Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Asueleni Deloney. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Asueleni, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

After I earned my degree in broadcast Journalism. I decided to work as substitute teacher just to earn extra income. During this time I realized that I enjoyed working with children. Engaging with them and watching them grow in their academics and social skills felt very rewarding. When the television company that I worked for laid off many employees including me I decided to go back to college to earn my degree. At the same time I begin working as a Teacher’s Assistant. This allowed me to be more involved in the educational process and I began to pay more attention to conversations that were being had with parents, as well as the culture of teaching and the resources and access that teachers had. I almost immediately realized it was a major disconnect in what teachers knew and what parents were in the dark about. The journalist in me wondered who was having these needed conversations with parents and exposing what needed to be seen regarding the educational system. I had yet grown professionally to a place where I felt confident or knowledgeable enough to assist parents and or speak up about this with administration. What I chose to do instead, was to learn as much as possible as I moved through my graduate program and pay close attention to everything that was taking place, and when I could, talk to parents regarding their frustrations and what they would like to have happen for their child. I also began taking as many training and professional developments as I could. Once I graduated and moved from Teacher’s Assistant to Classroom Educator, I started to engage parents from a lens of teamwork. My overarching goal with this was to remove the sigma of parents not trusting the system and helping them to realize that some educators really are in the profession to address issues with them and their child from a holistic perspective. I used my early days as an educator to lay the ground work for what I am doing know and ironically It wasn’t my initial goal to begin a parent coaching business however after many prayers, conversations with parents, colleagues, and trusted friends I begin giving the idea serious consideration. My defining moment was when I received a phone call from a close friend that was having some intense struggles with her child’s teacher and the school system as a whole in her quest to get services for him. In my work with this family and a system that wasn’t student focused I made the concrete decision to create a place that would allow parent access to resources, advocacy, and support.
When the country shut down due to COVID it became the perfect opportunity for me to roll out my business. With the school doors being shut and parents being forced to take on a heavy academic responsibility it made them very receptive to support and help. From that point I used what I learned throughout my years of working in the educational system, the trainings, and certifications that I had received to lend my expertise to any parent in need. Today Hand ‘N Hand Coaching services students, parents, and now teachers from a consulting capacity. Hand ‘N Hand Coaching also does speaking engagements where we teach on various topics from parent advocacy to engaging children from a trauma informed lens.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Who am I? I am Asueleni Deloney a master degreed Educator with an emphasis in Early Childhood, who has been in the educational field for more than a decade. As an Early Childhood educator that’s also certified in trauma informed awareness, I soon realized that there was a disconnect between what the teachers knew and what the parents needed to know, but didn’t know to ask. That’s when I founded Hand ‘N Hand Coaching llc, a parent coaching business that develops parents’ awareness in the areas of Academics, Social Emotional Awareness, and Advocacy. I believe that in order to have fully developed, emotionally balanced and aware children we must equip parents with the tools they need to facilitate this. Hand ‘N Hand Coaching has grown to service students directly I the area of tutoring and social emotional development. We also offer teacher consulting and public speaking engagements on various topics from parent advocacy to engaging children from a trauma informed lens.

Why do I believe parent coaching is important? Parents are their child’s first teachers and the first line of defense when recognizing milestone achievements, and challenges. Many times parents are struggling to jump a challenging hurdle with their child but have no idea how, nor do they have the support system to help them. We are here to coach you over every hurdles, and teach you how to recognize areas of growth. Whether your child has begun acting out and you don’t know why, or your child’s school is pulling you into meetings and you don’t feel heard, don’t know what questions to ask, and it’s overwhelming. We are here to coach you through. When parents feel empowered and knowledgeable they are better able to parent and advocate for their child. We believe it takes a village to develop young minds and “Together, We Shape the Future.”

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My Goal with Building Hand ‘N Hand Coaching is to have a place for all parents to come and receive support for their children. Not just in my area but I want all parents everywhere to feel comfortable enough and informed enough to advocate for their child. My second goal is to open Hand ‘N Hand Early Childhood Center. I want to offer a place to parents where they can bring their child and they will be able to receive an education, solid social emotional development, and services for students that are neurodivergent and of course offer regular parent education services.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What I truly believed built my reputation in my market is word of mouth. I have tutored for 10 plus years and many of the children that I tutored were children in my class or their siblings. Once I was able to connect with parents outside of school I had the opportunity to talk with them about other services that I provide and how I could assist them on a greater level. The snowball effect of this opened me up to more parents and children.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.handnhandcoaching.com/
• Facebook: Hand ‘N Hand Coaching LLC
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asueleni-deloney-m-a-ed-377523160/

Image Credits
Adara Jade Crawford https://adarajade.com/