent reaches out to us regarding tutoring services, they know they are going to be speaking directly with me. I understand how busy parents are so I try to make everything as easy as possible on their end. I pride myself in being able to find the right tutor for their child’s needs and being available to answer any questions in a timely manner.

Club Z! Tutoring of Glenbrook specializes in providing individualized, in-home, and virtual tutoring for students k - 12 in Northbrook and Glenview. If you want your child to work on developing skills that will translate to improved grades and self-esteem, contact us today at: bbalatsos@clubztutoring.com. You can also reach us at 847-440-3440 and by visiting clubztutoringglenbrook.com.