Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Thiemann.
Hi Sarah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. My little sister and I would play “school” all the time, and I was always the teacher! Then, in middle school, I took a Spanish class and it became a goal of mine. I wanted to speak Spanish because I was so interested in the culture – the different foods, dances, holidays, music.. and I always felt so proud when someone found out I spoke Spanish and they were like “WOW!!!” I thought it was a cool skill to have and I wanted to have it! So I kept learning and studying throughout high school and then went to college to come a K-12 certified Spanish teacher. I perfected my language skills by living with a family and attending a university in Spain (La Universidad de Alicante). I got hired as a high school Spanish teacher at Timberland High School before I even walked the stage to get my degree. I taught there for two years and LOOOOVED it so much. The way I taught my students was very unique – no grammar drills or long vocabulary lists. Instead, we told stories in Spanish, learned songs, and did fun activities together while immersing them as much as I could in the language. Even students who normally would struggle in other classes thrived in mine. Because I kept it fun, light-hearted, and engaging. I coached volleyball and cheerleading, and I loved it so much!
So why did I decide to quit and start my own business? I knew I wanted to be a mom, and I did not want to have to be gone so much when that happened. But I still wanted to teach Spanish because I loved it so much. So I started Sarah’s Spanish School in my hometown of Eureka. I wanted to simply replace my income and still be able to do what I love – teach Spanish.
The struggle was real, as any business start-up is, to get people to know about it and come to me.
One day, I offered it to a few local elementary schools as an after-school program, and my classes filled up literally overnight. This was when my husband joined me and together we got my after-school program into over 300 elementary schools in 15 states. We employed more than 500 Spanish-speakers as teachers who went to the schools and taught my curriculum. We had more than 5,000 students go through our program in-person at their elementary school.
But we wanted to reach MORE kids! So we started learning how to teach online in 2019. We attended conferences, read books, and hired coaches. So when Covid hit in March 2020, we were very prepared (Thank God) to transition all of our students to online.
And we never looked back. We are able to reach so many more students teaching them online. We have kids log in daily from all 50 states plus many other countries around the world and have had more than 20,000 students learn Spanish online with us (And we’re just getting started!)
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Many challenges, of course!
Working with my husband (if you’re married, you can imagine this would be a challenge!) but also absolutely amazing. We get to spend every day together and work towards a common goal. It’s really fun! And it helps that my husband, Timmy, is so supportive, hardworking, and resourceful. We make a really good team.
We had our first child in August 2021! Thank the Lord. That was a challenge in itself, managing and growing an ever-changing business and figuring out how to be a mom at the same time. It’s been the most beautiful journey!!! We love being parents!
And typical business challenges – breaking through obscurity, trying to figure out and create exactly what your customers want, and day-to-day obstacles and problems to overcome and keep chugging along, full steam ahead!
We’re lucky to have the most AMAZING Operations Manager, Brea, who has stuck with us through all of the major changes since 2019 and continues to take care of more than her fair share of responsibilities!
We also have the most creative, fun, engaging teachers EVER (who we call “edutainers” – partner educator, part entertainer!!!) who make my job really easy and fun!
As you know, we’re big fans of Sarah’s Spanish School. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We teach Spanish online. Our main business is kids ages 5-13 (we do have an adult program, too, that is fun conversational Spanish). We are known for having the most fun and effective Spanish classes that kids LOVE. We keep kids engaged and excited about learning Spanish through fun activities like science experiments (blowing up watermelons and cool stuff like that), songs, games, culture, art projects, stories, and more! We have awesome themed weeks every week that keep kids excited about what is coming up in Spanish class. We offer LIVE classes ever day of the week multiple times each day. Kids can come to as many or as few as they want and they get the recordings to ALL of them in a private kid-friendly membership area. Our teachers are native speakers and certified Spanish teachers. They are so fun, energetic, and engaging. Kids love our classes because they are fun – they hardly realize they’re learning Spanish and they learn a TON in a natural and organic way!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Life makes me happy! It makes me happy knowing that I am alive and able to smell flowers and laundry detergent, taste coffee, crab legs, and chocolate, visit different cities and countries, meet new, interesting, unique people, have endless experiences, and do it all with the people I love dearly.
Contact Info:
- Email: sarah@sarahsspanishschool.com
- Website: www.sarahsspanishschool.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/sarahs_spanish_school
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellotoholastl
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPl8O4INGgWZYhmBfUh0o3Q
