WAYNESBORO, Pa. — A retired teacher’s passion to continue working with students led to the creation of a new business to “help families on their educational journey.”
Traci Giganti of Greencastle launched Home and School Connections recently at 125 Walnut St. in Waynesboro.
“I love working with kids,” said Giganti, who retired this year after teaching elementary education in Washington County Public Schools for 17 years. “I also taught four years in Indianapolis, Indiana, where I was born and raised.”
Giganti said she has received positive feedback from the community in response to opening the center “where families can access quality educational resources, expert guidance and enriching learning experiences all in one place. The people I’ve met are very excited that a place like this exists for them to use and have a resource for home schooling.
“We’re geared to helping home school families find the resources they need to be successful but also available to any family who has a struggling student who needs extra help,” she noted.
“At HSC we believe every child learns differently, and every family deserves the support and resources needed to help their students thrive,” according to the center’s mission statement.
“The goal of the center is to support all learners, from kindergarten to seniors. For families thinking about homeschooling, I wanted to be able to help guide that journey for them as well,” Giganti said.
“I’ve always had this dream of opening a center for education, so I could continue to teach and work with kids. I wasn’t ready to give that up. This past year, I got serious and thought, ‘I feel like I’m ready to do this business.’ So, here I am.”
The center offers a selection of both Christian and secular curricula and carries educational manipulatives, physical objects that students touch and move to learn abstract concepts through hands-on practice, as well as games, flash cards and more. The firm tailors curriculum choice recommendations to a child’s learning style, current knowledge and interests, and provides personalized tutoring services.
“The bulk of what I’ve done so far is tutoring, and that’s definitely an area that will continue to grow and we’re excited for it to grow.
“Sometimes it’s intimidating for parents and hard for them to recognize their child’s area of need and know what to do with that. That’s one of the things tutoring can really help with,” Giganti added. “We evaluate their learning gaps and base their instruction on an individual learning plan. A lot of parents don’t know what that is. That’s a priority for a child’s education, finding resources to help them be as successful as possible. That’s our job as parents.”
There are rooms available to rent to co-ops or small groups “to gather in an educational environment. In speaking to homeschooling families, they struggled finding spaces to rent,” Giganti noted.
“We have a larger room for larger co-ops and for the public for an event they might want to have, like a paint night, wine tasting, a game day or a birthday party room.”
Giganti already has plans to expand the center’s offerings. “I’d like to incorporate standardized test prep for high schoolers. We’re getting ready to start a book club for tweens (ages 9 to 12) and hoping to get kids signed up for that.
“I enjoy working with kids one-on-one, identifying their learning style and building from that. That’s where you’re going to see growth. Come in and visit – we want to show you what we’re about.”
The center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday.
For more information, call 717-753-1794 or visit hscsupplies.com.
