A Tailored Teaching Approach

After figuring out what her son needed to thrive in school, Maria Washington built a flourishing Tutor Doctor franchise that gives other families the same experience.

- KIM KAVIN

Early on in elementary school, Maria Washington's son was struggling to sit still and pay attention. "His teachers wrote him off," she says. "They said he's not capable of this, or this, or this. They were telling me he wouldn't amount to anything."

But the Washington family disagreed. Maria's husband, Aaron-her son's stepfather, and a former adjunct chemistry professor at the University of South Carolina-started tutoring the boy. They soon discovered that he learned better with visual prompts, so they tailored a plan to his needs. By the end of fifth grade, "My son's teacher said he should move into general education classes," Maria says. "He finished with all A's."