Wafaa Elghoroury

Brainstormer, Change agent, Educator/Teacher, Entrepreneur, Parent, World traveler

After years of struggling with finding the right education for my children and the right career for myself, I finally realized that sometimes a good fit needs to be tailored rather than found. Sphinx Academy is my way to spread that realization to others. I accepted the traditional way of teaching for my children as a given until my son was diagnosed with ADHD. After a struggle with the traditional system, I finally took him to an educational consultant who announced he was gifted with “superior intelligence." I had just finished my US Medical License Exam and was getting ready to apply for a psychiatry residency at the time. I set that aside and started focusing on an education path. I sought a special education BA degree in order to gather the information I needed for individualizing education. My experience with medicine and psychiatry coupled with the special education training armed me with knowledge of child development and best practices in education. Throughout the courses, I came across two important facts: that all children can learn, and that all children learn differently. I also realized that many children with learning differences were gifted and talented. After I graduated, I could not reconcile myself with the teaching jobs available. I started researching different models of education and I trained in both upper elementary and secondary Montessori education. I learned about curriculum development and integration, community building, and fostering integrity, independence, leadership, respect, and peace in the school environment. I visited different schools and took part in educational workshops. I explored the idea of blended learning, micro schools, and big picture schools, all focused on small number and facilitators. Finally, the idea for Sphinx Academy materialized. This year is our fifth year, we have gone through many milestones including earning our non-profit status, accreditation, and a growth of space, staff, and students. As we add to our resources, we grow to be more inclusive of different learning styles and needs.

Education. It's always been my belief that improving education for everyone is the one and only way to change the world. Equal access, better perception, better delivery, and more diversity are all important facets all of which are necessary to reach the life changing effects of education.

I don't think there's a model of education that fits all students. I sometimes dream that all different models work together through a referral system available to parents and teachers alike that would introduce the different models and help place the different students in the right model that works for them. More so, I would love for all the models to be available in one large campus where students in different models can get together for band, orchestra, sports, etc., so that students who do better in small schools do not have to give up the possiblity of being part of those things.

Curriculum Development, Educational Psychology, Montessori Education