It’s Our Birthday! Homeschool Spanish Academy Turns 10
Homeschool Spanish Academy turns 10 years old today! As the founder and CEO of the company, I’ve felt inspired to take a look at how far we’ve come in those 10 years and to share the story with you. And more importantly, I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a loyal customer and an integral part of our language-learning community.
Humble Beginnings
Sometimes when I close my eyes, I can feel the warm, humid air of my first Guatemalan apartment—which actually doubled as HSA’s first office. In fact, I hired a local carpenter to build me a lofted bunk bed, under which our very first talented employees started connecting with students from all around the world.
We worked tirelessly to provide the best service to our first customers. I’ll never forget our first student—Sam. He was a multilingual elementary student with a natural penchant for learning foreign languages. His parents decided to sign up with us to give Sam a chance to learn Spanish with a native speaker. They were so satisfied by his experience that they stayed with us for six years! It was amazing to see what Sam could do after only a month of Spanish class and it was a privilege to watch him grow over the years.
The Real Heroes
While I admit that I spent more than five solid years working 16+ hour days to propel Homeschool Spanish Academy to where it is today, the real heroes of this story are the teachers and students. The powerful bond they create is the magic ingredient that makes our online Spanish classes so effective.
Our Teachers
When I set out to hire our first teachers, I asked myself, “How can I interview them in my office when it’s a bedroom?” Instead, I decided to interview them on a bench in Central Park (Antigua, Guatemala) surrounded by tall palm trees and colorful colonial architecture. After the interview, I took them to my one-room apartment (aka my office) and hoped they would have enough faith in the vision to join our team. I’m thankful each and every day for their trust and confidence in the potential that our company had from the very beginning!
Our team of Spanish teachers is extraordinary. These people, whom I’ve been fortunate enough to know and work with, are dedicated and passionate instructors with a natural ability to nurture meaningful relationships. The company culture that we’ve built together has embodied teamwork, team-building, and leadership at its core.
In our quest to offer the best service possible and to create products that our loyal customers love, our company has seen exponential growth over the last decade. And here we are, 10 years later, having hired more than 100 teachers and providing over 3,000 classes a week to a dedicated community of incredible students.
Our Students
Every student that has signed up with Homeschool Spanish Academy has had a positive and lasting impact on our teachers, our curriculum, and our company. It fills me with joy to know that our Spanish program has an equally positive impact on their lives, as well!
One student, Connor Hudson, took classes from our teacher Rosa for four years. During this time, he traveled to Spain for a robotics convention and—wait for it—gave his presentation completely in Spanish! All of us were incredibly proud of his accomplishments. Soon after, Rosa started teaching Connor’s twin brother and sister for the next four years until they graduated.
We pride ourselves in our ability to make Spanish learning effective, efficient, and as personable as possible!
Through the Years
Homeschool Spanish Academy has come a long way since the beginning. As the years pass, our company grows to provide our customers and students with what they need. For this reason, we’ve been expanding into media and publishing with a recent release of our interactive preschool Spanish book called Simple (pronounced as “seem-play” in Spanish) and an upcoming launch of our Spanish audiobooks for kids (which you will hear more about soon!).
What the Future Holds
I feel privileged to be a part of Homeschool Spanish Academy’s story, along with the teachers, students, and dedicated, creative teams of people who work with us. As we continue providing our customers and students with products and services that they love, we will also expand our presence in both homes and traditional school settings.
We Hope You Join Us!
If you’re already part of our community of Spanish enthusiasts and learners, then let me say: Thank you! I appreciate you so much!
If you’re thinking about joining us, I’d like to recommend that you take a free trial class with one of our certified, native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala. You’ll make a meaningful connection with a talented teacher and start speaking Spanish from day one.
I look forward to connecting with you,
Ron Fortin
Would you like to learn more about us and our programs? Check out these posts!
- Top-Rated Accredited Online Spanish Classes for Kids
- 6 Compelling Reasons Why Your School Should Outsource Spanish Class
- Top Cost-Effective Spanish Class Options for Kids
- How to Add Spanish to Your Homeschool Co-Op
- The Best Homeschool Spanish Curriculum at HSA
- How to Schedule with Homeschool Spanish Academy
- What to Expect from a Year with Homeschool Spanish Academy
- What to Expect in Your Free Trial Spanish Class at HSA
Today, he enjoys innovating and driving the business forward.
- It’s Our Birthday! Homeschool Spanish Academy Turns 10 - August 10, 2020
- Learn Spanish Fast: Reshaping the Methods Used to Learn Spanish - March 5, 2019
- Increase Your Access to the World with Spanish - June 28, 2018
