New business in Tam Junction is holding a Grand Opening event, including a Ribbon Cutting with the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, on August 28 at 4pm.
From mobile phones to tablets and millions of apps in between, technology is ubiquitous, and our kids’ mastery of it never fails to astound us.
But are they mastering one of the most basic functions of our digital world?
Typing, a skill that dates back to the mid-1800s in Wisconsin, is the focus of one of the newest businesses in the 94941. Barbara Schmidt’s TypeA+, which launched in Santa Rosa three years ago, opened an education center in Tam Junction earlier this month.
Schmidt, a longtime CPA who has worked for giants like KPMG, started TypeA+ because she noticed a trend among her three kids, their friends and her friends’ kids: most of them were struggling to proficient at typing.
“It didn’t seem to dawn on many parents that there was a solution,” Schmidt says. “And kids thought they actually knew the skill and the parents thought they were getting it in school – but it wasn’t happening.”
With some guidance from the Typing Institute of America, Schmidt developed a curriculum that centers on teaching children in grades 2 to 8 how to type with speed and accuracy and avoid developing bad habits that are hard to break once they become adults.
“We’ve got to get them young – when they’re eager to learn and they haven’t learned a lot of bad habits,” Schmidt says. “
Schmidt licensed proprietary software that allows her teacher to monitor students’ progress through 24 50-minute small group classes, with the software itself allowing students to pick up where they left off if they miss a session or two.
“We’re able to tailor the speed to any grade level and make it fun, with prizes, games and rewards,” she says.
TypeA+ is hosting a Grand Opening Celebration, with food and drinks and a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, from 4pm–6pm on Thursday, August 28 at its education center at 247 Shoreline Highway, Unit B6 – in the shopping center that contains Mathnasium and the San Francisco Running Company. Click here for more info on TypeA+.
But are they mastering one of the most basic functions of our digital world?
Typing, a skill that dates back to the mid-1800s in Wisconsin, is the focus of one of the newest businesses in the 94941. Barbara Schmidt’s TypeA+, which launched in Santa Rosa three years ago, opened an education center in Tam Junction earlier this month.
Schmidt, a longtime CPA who has worked for giants like KPMG, started TypeA+ because she noticed a trend among her three kids, their friends and her friends’ kids: most of them were struggling to proficient at typing.
“It didn’t seem to dawn on many parents that there was a solution,” Schmidt says. “And kids thought they actually knew the skill and the parents thought they were getting it in school – but it wasn’t happening.”
With some guidance from the Typing Institute of America, Schmidt developed a curriculum that centers on teaching children in grades 2 to 8 how to type with speed and accuracy and avoid developing bad habits that are hard to break once they become adults.
“We’ve got to get them young – when they’re eager to learn and they haven’t learned a lot of bad habits,” Schmidt says. “
Schmidt licensed proprietary software that allows her teacher to monitor students’ progress through 24 50-minute small group classes, with the software itself allowing students to pick up where they left off if they miss a session or two.
“We’re able to tailor the speed to any grade level and make it fun, with prizes, games and rewards,” she says.
TypeA+ is hosting a Grand Opening Celebration, with food and drinks and a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, from 4pm–6pm on Thursday, August 28 at its education center at 247 Shoreline Highway, Unit B6 – in the shopping center that contains Mathnasium and the San Francisco Running Company. Click here for more info on TypeA+.
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