Meet Cindy Lumpkin | Microschool Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cindy Lumpkin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cindy, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I actually started Triumph In Life, Inc., a mentoring program, while I was still working in the public school system. At the time, I was in administration and I really missed working with the students. I realized that the decision to move into administration was for me, more of an escape from classroom teaching. It wasn’t that I didn’t like teaching and working with students, but the issue was that I felt so powerless to do what was right and needed to help my students learn. I loved the act of imparting knowledge to young minds and seeing them grow and learn things they thought they couldn’t. It was my goal to truly help students who learned differently reach their full potential in life. However, I quickly learned that the school system, as we knew it, just wasn’t equipped to do what was needed to truly help all students succeed academically. I just lost an appetite for what I was experiencing as a fairly new teacher. Therefore, after 3 years in the classroom, going into administration gave me an out. However, once I started, I really missed being hands-on with my students.
Triumph was birthed to fill a personal void I was experiencing as a young educator who was disillusioned by our educational system.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Triumph in Life, Inc. was founded in 2008 because I saw the need for mentoring and other enrichment activities for my “high-functioning” students who had severe academic deficits. It was my vision to create a continuum of academic, mentoring, and awareness programs that would meet the needs of my students by filling in the gaps left by traditional schools that have not lived up to the promise of No Child Left Behind. After serving deserving students with high-quality mentoring and educating parents, teachers, and school leaders on best practices for educating students with specific learning disabilities, in 2014 Triumph in Life, Inc. started Triumph Transitions Institute, now known as Triumph School, a microschool operating in Austell, Ga. I never realized the magnitude of what I started back then. It wasn’t until Covid, I really realized what I had done. With homeschooling and everyone being at home, teachers started seeing a few of my YouTube videos I did talking about how I created this school. I started to get so many teachers reaching out to me asking me how in the world I started a private school. It wasn’t like a traditional private school with lots of money and they were amazed that a teacher like them created this little oasis.
This birthed my consulting and blog business. I produce content that helps teachers and other people who are interested in creating non-traditional educational spaces of learning. I never dreamed that people would have sought me out back in 2014 when I started the school. I believe when you are not offered a seat at the table, forget bring your own, I just created a table.
Coming out of COVID, I started learning about the emerging “microschool” concept. Although I didn’t know it, Triumph was a microschool. A microschool is a small school with as few as two students (most have five) or as many as 100 (some may have a little more). Some are independent; others belong to a network.
Where I was once all by myself, now I am part of a movement of teachers taking their power back and doing education the way they know it needs to be done for their students.
The road hasn’t been easy, not by a long shot. We are still fighting to make what we have sustainable so that it will live without me. Running small schools isn’t easy, especially when your your niche is a minority within a minority. Historically, we have served families who were underserved and underresourced. So many of our families receive additional scholarships to attend our program.
I’ve learned so many things on this journey. Some I am still learning, like my mindset about money and my worth as a teacher. Our traditional educational system doesn’t value teachers. However, for many years, I didn’t value myself, which was reflected in the price I assigned for my services. Other lesson’s I’ve learned on this journey is:

Adaptability is Key: Business landscapes can change rapidly, and the ability to adapt is crucial. Being flexible and open to adjustments in strategy is a valuable skill.

Understanding Your Market is Critical: Thorough market research is essential. Knowing your target audience, their needs, and your competition allows for informed decision-making and effective business planning.Building a Strong

Team Matters: Success is often a collective effort. New business owners realize the importance of hiring the right people, fostering a positive work culture, and building a team that shares the company’s vision.

Customer Feedback is Invaluable: Listening to customer feedback is essential for growth. Understanding customer needs, preferences, and concerns helps in refining products or services and enhancing overall customer satisfaction.

Marketing is a Continuous Effort: Marketing is an ongoing process. Business owners learn that consistent and strategic marketing efforts are essential for maintaining visibility, attracting new customers, and building brand awareness.

