Education & Classes in Wells Branch

Though he couldn’t afford to get his pilot’s license after his first flight in 1967, Above & Beyond Aviation founder George Farris was hooked. He continued to pursue his dream of flying, eventually taking private pilot classes at the University of Texas. Now the expert who teaches the courses, Farris believes in making the rewarding and exciting experience of flight accessible to everyone. At Above & Beyond Aviation, he introduces students to flying and helps them work toward their own certifications. In addition to introductory flights and advanced training programs, Above & Beyond Aviation also offers aircraft rental for certified pilots who are tired of trying to flag down sky taxis.

Although Stewart Yaros has performed with numerous elite companies, including the Boston Ballet and the Basel Ballet in Switzerland, his true passion is teaching dance. Teaching allowed the University of Massachusetts and Martha Mahr School of Ballet alumnus to combine his finely honed dance expertise and his zeal for communicating with others via the "common language" of dance in particular and the arts in general.

That theme of unity and togetherness dates back to the early days of Dance International, circa 1991, when the now bustling center for dance tutoring consisted of three students, their devoted teacher, and an old player piano that played Chopsticks. Today, the organization has swelled into a hub for upbeat, accessible instruction from professional-level teachers and is well-known for organizing the Austin Ballroom Festival.

Part of the guiding vision for Dance International is a focus on community service, as well as promoting the arts by introducing music and visual forms into the dance milieu. True to its multidisciplinary ambitions, the Dance International empire recently achieved 501(c)3 national nonprofit status and will soon add art and music classes.

"If you can see how beautiful your culture is," China Smith told Austin360, "you can see how beautiful you are." After eight years of teaching dance in East Austin schools, China realized how few opportunities there were to expose students to black art, something she believes is vital to the self-empowerment of her young students. This realization led her to found Ballet Afrique, a performing ensemble and dance studio that blends classical ballet and modern dance with African American culture. Ballet Afrique's team of artists aim to enrich the lives of performers, audiences, and students alike under the belief that expressive movement "transcends race, gender, and socio-economic backgrounds."

In addition to their performances and lectures, the rhythmically inclined dancers also teach classes from their tranquil studio, drawing in pupils of all ages and experience levels. Young twinkle toes learn the fundamentals of ballet, modern, and African dance, and an all-male tap dancing class for ages 9–17 encourages bonding, mentorship, and new ways to communicate with the downstairs neighbors.

Jewelry designer Gay Isber has transformed an old building into a glittering enclave decorated in a whimsical style that brings to mind Willy Wonka's factory as reimagined by a quirky fairy godmother. Classes and parties amid the animal-print furnishings and scintillating chandeliers draw together guests to craft jewelry from her huge stash of beads. The jeweler, who has adorned the necks of several celebrities, demonstrates techniques and shares stories about each bead's origins and former life as ammo for a peashooter.

e-Careers helps students flesh out their resumés and advance their careers with continuing education, available online, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company hosts study programs that detail children’s education, web design, and most foreign languages, excluding the language of robot love. To simulate the traditional classroom experience as much as possible, each course comes to life with animated content, video and audio training, and virtual laboratories. Likewise, communicative features such as discussion boards allow participants to collaborate and converse, eliminating the need to send tweets when the teacher’s back is turned.

The recipient of a litany of awards for its language-education resources for classrooms, businesses, and private use, Rosetta Stone has helped millions of learners spread across 150 countries learn new languages through an in-depth, stimulating curriculum. Designed to tap into the process by which children learn their first language, the program prompts pupils to learn in realistic contexts, participate in interactive games, and practice with speech-recognition software that provides feedback in real time. Rosetta Stone users practice their new language as they collaborate, compete, and chat with fellow learners and interact with native-speaking tutors.