We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexis Fishbaugh. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexis below.

Alright, Alexis thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our mission: “Embracing Bilingualism: A Gift for Future Generations”

I moved to the Basque country, located in the north of Spain, in 2007, met my husband in 2010 and got married in 2013. Since then, we have had three beautiful children together. They are growing up in a Basque/American household in a community where Euskera (Basque) is the primary language used in schools and public services, and Spanish is widely spoken in everyday life. At home, with me, they speak English. My children, learning three languages, were not meeting their developmental goals in the speech department as toddlers and young children. Thankfully, their pediatrician helped ease my fears by brushing them off, saying how completely normal is it to have a bit of a delay with kids learning 3 languages. She asked if I had ever met an adult who never developed speech due to learning too many languages as a child? And encouraged me to ponder the question “Would you rather have, kids who speak at 2 and 3 years old, only one language, or kids who speak three languages but don’t start speaking until aged 4 or 5 years old? Despite some teachers telling us to speak more Spanish at home, this support from the kids’ doctor, helped us stay committed to our approach, confident that no typical child would struggle permanently with speech due to learning multiple languages. Our perseverance paid off, and today, our children are fluently trilingual in Euskera, Spanish, and English.

While we were working to ensure our children spoke English—a “foreign” language in Spain—I came across stories from friends and acquaintances in the United States who faced a similar challenge, but in reverse. These families, particularly those from Mexican, Cuban, and other Latin American backgrounds, wanted to pass on Spanish, their heritage language, to their children. However, many were not lucky enough to have such a supportive pediatrician and were discouraged by doctors who, at the slightest hint of delay, advised them to speak only English at home. As a result, some of these families chose not to teach their children Spanish, a decision they later deeply regretted as their children grew up monolingual and disconnected from a vital part of their cultural identity.

Teaching runs deep in my family—both on my mom’s and dad’s side, we’ve been educators since the days of one-room schoolhouses in the USA. So, these parallel experiences, along with my background in Spanish and my own journey as a teacher, inspired me to create Kids Club Spanish School. Our mission is to help families navigate the challenges of raising bilingual or multilingual children, making language learning a natural and enriching part of everyday life. We understand the fears and doubts that can arise, but we also know the immense rewards of preserving and fostering a child’s connection to their linguistic heritage. Children who might speak later, at 4 or 5 years old, yet emerge bilingual, will ultimately be far ahead of their monolingual peers when it comes to future prospects.

By sharing my family’s story, I hope to inspire other parents to embrace the beauty and benefits of multilingualism, we believe that Kids’ Club Spanish School can be an incredibly useful tool to help them. Language is more than just a means of communication—it’s a powerful link to culture, identity, and opens so many doors of opportunities.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Alexis Fishbaugh, and my journey into online education began after spending many years in Spain, where I developed a deep love for the Spanish language and culture. This experience fueled my desire to help American children learn Spanish, leading me to establish Kids’ Club Spanish School. We offer live, online Spanish classes for children aged 5-13, connecting them with passionate teachers—whom we affectionately call “Edu-tainers”—from Latin America and Spain. These educators bring a dynamic and engaging approach to our lessons, making language learning both fun and effective for students across the USA, Canada, and beyond.

At Kids’ Club Spanish School, we developped our own standardized curriculum, based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Each class builds on the last, ensuring a continuous and cohesive learning experience. To reinforce what the students have learned, we assign homework worksheets and small projects between classes, keeping our students engaged and progressing.

What truly sets us apart in the online Spanish learning industry is our commitment to the complete immersion method—no English is allowed in class. And our teachers are trained in Total Physical Response (TPR), using hand gestures and props to guide students’ understanding. Additionally, we’re highly selective in our hiring process. Beyond evaluating experience and educational background, we conduct a rigorous “casting” process, choosing teachers not only based on their experience and studies in education but those who exhibit a dynamic, energetic personality capable of truly engaging young learners.
I’m incredibly proud of our students. It’s incredibly rewarding to see how much they’ve grown. Comparing a student who’s been with us for a year or two to their very first class fills me with immense pride—not just in the students, but also in our exceptional teachers and the dedicated team we have here in Spain. Sometimes, I’m so amazed by a student’s progress that I’ll double-check with a parent to confirm if their child has been learning solely with us, simply because our method has proven to be so effective it even blows my mind!

To potential clients and students, I want you to know that in a world where many companies claim to “care,” we genuinely do. We get our students speaking Spanish from day one, engaging them fully for 25 minutes straight, and fostering real relationships between students and their teachers. It’s not uncommon for students to ask if they can send their teachers gifts for birthdays or holidays, and this deep connection between a child in Iowa and a teacher in Bolivia is something that amazes me every day. I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of creating such meaningful and impactful relationships.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Our initial funding came entirely from family savings. We’ve continued to bootstrap the business, reinvesting our earnings to fund growth and new projects. Maintaining control of the company is crucial to us, which is why we haven’t sought outside investors who might not share our vision. If we ever do bring on an investor, it would be important for us to find someone who aligns with our goals—ideally, a partner with expertise in technology who can add real value to our mission. It was certainly a risky decision to invest all of our savings into this venture, but we believed wholeheartedly in our abilities and our vision. We’re incredibly proud of the success we’ve achieved through self-funding, and it has reinforced our commitment to building the company on our own terms.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Education runs deep in my family. On both my mom’s and dad’s sides, we’ve had generations of teachers, going back to the days of one-room schoolhouses in the United States. My grandfather even worked on an initiative to open a university in Santa Barbara, California, in the 1940s and 50s. With this legacy, it felt natural that I would follow a similar path. I’ve always had a passion for languages, so I earned a degree in Spanish and moved to Spain, where I began teaching English.

However, I soon realized that while I loved creating curriculum and planning lessons, I struggled with the disciplinary aspects of teaching. It was disheartening to see a carefully crafted lesson derailed by factors outside of my control, like students having an off day. This led me to reconsider my path, so I decided to leave teaching and pursue a master’s degree in International Commerce. I then worked in business for several years, which provided invaluable experience.

This shift turned out to be incredibly valuable when I eventually pivoted back to education by founding Kids’ Club Spanish School. I found the perfect balance. This venture allows me to focus on what I love—developing curriculum and lesson plans—without having to manage the day-to-day classroom dynamics and I let our incredible native teachers do what they do best. And my business background has been instrumental in building and managing the school, while my passion for education ensures that our programs are both engaging and effective.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kidsclubspanishschool.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kidsclubspanishschool/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexisfishbaugh/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kidsclubspanishschool4094
• Other: By registering a child on our website www.kidsclubspanishschool.com, you can get 2 free trial classes to see how successful our classes are.