Embracing Technology is a Necessity: Keeping up with technological advancements is crucial for staying competitive. Embracing digital tools, online platforms, and automation can improve efficiency and reach a broader audience.

Networking is Powerful: Building a network is not just about gaining clients; it’s about establishing relationships with other professionals, mentors, and potential collaborators. Networking opens doors to opportunities and valuable insights.

Failure is an Opportunity to Learn: Failure is not the end but a part of the journey. New business owners learn to embrace failures as opportunities to learn, pivot, and improve.

I am a teacher, an educator who fights for the underdog. I believe in this movement and I am committed to ensuring alternative educational programs are available for those who learn differently and those who can’t afford quality educational services.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Wow! My husband needs to answer this. He is the planner and if it weren’t for him, I would miss out on all that ATL and the surrounding Metro area has to offer. That’s a shame, because it’s an amazing place to live and work. Let’s see.! I will give this a try, maybe not a week-long itinerary, though. Let’s think of it as a power-packed long weekend. Let’s say she fly in late-night Friday.
The first thing we would do is go to Waffle House – a staple in Georgia! We would order the All-Star. That is my go-to every time I go.
Since we are making this a girl’s weekend, we are going to forgo my home and stay in the city at The InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead. I absolutely love this area, I just can’t afford to live there. LOL! But I play there often.

Friday
For breakfast, we would do Home Grown. This little place is the type of spot you would think you’d find in rural Georgia, instead, it is in the heart of Atlanta. It has a down-home feel.
After breakfast, we would head over to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. It’s quite an emotional experience; anyone visiting ATL should experience this cultural experience. Some exhibits explain various events during the civil rights movement, key individuals that helped to form and lead the movement, various scenes and examples of injustices that black people faced, and physical experiences such as the lunch counter sit-in simulation.

For lunch, we would go to Mary Mac’s Tea Room, a traditional southern restaurant with an amazing, friendly staff that opened in 1945.

After lunch, we would hang out and do some shopping at Ponce City Market. It’s a repurposed old building, which was erected in 1926 and was the former Sears, Roebuck & Co., and City Hall East building. Now it’s an awesome place to hang out and do some shopping.

After a few hours, we would head back to the hotel to rest and shower and then attend
“Fridays at the High”. We will get to experience drop-in art making, live performances, and cocktails.

Saturday
After a night on the town and because I am an old lady now, we will spend the next day in the hotel. Starting with room service for breakfast. Then there is their amazing full-service spa. This hotel is so amazing that spending the entire day here would be amazing and that would be my recommendation.

Sunday
We will bring the weekend to a close by worshipping at my home church, Love Bridge. It’s located about 20 minutes outside of the city in the quaint little town called Austell. We are small, but very diverse and have formed an amazing little community.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Wow!! Honestly, there are so many people who deserve recognition and who have played such pivotal parts in my story. I literally wouldn’t be who I am without the love, support, and scarface of my amazing, thoughtful mother. Not only does she believe in me, but in the early days, she supported Triumph financially. If it wasn’t for the capital from her, I don’t know if Triumph would be a thing today.
My husband equally deserves his flowers. As a spiritual person, I follow my husband’s lead as he follows Christ. It is his belief that, as head of our household, it is his responsibility to ensure that I live out my God-given purpose in life. So, he has supported me, agreed for me to quite work and didn’t even think twice when times got hard. Returning to education as I knew it in the traditional sense was NEVER an option. Although I submit to his lead, as he states it I am his co-pilte, and he never makes a move without consulting me.
So many family and friends have contributed so much that I could never name them all, but I can’t conclude this question until I acknowledge Alma Robinson. She was such a godsend. A retired teacher, she came along side of me and helped me run Triumph. From the board to the classroom, she served in whatever capacity I needed her. If it weren’t for her support, just like with my mom and husband, Triumph wouldn’t be here today.

Website: www.theLDcoach.com

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCupzBq4hBG-GTSwEArAgyjA

Image Credits
I own all rights to the images