We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Claudia Sol a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Claudia , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I grew up in a trilingual household so I understood at an early age the importance of learning languages and about different cultures. So, for my bachelor’s degree I decided to study International Studies and Development. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to help people. This stemmed from my background of a family of displaced people and being part of the Palestinian diaspora. During my studies, I discovered NGOs like UNICEF and decided to found a club at my school so we could host events to build awareness of global human rights issues and fundraise. I learned many of the skills I use in my business from this experience.

At the end of my bachelor’s degree I started to understand that, while NGOs and nonprofits are important, they are also a band-aid to a bigger issue that needs to be fixed systematically. I had also studied abroad and noticed the differences in education systems around the world. I knew that if I was going to try to fix anything systematically, it would be a disservice if I wasn’t a teacher first and really knew what it was like to work on the ground in underserved communities.
I was not exactly sure what kind of teacher I wanted to be when I was completing my alternative certification. I was working a job as a gym teacher at Gymboree Play & Music and a job as a nanny while I was completing my certification. One day, a mom approached me at Gymboree and we started talking about teaching. She told me she had been a Spanish teacher and there was a critical shortage. My Spanish was good, but not amazing at the time, but she encouraged me to study and get that certification because it would be easy to find a job quickly. Turns out, she was right. I got a job within the next few months and started teaching in January 2017.

I wanted to learn what it was like to teach on the ground in underserved communities and I did. I was thrown into a school in the 3rd ward of Houston to create a medical Spanish program with no resources. I walked into an empty classroom with a suitcase full of decorations that I had collected through my travels and a few textbooks I had bought as a guide. It was difficult and I quickly learned about the failures of our education system, but instead of sinking I swam! I fell in love with opening up a student’s world with a new language and culture. Most of these students didn’t know much outside of their own state and I showed them a new world of possibilities.

After a couple years, I got burnt out and frustrated with the way the administrators handled things. I decided to leave and teach in Spain in 2019. While I was there, COVID hit and I decided to return to Houston to be with my family. I decided to be a teacher again in HISD due to necessity. I fell in love again with helping students and I enjoyed virtual teaching a lot, but as we came back to in-person, the issues started standing out more and more.

I decided to get my masters degree in Education Policy and Leadership, so I could fully understand and learn how to make a change. During that time, I worked at 2 different schools and as I learned more and more I saw more and more racist, immoral, & unethical practices in front and around me. HISD got taken over by the state which made it even worse, but my last straw was when I got bullied by an administrator in front of my colleagues and my own husband. We both quit in October 2023 thanks to the loving support of our family members. We knew if we didn’t leave we would die.

So I needed to figure out what to do. I still loved teaching, but I could no longer work for these people. I took a moment of reflection and thought about how many adults had asked me if I could teach them. I reflected on the fact that I had always had to make my own materials as a Spanish teacher and I wanted to support other teachers who were struggling like I had. I also remembered that I used a lot of materials that I bought from other teachers, but I still wasn’t pleased with the content and quality of their work. I remembered that I had already registered my LLC in March when I tutored some students. So, after a few months of learning new tools and reflecting, I decided to take the plunge and dedicate all my time to my business: teaching English and Spanish online and selling resources.

When I was setting things up and learning from other business owners, I knew I needed to solve a problem that people have in order to be successful. I didn’t want to be like all the other Spanish and English teachers/tutors, so I asked, how can I be unique? Well, I have a masters degree in education and have thoroughly studied best practices for teaching and learning languages, so I wanted to apply that to my business.

While reflecting, I remembered many Spanish speakers telling me that ESL classes they took (not focused on Spanish speakers) that were both paid and free didn’t help them retain the information. I knew they needed something tailored for them because research shows that when we relate the new language to our first language we retain it better. Another thing adults have often told me, and I have faced myself, is a lack of people around to practice with. Moreover, if they do have people to practice with, they don’t feel comfortable practicing with them. And lastly, I know that the best way to retain a language is through seeing it in context rather than rote memorization and explicit grammar focus. Lastly, many adults complain about lack of time and money so I knew the classes needed to be affordable and flexible to an adults busy schedule.

That’s how my subscription online learning business and community was formed. Students pay a monthly subscription and have access to live classes with me on zoom, an online platform with resources, and optional weekly vocabulary practice sessions and language exchanges. English classes are especially tailored for Spanish speakers. I have a store online with education resources that anyone can buy. I hope to soon launch a social media platform on my website dedicated to language learning where people can socialize and practice together daily as well as a language learning app.

Claudia , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a highly accomplished educator with a strong academic foundation and a wealth of experience. I hold a BA in International Studies and Development from The University of St. Thomas, which laid the groundwork for my deep understanding of global issues. Building upon this, while teaching full-time, I pursued an M. Ed in Education Policy and Leadership from American University, to enhance my knowledge in the field of education.

With seven years of teaching experience in both English and Spanish, I am multilingual specialist who has made a significant impact in the classroom. My role as an LPAC coordinator has allowed me to advocate for English language learners, ensuring their success. Notably, I have developed comprehensive Spanish curriculums, further demonstrating my commitment to advancing language education.

Now, I continue to advance education through online language learning. Many adults want to learn a new language, but struggle with how. They need something that is flexible, affordable, interactive, and practical. So at my school, students pay a monthly subscription and have access to live classes with me on zoom, an online platform with resources, and optional weekly vocabulary practice sessions and language exchanges. English classes are especially tailored for Spanish speakers. I have a store online with education resources that anyone can buy. I hope to soon launch a social media platform on my website dedicated to language learning where people can socialize and practice together daily as well as a language learning app.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Through my life experiences and learning from others, I have found out that we have all felt ashamed or embarrassed to speak a language whether it is our native language or another one we are learning. That’s why one of my top priorities is to build a language learning community where everyone can grow together, make mistakes, and feel comfortable doing so. The subscription service I have made gives students access to times twice a week where they can come together as a community to have fun and practice vocabulary with games or have conversations with native speakers in a guided, brave space. I believe building relationships with my clients and coming together as a community fosters brand loyalty. Though I want to make money so I can take care of myself and my family, I strongly believe in the mission of language learning as a way to foster empathy and cultural understanding. Through building community we can learn in a flexible, affordable, interactive, and practical way.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My love for education stems from my grandmother. My grandmother always said, “If there is a will, there is a way.” That’s the same lady who decided to get a university degree with her children because her father wouldn’t let her when she was young. The story of my resilience stems from my ancestors. I do all of this because and for them. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t even know Spanish.
My first year teaching, I started in January which is well known to teachers as difficult. But you gotta do what you gotta do. I didn’t know much about teaching, but I knew how to teach Spanish from learning it (or so I thought I could at least manage). I entered a dusty classroom with no textbooks, a few old school supplies and an old sweatshirt the last teacher had left. No posters on the wall, nada.
The fact that I am still teaching today, alive and well is an act of resilience itself. Believe all the teachers when they say, it can be brutal. I think I’ve now seen a lot. I won’t say I’ve seen it all because I’m sure teachers have seen more than I have as well, but I’ve seen aaaa lot. Through not having resources, I learned so much and it has made me the person and teacher I am today. I have dealt with bullying from an administrator, burn out, anxiety and panic attacks, but I still remain proud with my head held high because I am happy to have inspired students and have supported them through their journeys.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soleducationcenter.org/about-me/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soleducationcenter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/SOL-Education-Center/61556689358722/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/soleducationcenter/?viewAsMember=true
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@soleducationcenter
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sol-education-center-houston-3
• Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@soleducationcenter

Image Credits

1st headshot: Aura Media Co.