Futura’s Founder training a group of new Spanish instructors
In the year 2000 Brita was living in Seoul, South Korea teaching kindergarten at an English immersion school to native Korean children. She was amazed at their ability to switch between English and Korean with ease and fluency even at the age of five years old. Though studies have shown that children learn language most easily in their earliest of years, it was the experience seeing first-hand the power of early language learning that prompted Brita to think about foreign language instruction in the United States. She now realized how remiss our country was in not utilizing the most formative years to teach a language. A true lover of the Spanish language and its many cultures, Brita decided to combine this love with her new-found knowledge of early language learning.
Upon returning to the United States in 2001, she opened a little Spanish school for children in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and Futura Language Professionals was born. She chose the name Futura, as futura is the feminine form of future. Teaching language to preschool and elementary aged children was at that time, a futuristic way of thinking. Though filled with much love, color and excitement, Futura Language Professionals was a little school, which met the needs of only a small number of children on Saturday mornings. Shortly after opening the school, Brita received a phone call from a parent who said she was committed to enrolling her children in foreign language classes, but the location and times were not convenient for her. She asked if it would be possible if we brought Futura to her children’s’ school. That first semester at Valley View Elementary School 86 children enrolled in after school Spanish.
Believing that making Spanish affordable and convenient to families was of much importance, Brita closed the little school and Futura Language Professionals became truly community based school and a model for Spanish enrichment programming across the country.
Since that time, Futura has operated solely in the community onsite and in collaboration with local preschool and elementary schools as well as recreation and community education departments. Since it’s conception in 2001 Futura has grown from six students to thousands of students at our corporate locations in Wisconsin and Minnesota. We are proud to be an ever growing, ever evolving company making a global impact in our own communities.
Brita Schumacher
Futura’s Founder
Local Spanish, Global Experience!
