Best in Class Keeps Growing: Proudly Announces Newest Opening in Texas

Best in Class Education Center (Best in Class), a top-of-the-line education enrichment center focusing on math and English, announces the opening of its second location in the state of Texas at 2023 West McDermott Drive #130, Allen, TX on November 9, 2013.

Entrepreneur and owner-operator, Priya Venkat will facilitate the opening in her local community. The education center will welcome the public from 10:30 am to 4 pm on opening day so that parents can learn about the various education programs offered at Best in Class while enjoying complementary drinks and snacks. Additionally, the first 30 people in attendance will enter a chance to win one of three exciting grand prizes which include a $100 gift certificate to Adventure Landing theme park, an iPod Nano, and an Amazon Kindle.

“We’ve seen the excitement and energy here in Texas after we opened our first location in Katy earlier this year, and we’re thrilled to see the same momentum backing Best in Class in the Allen-Plano area,” Hao Lam, Founder and CEO said. “Priya is the perfect addition to the Best in Class system. With her strong appetite for scholarly success, I believe wholeheartedly that students will achieve and surpass their goals in the classroom.”

Venkat comes to Best in Class from a background in Biochemistry, but her history with the brand extends back to 2007 when she enrolled her own children into the program. While working as a clinical researcher in Seattle, WA. Venkat pursued the Best in Class program after realizing the curriculum her kids were receiving in school fell short of a challenge. After seeing her children's academic improvement as a direct result of the Best in Class teachings, Venkat decided to take it upon herself to bring the brand to the Allen-Plano area after she and her family chose to relocate to Texas.

“As one of the original ‘Best in Class moms’ I have seen firsthand the progress and triumphs achieved in their classrooms. Through my experience, I hope to inspire families here in the Allen-Plano to seize that same success,” Venkat said.  “Competition exists in the educational segment, but while other programs offer repetitive and outdated curriculum, we emphasize critical-thinking and cultivate an environment that nurtures student growth.”

Best in Class was founded on the simple goal of providing the best education possible to each student entering its classroom doors.  The brand’s reputation as the leader in supplemental education has held true through Lam’s tailored curriculum and the centers’ emphasis on cognitive learning. Materials used in class highlight reasoning, critical thinking, and problem solving, allowing students to retain information well beyond their adolescent academic years. This all-inclusive approach has elevated Best in Class to be the parents’ brand of choice when looking for high quality complementary education.

“Our ability to grow nationally is a direct result of the success we’ve seen in each child, in each classroom, across each state,” Lam said. “With the opening of our Allen-Plano location, we hope to inspire the minds of those who come into our centers and we take great pride in knowing that one day, these students will have the potential to achieve great things.”  

Best in Class currently has 25 centers operating in California, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The brand is looking to open additional high-caliber education centers throughout the U.S.  

Franchisee Spotlight: Priya Venkat, Plano, Texas

Priya Venkat, 41, moved to Seattle, Washington at the age of 24 and received her bachelors and master’s in biochemistry. She has been involved in the healthcare industry for 14 years, seven of which were spent at the University of Washington Medical Center as a researcher in the field of fertility and clinical lab work. Post her involvement with the University of Washington, she also spent seven years with Seattle Reproductive Medicine managing multiple labs in the IVF-In vitro fertilization field.  

Venkat considers herself as “the original Best in Class mom,” because she first heard about the program six years ago when looking for tutoring options for her own children. After toting around parent-teacher conferences and checking her children’s homework, she became alarmingly aware that the education her children were receiving in school fell short. Searching for more advanced classes for her kids, she began researching programs in Seattle and it was clear that Best in Class was the superior option.

After visiting Kumon and other “household name” centers, Venkat was convinced that their curriculums were outdated, repetitive and didn’t offer the necessary strength to uphold advanced lessons. In 2007, she brought her four-year-old to Best in Class and has never doubted her decision since. It was her first-person experience as a mother that inspired her to open her own center in Plano-Allen, TX, a mere four months after relocating to the state for her husband’s job.  Venkat notes the material, style of teaching, length of classroom time and overall dedication that Best in Class offers is unbeatable.

Currently in the United States, there is a rising concern among employers seeking qualified workers that the job pool is coming up short. To address this issue, the United States government created the Skills for America’s Future because the U.S Jobs Council saw a glaring need for employees to demonstrate more advanced skills, specifically in the math, engineering and science fields.

“About 40 years ago, only one in four jobs required more than a high school education, but now about two in three jobs require more training. And workers now really need to think of learning as a lifelong task. That's a huge shift from the days when you did one job that never changed for one employer and then you retired.” (The Atlantic 8/13) http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/why-jobs-go-unfilled-even-in-times-of-high-unemployment/278801/

Venkat hopes to tackle this problem at the local level and get kids passionate, interested and ready to learn at a young age. After doing market research in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, it was clear that Venkat had an opportunity to bring something new to the area. She visited school districts, reviewed classroom curriculum and vetted enrichment programs – nothing matched the teaching style of Best in Class. Best in Class emphasizes critical thinking while others focus on repetitive learning.

Venkat is confident that parents will notice the leaping triumphs their kids will achieve with Best in Class and has decided to take a permanent detour in her career in biotechnology to pursue this project full-time, “I’ve seen this work with my own children. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t see their mental abilities grow with Best in Class. I am a mother first, a business owner second,” she said. Both of Venkat’s children have benefited from Best in Class Education; her song has been part of the gifted program in Seattle and has been accepted to the gifted program in Texas as well. They will continue supplementing their classroom education with Best in Class curriculum.