‘225’: Tricia Broussard takes area children to the classroom of life

School teaches children 2+2=4, and that the earth orbits the sun, but for all the lessons school curriculum neglects, Tricia Broussard fills in the gaps with a program she developed herself. It’s called “Life Skills for the Student,” and it’s a niche for the 34-year-old who says she always knew she wanted to be a teacher. “[Life Skills] is how to be a successful citizen, how to be a successful adolescent going into your adulthood,” Broussard says. “It’s mainly a reinforcement to help those kids be more successful at school and at home.” It all began when she was five, with a big chalkboard and her imaginary students, Tina and Tony. At LSU, Broussard earned her bachelor’s degree in education then went on to get a master’s degree in Language Arts from Brenau University in Gainesville, Ga. She taught middle school in Atlanta for five years before starting a family in Louisiana, where relatives were close. After being a full-time mom for three years, Broussard began tutoring three times a week at the Dunham School. Within a year, she began the training and certification process to work exclusively with children with reading disabilities as an academic language therapist. Broussard has since changed, adapted and grown the program to fit the needs of all of her students and incorporate her own ideas and personality. “It’s a great program—I wish they offered it for adults,” says Kristen Fryday, who has put two children through Broussard’s class. Read the complete story by Lauren Brown in the current issue of 225 magazine here.