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

Lauren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The idea for the beginning of my business came from an unfortunate set of circumstances in my previous place of employment. I was working in a public elementary school in Maryland as a special education teacher. Over the winter marking periods, I began working on a few of my students’ IEPs for their annual review. When the meetings happened, all went well, except afterwards when my administrators said that I had to make changes to a students’ accommodations. The change they were requesting was against the state regulations and because the child legally required the accommodations written, I ended up going on a long stretch of advocating with the school district and the state of Maryland’s department of education in order to ensure this student was getting what they needed in school. After a month or two of fighting for answers, documenting, and making claims to the state, the school year was ending and I was ready to leave. I had found my passion for fighting for not only this student, but many others within the school, by educating parents on what is really happening in school and what their child needs. So the summer of 2024, I launched what was a side=hustle of tutoring to make ends meet, to a special education advocacy and tutoring business. I left my career in the classroom after 7 years of teaching every grade level from Pre-K to 12th grade. I was nervous and still am, to be doing something that is very specific and not a lot of people know about. I knew I did want my two masters degrees in education to go to waste, and I love being student-facing. However, I knew I could not go through the heartache caused by my administration and my school district, when nothing was going to happen, because I was just a teacher.
I believed that if I saw so many things that my school was doing that were not what the laws governing special education say, then I had a feeling this was not the only school that had this problem. I believe there is an unfortunate need for child advocates in the world of special education because often times, parents and even some teachers are not taught what special education is and all the things that can support a child with a disability in their educational career. So, I took the leap! I left the classroom and launched my business where I review IEPs, help parents understand what their child needs, participating in school meetings on behalf of the parent, and so much more! I am definitely not the only advocate out there, but I am definitely passionate about building the relationship between the parents and schools to ensure that everyone is working for the best interest of the student. I am excited that I get to reach outside my typical caseload of 30-70 students and help more and more families from all across the world.

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

I just want to say, hello to any new reader, my name is Lauren Isaacson and I am the founder and CEO of The Tutoring Hub: Tutoring & Advocacy, which means I have the privilege of helping and serving many families. From my expertise in the field of special education, I have build a business designed to help students and families grow in their educational careers. I help parents understand the complexities of the world of special education and come alongside of them during meetings with schools to discuss their child’s individualized education program (IEP). I help families build a strong relationship with the school and ensure the school is providing all of the required instruction and support for the student to achieve their goals. I still enjoy working with young learners, so I continue to teach students online with individualized tutoring lessons to reinforce challenging concepts and skills. In addition to these, I desire to be a resource to all educators by continuing to create educational resources for teachers to use in their classrooms. All of these components are part of the “hub” I have designed because I want to serve educators, parents, and students all around the world.

Something new that is coming in early 2025, is the launch of my first book–a resource guide for families in understanding special education! I have always enjoyed writing but this book was truly inspired by the need I saw in educating parents of neurodiverse learners, so be on the lookout in January 2025 for this new addition to our resources!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Honestly, this may be hard to believe in this day and age, but word of mouth has been the best source for me. Through teaching and interacting with many families in my community, word of my business has spread. I have been trying to drive traffic to my social media and websites, but I am actually seeing more from hearing about me from a trusted friend. Which is exciting because it means that those I interact with believe in my business just as much as I do. If you are one of those special sources that has been spreading good reviews, I greatly appreciate you!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

What was my side-hustle of tutoring, definitely turned into my full-time business, but then it grew to tutoring and advocacy after leaving the classroom this past year! I started my side-hustle of tutoring when I moved back to the US after teaching abroad for two years. I needed some work to tide me over for the summer before entering into a new school year here, but I continued it and some months was making about 50% of my monthly paycheck in the schools with only a few students. I have been able to keep students for long amounts of time and it is exciting to watch them grow as my business has grown! I would love to see this happen now that it is my full-time business, especially with a book coming out soon, geared towards parents in the world of special education!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.the-tutoring-hub.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.tutoring.hub/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561334963231
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-isaacson-80a87a273/

Image Credits

Jahred Rice