Make A Plan
Academy

At home educational facilitators who work to create the optimal at-home learning environment.

Turn crisis into opportunity

At home educational facilitators

Homeschooling can be difficult at best, but for working parents it is practically impossible. Make a Plan Academy places education facilitators into the home to help families create an optimal learning environment for students of all ages. Facilitators manage student on-line classes, tutor difficult subjects and extend learning in areas of student strength. Facilitators also participate in fun daily physical exercise alongside students as exercise is a central component for attention and learning. When school work is finished, facilitators provide enrichment activities tailored to the interests of the students. Using strategies unique to MAP, facilitators coach students in executive skills, self-regulation and good communication always prioritizing the specific academic and emotional needs of each student. The goal of all MAP facilitators is not only a successful academic year, but a year where a student shows growth in self-knowledge, self-regulation, and self-esteem.

Training

Make a Plan training equips educational facilitators with powerful tools and strategies they use to create optimal learning environments for your children. Children’s brains are designed to learn, however, stress switches the brain into survival mode and no learning happens. Resistance, emotional meltdowns, perfectionism or sneaking off to play Fortnite are examples of a kid in “survival brain”. MAP training in self-regulation, mindfulness, and good communication empowers our facilitators to model and teach students how to recognize when they are suffering from “survival brain” and then work to move themselves into “learning brain”. In addition, MAP training in pedagogy for neurodiverse learners prepares our facilitators to effectively remediate subjects of struggle and creatively extend areas of student strength.

Monitoring

Make a Plan Academy monitors your child’s progress twice each week. Facilitators check in with a team of educational therapists, executive skills coaches, and mind/body professionals to review your child’s progress. This support allows facilitators to effectively troubleshoot areas of struggle and extend areas of excellence. In addition to providing support, weekly monitoring provides a forum where facilitators are encouraged to share their successes and struggles. Sharing their experience with a community of professionals, all who take pride in creating optimal learning situations, motivates MAP facilitators to bring their best to your children everyday. Regardless of your child’s specific needs or neurodiversity, having a Make a Plan facilitator in your home is like having an on-call TAG coordinator, dyslexia therapist, executive skills coach, mind/body coach and experienced teacher--all who are working to make homeschool the optimal learning experience for your child.

We value neurodiversity.

MAP Academy

Make a Plan provides a consistent, safe, high quality learning experience for your child regardless of what is happening with your brick and mortar school.
Mimi Ward MA, CALP

Founder & CEO

MAP Academy was launched the summer of 2020 in response to the pain experienced by children trying to learn remotely and parents trying to simultaneously support their child’s learning while working remotely from home. Parents needed help “making a plan” and turned to me. I have been a teacher for 35 years--teaching elementary school in the inner city and at elite private schools, teaching college students to write at CU Boulder, homeschooling my own neurodiverse children for 15 years and maintaining my dyslexia therapy practice for the past 11 years. This extensive experience with diverse learners working in a variety of settings has given me a unique skill set that I use to find, train and support educational facilitators who work with your children. Having a Make a Plan facilitator in your home is like having an on call team--TAG coordinator, dyslexia therapist, executive skills coach and mind/body coach and experienced teacher to make learning at home an optimal learning experience.

Comitted, kind and professional

Facilitators

All our Make a Plan facilitators have undergone a rigorous interview process and background checks. We look for people who are excited to learn and have experience working with children and young adults. Meet some of our fantastic team!

Dane F.

Dane Fisher is a passionate children’s educator with several years of experience in outdoor education. In the summer he works for Avid 4 Adventure in Boulder and in the winter he ski instructs at Loveland Ski Area. Dane has a BA double majoring in Design Engineering and Philosophy. A Renaissance person, he also studied neuroscience, physics, astronomy, literature, film, and theatre. Hiking, climbing, biking, skiing, snowboarding, and more recently rollerblading and riding a unicycle get Dane outside. He loves to read and is teaching himself to play the guitar slowly but surely.

Alana R.

Alana is passionate about helping young people lead healthier, more balanced lives while working toward their academic and personal goals. Graduating magna cum laude from the University of Denver with a BA in psychology she worked closely with the learning effectiveness program mentoring incoming students and teaching them strategies for academic success. She has extensive experience with anxious children, working in one of the university's research labs where she conducted a study about clinical anxiety in children and adolescence. In her free time, Alana loves to be active outdoors, skiing or snowshoeing in the winter and hiking year-round. She is also an avid fan of the arts and enjoys creative activities.

Joe G.

After years of working alongside children of all ages while being homeschooled and teaching music in Boulder, Joe Goodhew went on to receive a BA in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Stanford University. At Stanford, he worked as part of the staff of Stanford’s Bing Nursery School where he gained experience working in a state-of-the-art laboratory/classroom alongside experienced teachers, psychologists, and musician-educators. Since his time at Stanford, Joe has only become more excited to work alongside children in new schooling environments. Joe loves to cook, hike, read poetry, and play both piano and guitar.

Team

Mimi Ward MA, CALP

Dyslexia Therapist, Teacher
Boulder Dyslexia Therapy

Brad Fanestil MD

Mind Body Specialist
BCH Center for Mind Body Medicine

Cathy Clark MA

Executive Skills Coach
BolderED Strategies LLC

Eleni Arapkiles

Literature and Writing Specialist
32 yr BVSD Teacher

Maximum 1:4 teacher student ratio

All Make a Plan facilitators

  • Manage on-line school day
  • Tutor children in academic subjects
  • Provide enrichment activities
  • Teach executive, self regulation and communication skills

Part Time at Home Education Facilitator

  • 3 days a week, 6 hours a day
  • 1-2 Students
  • 3-4 Students

Full Time at Home Education Facilitator

  • 5 days a week, 6 hours a day
  • 1-2 Students
  • 3-4 Students

Contact for current pricing