Educating the Minds of Tomorrow
Left to right: Tania Revilla Barrientos ’91, MS ’97; Lillian Citarella Polit ’91, MS ‘95; and Lisette Clavell ’83, MS ‘86 will open Mind Works Learning Center this fall. |
By Martin Haro ‘05
Working mothers Lisette Clavell ’83, MS ‘86, Tania Revilla Barrientos ’91, MS ’97 and Lillian Citarella Polit ’91, MS ‘95, would not let the dilemma of balancing work and motherhood prevent them from doing two of the things they love most.
“We are all moms and we wanted to be able to do something on our own, something innovative, and spend more time with our children,” Revilla said.
Together, the FIU alumnae have created Mind Works Learning Center, a learning facility that is scheduled to open in South Miami this fall.
The Center’s goal is to provide quality supplementary education while enhancing performance, something about which these women – all three veterans of the Miami-Dade County Public School system – know plenty.
Clavell, Revilla and Citarella serve as Mind Works’ president, executive vice president of operations and vice president of finance and administration, respectively. They each graduated from FIU with a bachelor’s and a master’s in elementary education and leadership.
Clavell went on to work for more than 24 years for the school system. Throughout her career, she opened a middle school advanced placement and gifted program at Kenwood K-8; three elementary gifted centers at Ludlum, Kenwood, Banyan and the Hospitality and Tourism Academy at Ferguson Senior High; and sat on the Advisory Board for the Miami-Dade County Public School system.
Revilla has 15 years of on-site school experience in education, having taught at Sunset Elementary and served as assistant principal at Kenwood K-8 Center and Coral Terrace Elementary. For her part, Citarella also has 15 years of service in education. She taught elementary at Coral Reef and Kendale and served as district supervisor, providing instructional program support in social sciences in collaboration with language arts/reading.
Motherhood, however, took the latter two off their professional field, albeit temporarily. Revilla’s daughter is about to turn 2, and Citarella has a 2-½-year-old daughter. Clavell’s daughter and son are in their teens.
“We all love what we do,” Revilla said. “I missed it when I took two years off to have my daughter, so it’s nice to be back.”
“I worked with Tania before at Kenwood K-8 and we always talked about doing something together,” Clavell said. “It was a dream, but now the timing is right and I’m very confident in that this is something that is needed in the community and in that it is going to be successful.”
“It’s a nervous excitement,” Citarella added. “I think our students are going to want to be there and learn. This is a new arena for me – it’s my first business venture – so I am nervous. But I’m also excited about this new era in my life and look forward to being a part of our students’ successes.”
The program the trio has created for Mind Works is focused on providing a learning environment where students will follow their Personalized Education Plan (PEP), which is tailored to the students’ specific needs.
A student’s PEP is developed by addressing a “Five-Step Approach” – assessing, planning, instructing, collaborating and achieving. Revilla explains she and her partners created this system based upon their collective experience in the classroom. “It works,” she said.
The method will seek to offer a creative edge that incorporates educational trends with experienced teachers and collaboration with parents, which Revilla says “is critical.”
The first Mind Works branch will be open to all students, grades K-12. It will be located at 7250 S.W. 57th Ave. in South Miami and offer programs including tutoring in reading, writing, mathematics and science, homework help and test-prep.
A “Baby & Me” program also will be offered mornings for mothers and their infants, ages 10-18 months in one group and 19-30 months in another. For more information on Mind Works, visit www.LearnAtMindWorks.com.
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