The Growth Story

The journey toward Growth began when I was a classroom teacher. I taught first grade, fourth grade, middle school special education, and elementary general education, in Texas, Colorado, and Oregon. I absolutely adored spending time with my students but teaching didn’t quite feel like the right fit. I didn’t feel confident working with kiddos in some of the most difficult circumstances (and with some of the most difficult behaviors).

On a drive through the mountains one day, Rex asked me what I would do next in my career if I could do anything at all. I told him I'd go back to school and get my master's degree to be a better teacher. Always the dreamer, Rex asked, "What about a doctorate?"

Seven years later I graduated with a doctorate of philosophy in early childhood special education from Vanderbilt University.

During my time at Vanderbilt, I experienced up close and personal the gap between "best practice" according to researchers and academics (including myself) and the reality of every day life for classroom teachers, parents, and caregivers. There was so much talk about "bridging the research to practice gap" but so few actual steps being taken in that direction. I recognized that I had the opportunity to go back to school and continue my education and training to be a good teacher, where most caregivers don't have that same luxury.

Rex's driven, entrepreneurial spirit and my technical know-how led to the creation of Growth.

In the years since its inception, we've refined our vision and mission to really focus on supporting the adults who spend their time with young children. Our goal is to bridge the gap between research and reality by making research accessible and adaptable to every day life. We know that supporting positive outcomes for young children everywhere actually starts by supporting the families, teachers, and other caregivers that spend every single day with them.

That's our goal - creating more competent and confident caregivers, to optimize childhood experiences for everyone

We are passionate about doing good in our business, so we also partner with several organizations to donate our time and money, including Safe Haven (Tennessee), Yellow Dog Community and Conservation Fund (Montana) and the Xcalak English Project (Mexico), Esperanza de Vida (Mexico), Tykes & Teens (Florida), KidsFirst (Colorado), and Aspen Family Connections (Colorado).