About Us

 
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About POP

POP stands for Power of Potential. We believe in everyone's potential to learn, grow, and improve. 

The name POP has another significance as well. Stephanie's daughter loves the very hungry caterpillar. When she was a year old, she nicknamed him "Pop" because that's the sound he makes when he comes out of the egg. The caterpillar represents the potential we all have to transform into the most beautiful version of ourselves, like the caterpillar transforms into the beautiful butterfly. 

POP Ed Consulting was founded in 2018. 

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Stephanie Thai, Founder

Stephanie began her work in the education field teaching pre-K and kindergarten in Houston, Texas. She joined Teach For America’s national design team specializing in early childhood in 2007 and spent over a decade creating and delivering innovative content-focused programming and support for early childhood teachers and their coaches across the country.

Some of her signature initiatives include:

· The Chicago ECE Pilot and subsequent Early Childhood Institute Hub, which redefined excellence in training teachers to be strong in their content area

· The 6-time ECE Retreat in Atlanta, which built community, vision, and skill for over 300 ECE teachers, coaches, and alumni and consistently earned over 95% positive approval ratings

· Coaching 12 amazing ECE Design Fellows to improve their adult learning design skills and make an impact on TFA’s national ECE program

Stephanie brings years of experience observing, evaluating, and working to improve classrooms across the country; coaching designers to create powerful learning experiences; and applying the theory and practice of adult learning and motivation principles. She is well-versed in the science of learning and development and eager to work towards the day when all teaching implements this knowledge base.

Stephanie holds a B.A. in International Relations and an M.Ed. in Learning Design and Technology, both from the University of Southern California.

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Working with Stephanie

 

Angela Capone, Para Los Ninos

"The Para Los Ninos Early Education team had the opportunity to work with Stephanie as we conducted a program evaluation for both our Head Start Annual Self-Assessment and for our agency Strategic Planning Process.  Stephanie’s approach as a consultant is both respectful and well informed by current research and quality practices.  Stephanie was able to listen to parents and staff in a manner that elicited important feedback for program evaluation and development.  Her capacity to conduct classroom observations in a respectful manner allowed her develop an authentic understanding of the quality of our learning environments.  As a result of her time with our program, Stephanie developed a report that truly represented our strengths as well as highlighting areas for program development.  Her clear understanding of quality early childhood practices informed both her findings and her recommended strategies.  Her professional approach created a feeling of trust." 


Kati Vaughn,  Stay the Course

"I never felt limited in my work with Stephanie. She encouraged my ideas, no matter how small or undercooked. She helped me to recognize my strengths and needs as a design thinker. The resources and strategies she shared with me (like taking a quick break for a solo walk in the sunshine when I’m feeling stuck) helped me unleash my creativity and feel confident in my instincts."


Brittany Viklund, ViklundMade

"Stephanie has never missed a beat with thinking through ways to bring folks together, learn together, grow together, and build community. I still remember my first ECE retreat and the revelations I had as a result of learning about the Rollins Center and Drew Charter School. During that retreat I was able to build so many relationships with ECE staff across the country who I still adore and lean on for support in my various endeavors. It didn’t matter how many times I went on the ECE retreat I always learned something new and grew in my understanding and approach to my work. Every summit add-on, coach retreat, email correspondence, phone call that Stephanie has facilitated has been purposeful & critical to my work. These experiences are also the ones that stand out to me as the most valuable and enjoyable when I think of my experiences in TFA."