The Helen Doron Group - Empowering Women to Fulfill their Dreams
What do a Hungarian Translator, a Serbian Economist and a German Physician have in common? Although from very different backgrounds, all three women beat the odds and built successful businesses, while at the same time helping other women achieve their own dreams, using the Helen Doron Early Education English model.
Dr. Rita Falter
Born in Budapest, Hungary to well-educated parents, Rita and her family moved to Germany when she was 8, to avoid being coerced to join the ruling communist party.
As the child of a physician - father and a pharmacist - mother, Rita always wanted to follow in their medical footsteps. The ambitious young woman gained acceptance to a highly competitive internship program at Yale University in the United States. As a foreign student, she was not allowed to treat patients, so she was slotted into two alternative programs, both of which would influence her life deeply. In the mornings she entertained hospitalized children and in the afternoons spoke to pre-operation patients.
She got married and gave birth to twin girls two years before completing her studies. Remembering her developmental education classes, Rita was deeply conflicted about combining the rigorous demands of a medical practice with the important job of motherhood. Deciding she could always be a doctor later and taking parenting as seriously as any other career, Rita enrolled her twins in the International School in Munich for English, art, gymnastics and anything else that would enrich their young, developing minds. “It was the best choice I ever made!’” she recalls.
Realizing that this was an option that all women should have, Rita sought a solution that would allow her to stay at home as well as build a career she would love, which led her to find the Helen Doron methodEarly English. Today, Rita finds herself surrounded by women who put their professions on hold to raise their children. The clear message she conveys to them is “You have made a fantastic choice you won’t be sorry for, as working with Helen Doron is even better!”
Currently a Teacher Trainer who prepares teachers in the Helen Doron Early English method all over the world, Rita begins each teacher training seminar by holding her hands as if clutching a large package and announces, “I have a gift for each of you – for you who are becoming teachers: that your coming years shall be as happy and as wonderful as they have been for me ever since I started teaching with the Helen Doron method.”
Till now, Rita has trained over 500 Helen Doron teachers, (including both of her daughters) who in turn have taught more than 20,000 students. “There is no better job than to influence the future of children, and this job allows women to directly impact on the lives of literally thousands of young ones.”
Tatjana Janjuz
Cross-culturally sophisticated Tatjana earned a BA in Management from both the University of Belgrade and the Frederics Institute of Technology in Cyprus. “But, my true love was children, as I worked with them as a dance instructor during my studies. I saw the Helen Doron method as a chance for a wonderful, fulfilling job, with the best people in the world: children.”
She contacted the Head Office and was handpicked to attend a Teacher Training Course in Duesseldorf, Germany, taught by Helen Doron, herself.
Upon completion of the training in 1998, she started with two small groups in her native Serbia and had to stop after the first five lessons due to bombing. Her small school remained closed for 6 months and was not able to reopen again until October 1999, when she was finally able to have her first uninterrupted season.
Parents’ ongoing economic hardship and unstable conditions provided daunting challenges, yet Tatjana stubbornly persevered. “For the first three years, I was completely alone in Serbia, meeting other Helen Doron teachers only when attending seminars and Annual Conferences, and for those I had to travel abroad each time. In the summer of 2002 an excellent teacher joined me, passed the teacher training course and we started working together. This was the first year that my school was large enough to show a profit.”
In 2003, she was offered an opportunity by Head Office to become a Learning Centre Franchisee, which she accepted with great enthusiasm. Following the success of her LC, in May of 2005, she took the next step up and became a Master Franchisor.
“The idea I had in back in 1998, without fully knowing what I was getting into, has finally come to realization. I feel that all these years of effort The Helen Doron Group put into developing a brand that is of high quality brings the most wonderful results. Today, we have over 550 students attending Helen Doron courses, and my first students are about to graduate from the Paul Ward course (for ages 10-13), and head into the world blessed with the knowledge and love of the English language."
Klara Kiss
When Klara Kiss was growing up in rural Hungary, opportunities were scarce and it took a great deal of study and motivation to succeed. With foresight and encouragement from her role-model Grandmother, Klara studied English intensively. Subsequently, she was able to study for and receive Master of Art degrees in both English and Russian literature, as well as linguistics.
“At that time I never thought I would actually teach English.” she says, “I got a job as translator and interpreter in a Research and Development institute in the oil industry.” Klara then met her husband and after having 2 children, decided to return to work, but her previous job no longer existed. The talented and determined young woman then opened her own translation business, working out of her home with much help and support from her husband.
“From the time I was 14 I’d taught English to adults and children. I taught one young man so well that he opened an English language school for kindergarten-age children and we even enrolled our son in this school.” Klara tells us proudly.
Later people began to anticipate Hungary's accession to the EU and that borders would open and young people would go abroad to study. “I thought I would not be able to keep pace with the young ones with their fluent English and there would be no need for translation companies like us.” Klara decided to open a bilingual kindergarten, but was unable to find teachers and materials of a quality she felt comfortable with.
Browsing the Internet for teaching tools she could download, she came across a link to the Helen Doron Early English site. “I read through the whole site and was so excited. This was just what we were looking for!” Thrilled by what she saw, Klara contacted the Head Office and inquired about the possibility of visiting a few Learning Centres. After viewing successful centres in Linz, Austria and Munich, Germany, and speaking to the franchisors there, she came away convinced that this was perfect for her. “I participated in the nearest Teachers Training Course in October 2002 in Berlin, and just a few days later I started to teach in our kindergarten. The parents immediately saw how wonderful Helen Doron Early English is. They started to bring their younger and older children for HDEE courses.”
“It was at this time that we also had the privilege of meeting Helen herself, in Linz at the Austrian teachers’ Annual Conference. She was so nice and spent a lot of time with each of us individually. It really strengthened us to know that she appreciated our enthusiasm and hard-working nature. This is where I can say that she empowered us for the first of many times.”
Shortly afterwards, she opened her first Learning Centre. Although it was Spring and not traditionally a time to begin a class, many parents enrolled their children. The Learning Centre became a flourishing success, and Klara ambitiously decided to attend a Master Franchisor’s conference and find out how she could become responsible for the entire country of Hungary. “There I met the supportive Helen Doron team again, as well as Master Franchisors from around the world. It was a really good school for me, where I learnt a lot from the others. It showed me that a method like HDEE which is based on positive reinforcement and encouragement can also encourage adults both in their lives and their careers.”
“I was always so shy and quiet and now I am amazed at my success.” Bashful Klara’s Hungarian educational empire, after only 18 months, currently includes over 2,500 students, 70 teachers and 24 Learning Centres, making her one of the most successful businesswomen in the Hungarian education field.
