Crystal Cotti

News Anchor

Meet Crystal Cotti, who left her job as a news anchor to open multiple Sylvan centers throughout Texas.

About Me

I grew up in a small, central-Texas town called McGregor, before pursuing a career in journalism at the University of Texas in Austin. During my last semester of college, I started working as a morning news reporter at the television station FOX 7, and eventually, ended up working there for six years. From 2004–2010, I covered Austin’s city hall beat before taking over operations at the local Sylvan. I am married to former Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives, Mark Strama, who works as the head of Google Fiber in Austin. We have two young daughters.

How I Heard About Sylvan

The next town over from where I grew up was Waco, and they had a Sylvan. I had heard of Sylvan and knew that it helped kids, but that was about it. Even though I haven’t always pursued a career in education, it was always in the back of my mind. My parents were firm believers in the importance of education and they enforced that idea with all their kids. The thing that I’m most proud of is not that I was the first person in my family to go to college—it’s that I wasn’t the last. All of my younger siblings also attended college.

My dad always said, “Education is key to a better life.” I think Sylvan would say the same thing. At Sylvan, we help all kids reach their potential to be successful in school, and more broadly, successful in life. Sylvan makes sure that kids have the support they need to make it through to college and to find a career. That’s what the brand said to me and why I was interested in being a franchisee.

Amanda & Kym

Mother/Daughter Duo

Amanda McNew and her mother, Kym Benford's passion for education led to owning their first Sylvan center.

About Us

My mom and I love keeping our Sylvan Learning center a family affair. I graduated from Shippensburg University with a degree in elementary education. I first began working with Sylvan’s Chambersburg location as the Executive Director when it was under different ownership. When the location went up for sale, my mom saw it as an opportunity for the whole family to grow with a great brand. After just a year of running our Chambersburg, Pa. Sylvan center, we have taken steps to expand the footprint of our education business with a double expansion — first by taking ownership of a corporate-owned center in York, Pa., then by making plans to open a brick-and-mortar location in Camp Hill, Pa.

My mom has been working for 17 years at GLC Industries as the Director for Business Intelligence. I previously worked as a fourth-grade teacher in the local school district, and currently teach second grade at a virtual charter school. Our family also has quite the history in education—my mom's parents (my grandparents), were both educators.

Why We Chose Sylvan

After working in the public school district, I realized that there are a lot of unforeseen limitations in the regular classroom. I wanted to help students that might be struggling, or that might not get individualized attention from the teacher because class sizes are too big. With Sylvan, we could help students to go above and beyond these obstacles.

Becky Taylor

Teacher

Becky Taylor left her 10-year teaching career in the public school system to open numerous Sylvan centers throughout North Carolina.

About Me

I grew up in Jacksonville, NC and was one of six children. I was the first in my family to receive a college degree. I graduated from East Carolina University with both a Bachelor's and Master's in Special Education. Since my grandmother and aunt were both teachers, I knew by the age of 14 that I wanted to study Special Education and couldn't wait to have my own classroom.

Why I Chose Sylvan

I loved the learning environment and the success that students were experiencing with the program.

Chris & Jano Pittner

Corporate Regional Operations

Brothers, Chris & Jano Pittner held various regional operations positions before becoming Sylvan franchisees together. They now run 11 centers in Texas.

About Me

I [Chris] grew up in Arizona and graduated from the University of Arizona. I spent fifteen years with Blockbuster Video as a regional director, overseeing the operations of 120 Blockbuster stores. After Blockbuster’s sales dipped, I started looking for other job opportunities and found Sylvan. I worked at Sylvan corporate for a couple years before deciding to become a Sylvan franchisee in 2007. My brother, Jano, and I currently run 11 centers in the Texas area and are excited to open two more locations in Dallas this year. I am also proud to say that I am a Sylvan Franchisee of the Year award winner. I love spending time with my wife and four kids.

How I Heard About Sylvan

When I was leaving Blockbuster and looking at various employers, I found out that Sylvan was looking for a regional director. Sylvan had a quality product and it aligned with my own values of education and children. My dad was a math teacher for 47 years and I have four children so I thought it would be a good fit.

Penny & Joseph

International Educators

Penny Loome and Joseph Rooney have an impressive international resume as husband and wife, but eventually landed in Miami, where they own five Sylvan Centers.

About Us

Originally from Canada, Penny grew up overseas, spending time during her childhood in Africa, the Middle East and Western Europe. After returning to Canada to receive her teaching qualifications, she landed her first gig — teaching at an American school in Casablanca, Morocco. She proceeded to take a job at Colegio Roosevelt in Lima as a first grade teacher, where she met Joseph, her now-husband and business partner. Joseph, a Glasgow, Scotland native, worked as a high school English teacher for 18 years before becoming the school’s principal. After a short stint outside education, Joseph returned to the sphere by teaching international baccalaureate (IB), advanced placement (AP) and standardized test preparations at an international school Lima, Peru.

In 2007, we were able to reach our dream of business ownership, opening our first Sylvan center in Victoria, B.C., with a second center opening less than two years later. And as luck would have it, the brand then had five centers in Miami up for sale. The location piqued our interest, prompting us to purchase the locations and pack up for a warmer climate in the U.S.

Why Sylvan?

Sylvan very accurately pinpoints students’ weaknesses in core subjects, like math and reading, which are at the core of every other subject. If you can’t do math, you won’t be able to do science; if you can’t read, you won’t be able to do any of the humanities. Sylvan focuses on those access subjects and targets particular areas of development by tailoring courses for each student in the way that will maximize potential development. At Sylvan, we focus on skills and filling gaps by going back to the point of struggle. The reality is that basic skills are the foundation for good education. As a teacher having worked in the classroom, you would have 20 – 25 students. You knew which ones needed help, and you knew what they needed, but in the scope of a day, you cannot give individual attention to five, six or seven students — there’s just no time. That’s the beauty of Sylvan.