But are they mastering one of the most basic functions of our digital world?
Typing, a skill that dates back to the mid-1800s in Wisconsin, is the focus of one of the newest businesses in the 94941. Barbara Schmidt’s TypeA+, which launched in Santa Rosa three years ago, opened an education center in Tam Junction earlier this month.
Schmidt, a longtime CPA who has worked for giants like KPMG, started TypeA+ because she noticed a trend among her three kids, their friends and her friends’ kids: most of them were struggling to proficient at typing.
“It didn’t seem to dawn on many parents that there was a solution,” Schmidt says. “And kids thought they actually knew the skill and the parents thought they were getting it in school – but it wasn’t happening.”
With some guidance from the Typing Institute of America, Schmidt developed a curriculum that centers on teaching children in grades 2 to 8 how to type with speed and accuracy and avoid developing bad habits that are hard to break once they become adults.
“We’ve got to get them young – when they’re eager to learn and they haven’t learned a lot of bad habits,” Schmidt says. “
Schmidt licensed proprietary software that allows her teacher to monitor students’ progress through 24 50-minute small group classes, with the software itself allowing students to pick up where they left off if they miss a session or two.
“We’re able to tailor the speed to any grade level and make it fun, with prizes, games and rewards,” she says.
TypeA+ is hosting a Grand Opening Celebration, with food and drinks and a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, from 4pm–6pm on Thursday, August 28 at its education center at 247 Shoreline Highway, Unit B6 – in the shopping center that contains Mathnasium and the San Francisco Running Company. Click here for more info on TypeA+.