Mike: I was Assistant Instructor at University of Texas (UT), Austin for 6 years, Southern Methodist University (SMU) for 2 years and Staff (Academic Technology Specialist) at Stanford for 6 years. I also worked as a reading instructor for preK-adult during summers.

Lisa:

I worked as an Assistant Teacher in Preschool for 3 years, then transitioned to Lead Teacher in the same setting for 2 years. Following that, I took on a role as a Teacher for Remedial Reading for 1 year. I also served as an Assistant Director at a day school for 1 year, where I took on various roles like van driver, cook, providing classroom coverage, and managing janitorial duties.

After that, I stepped into leadership positions, working as Director of Communications for 1 year, followed by roles as Director of Marketing and Director of Parent Experience for 3 years each. I then progressed to become Chief Operating Officer and later Chief Brand Officer, with 2 years in each position.

In addition to my hands-on roles, I dedicated 4 years to training in Early Childhood Education continuing education and later served as President for a company specializing in ECE Continuing Education for 2 years.

Tiffanie:

Before LineLeader, I was a Kindergarten teacher for 5 years in both Arizona and Texas. 

Mike:

Education changes lives. When I was teaching English at UT, I had a student tell me that she had been thinking about dropping out of college until she took my class. That class reignited her love of learning and led her to change majors and stay at the university. That remains one of my favorite memories from when I was teaching.

Lisa:

We discussed the color of the day during circle time. Later that afternoon a child recognized and pointed out the color to me while on the playground. Right then I knew this was important work. 

Tiffanie:

Growing up, my family moved several times over the years and school never came easy to me. Especially when it came to math, it was my worst enemy. I learned to absolutely dread anything math related, and my dispassion showed. It wasn’t until I became a teacher that I understood how difficult it was to teach to a room full of 30+ kids and accommodate all of their different learning styles. That’s really what gave me a different perspective about teaching. As a teacher, you had to balance teaching to the whole class while being able to meet a child one-to-one to help them understand the material. I feel that this not only applies to my role here at LineLeader but can be applied in any occupation or industry.

Mike:

 I’ve had many influential teachers. From my Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Oberstein (who put up with my constant jabbering), my high school English teacher Mrs. Graves, who was certain I would publish a book one day, and many others. The one I remember the most though is Dr. Bonnie Wheeler, a professor of English at SMU. Not only did her love of medieval literature lead me to study that field too, but also her pedagogy was a model for my own, her generosity gave me numerous opportunities to learn new skills (editing, print layout, Latin), and she was instrumental in getting me accepted to UT Austin for my PhD. I would not be where I am today without her influence.

Lisa:

I had an incredible teacher in high school — Mr. Gaughn. What made him special was that he taught outside the confines of his classroom. He taught us to be free-thinking young adults and to question as a means of learning. I learned three incredibly important life lessons from him: 

1. Never take anything at face value. Always be curious, ask why and how, and ignore those who say you ask too many questions.
2. Success can be found in so many things — and money and positions aren’t always accurate indicators. The manager of a McDonalds who enjoys their job is as fulfilled and successful as the CEO of Apple.
3. Do not waste your time remembering historical dates and details (odd because he was a history teacher). He believed you were better served to figure out the reasons, impact, and significance of events. He said “don’t commit to memory anything you can easily look up later — save your brain space for real learning”.

LT:

I had a coach who emphasized attitude and effort over skill and talent. This resonated with me and became a core value of mine as a coach/teacher.

Tiffanie:

Mrs. Cline will forever and always be the teacher who made the most significant impact, not only on my education but also throughout my life in little ways. People may not remember what you said, but they’ll remember how they made you feel. I can still describe in detail the way the classroom felt every day walking into Mrs. Cline’s room. She had one of those big, clunky CD players that nowadays kids would refer to as Y2K. She always played the most beautiful classical music up until the start of class. She worked with me one-on-one when there was something I didn’t fully understand. I’ll forever remember how she made me feel that it was okay to ask for help.

Tiffanie:

LineLeader truly does so much to help not only the industry, as a whole, but individual educators on a daily basis. Helping centers and programs run more efficiently allows staff and admins to spend more time on what matters the most: the children and families. LineLeader gives families and teachers a better means of communication — not a piece of paper that has important notes (and inevitably turns into a crumpled ball at the bottom of a bag).

Faith:

Joining LineLeader - you can see how much the team cares about our customers. From the department heads to the managers to the front line support team, everyone has a reason to care about the industry. You can feel the excitement when we get positive feedback from a user about how our technology has made their life easier or helped them grow their business. It’s really fun to be a part of.

Tiffanie:

Technology isn’t going anywhere, it’s here to stay. It’s time for everybody to get on board. In my experience, Education is one of the industries that utilizes technology the least but could very quickly experience SO many benefits. From making family communication better… to allowing teachers to have their lesson plans and curriculum visible to parents so they can support what’s being taught in classrooms and reinforce it at home. Long gone are the days of picking your kids up from school, asking them what they learned and them saying, “Oh, I don’t know”.

Mike:

Having taught every age group from pre-K to graduate students, I have a deep empathy for our underappreciated and overworked educators. As VP of Engineering, I hold a leadership position in our software engineering team and use that position to continually impress upon the team our need to make the users of LineLeader’s software — the teachers, in particular — love our platform because it makes their lives easier. If it’s not making their work more efficient, then we’re taking time away from their main job: educating and caring for young children.

Mitch:

Our customers are BUSY, BUSY, BUSY. Working in Customer Support, especially our online chat feature, I’m always conscious of the customer’s time. I know what it’s like to work in an Education setting where things can often feel chaotic at times. I always try to respond to our customers in a timely manner and where possible provide a quick response with a simple solution.

Tiffanie:

Patience. Patience. Patience. Not only was patience a great trait for me in Education but in my role here at LineLeader as well. Because patience isn’t just that, it’s giving people grace, understanding, and empathy. The whole world could use a bit of patience.