SBA is committed to giving your children fluency in Spanish and helping develop the many benefits associated with being bilingual.
Born and raised in La Rioja, in northern central Spain, to an American mom and Spanish dad, Esmeralda Karagus, aka Aldi, is a dual citizen who has worked tutoring and teaching both of her native languages for over 20 years. While in the United States, she has taught Spanish to toddlers, elementary school children and AP high school kids in Connecticut, New York and South Carolina. While living in Spain, she has prepared students to pass the FCE Cambridge Examination and tutored children supporting school curriculum. Aldi´s work experience also includes corporate jobs with GE, AMCOR, The House of Burgundy, and assisting with all aspects of running several family restaurants early on.
In the last seven years, Aldi and her husband Craig have been blessed with three wonderful children and it is thanks to them that she refocused her attention to teaching Spanish both as a native and as a second language. In the summer of 2014 she created the Baxter Spanish Club, which met at the local library and provided children in her community with an immersion Spanish weekly session. In just a few months the club was serving more than 80 children and the request for more in depth small group lessons was materialized when she founded The Spanish Bees Academy. Aldi´s volunteer work also includes teaching Spanish at local pre-Schools like The Greenwich Spanish School in CT and the Village Montessori, in Fort Mill, SC.
Aldi has enjoyed the many practical benefits of bilingualism from early on and believes in the already proven theories that fluency in a second language promotes cognitive skills and improves problem solving and literacy skills, among others. Through her child centered immersion program at the Spanish Bees Academy, she is committed to giving your children all these advantages and perks that will last a lifetime.
Aldi holds an MBA in International Business and Entrepreneurship from City University of New York and a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Connecticut. She resides in Fort Mill, SC with her husband Craig and three children, Matthew, Michael and Laura.
The mission of the SBA is to support bilingualism in children from birth through adulthood
