Most schools have become phone trees. My mother built a giving tree.
I have watched my mom answer the phone at 7 p.m. to help navigate a parent’s concern. I have seen her at 5 a.m. with multiple textbooks, preparing for class esshe teaches. I have witnessed her learn not just the name of every child who walks through our doors, but also their dreams, struggles, and learning styles.
When I started working at the Self Development Academy (SDA) in 2017, I underwent a vetting process. The questions focused on “multitask learning” in the classroom and gauging my commitment to ensuring that everyone succeeds.
“What would you do if only one student didn’t understand a concept that the rest seemed ready to move on from?” “How do you see behavior and academic performance relate?” There was a theme to my answers: relentlessly focused individualized attention.
For 25 years, I have had a front-row seat to something extraordinary: what happens when education
comes from the heart instead of a handbook.
THE PHONE TREE REALITY
When you call many schools and ask to speak with the principal about your child, your call is transferred, put on hold, and you are asked to leave a voicemail or told to schedule an appointment several weeks in advance. You are given a form to fill out or referred to the main office. This is the phone tree designed to filter out problems rather than solve them.
THE SDA REALITY
“Relentless attention to individualized needs” is woven into the fabric of Self Development Academy, so that when parents call with concerns, Dr. Majeed will find time to hear you. Parents repeatedly share the following: “I am so happy to have found a school that goes above and beyond to help their students in any way possible…” “Dr. Majeed knows each child, and SDA is a home away from home.”
However, what the testimonials do not capture is that I have watched Dr. Majeed do this thousands of times. The late-night calls. The weekend emails. The personal investment in children at SDA.
The most amazing part is that it inspires sleepless altruism in other SDA employees. “Teachers and staff work tirelessly to meet the needs of students well beyond academically related issues.”
WHAT I LEARNED WATCHING SDA GROW
I read The Giving Tree with my mom when I was 6, both of us a little teary-eyed at the end. It wasn’t until I was 25 that I realized the symbolism in the book: “the tree is ‘the parent.’” Always there, ready to give all. When asked why she does what she does, my mother’s answer is simple: “There is nothing more important than the proper education of a child. It is our future that we are creating.”
Twenty-five years of watching my mother build something extraordinary taught me this: Children don’t need systems — they need real people who give infinitely to grow infinite potential.
THE CHOICE EVERY PARENT FACES
When you’re choosing a school for your child, you’re not just choosing a curriculum or a test score. You’re choosing between two philosophies.
The Phone Tree Reality: Your child is a number in a system. Problems get referred up the chain. Individual needs get lost in policy manuals. Standardized metrics measure success.
The SDA Reality: Your child is known, valued, and nurtured. Problems get solved by people who care. Individual genius gets discovered and developed. Success is measured by the human potential that is realized.
WHY SDA EXISTS
SDA is built on a simple premise: “If you give a child a goal and a path towards it, they’ll always get there, no matter how difficult the road is.” Seeing your child’s success all the way through is more than what a good educator does. It is the reason why SDA exists.
Because every child deserves a giving tree, not a phone tree, the question isn’t whether your child has genius — they do. The question is whether other schools care for each child as relentlessly as we do at SDA.
Twenty-five years later, SDA continues to offer an enriched, accelerated academics — it’s a giving tree. For more information, contact (480) 641-2640.