{"id":964,"date":"2017-07-28T09:00:45","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T13:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=964"},"modified":"2017-07-25T18:52:44","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T22:52:44","slug":"husna-lapidus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=964","title":{"rendered":"Husna Lapidus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Literacy Leaders<\/em><\/h1>\n

By Carol Radin | Photography by Mary Grace Photography<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Learning and literacy at Kumon Math and Reading Center in DeWitt are a family affair for owner and director Husna Lapidus.<\/p>\n

As a businesswoman and mother of three, Husna brings the principles of engaged learning from her home to workplace everyday. At Kumon, her own children can be seen sitting at the instruction tables doing math and reading exercises with the older students. Her 10-year-old likes to help with shelving and materials inventory. And her husband, Noah, assumes the business\u2019 bookkeeping and administrative responsibilities.<\/p>\n

For the other children enrolled in Kumon\u2019s individualized, after-school instructional programs, the family approach works. Some children grew up there, attending from pre-school age through their middle-school years. Some return as high schoolers to volunteer for the place that made them feel welcomed and successful.<\/p>\n

Husna doesn\u2019t simply strive for loyalty to her family and clients; she has a strong loyalty to the lifelong value literacy plays in our lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiteracy is essential to the community,\u201d she explained, adding that literacy helps children become leaders and contribute to their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never liked reading because I thought it was work,\u201d Husna said, recalling her own teenage years. \u201cIt just sucked the joy out of everything I did when I was in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, her goal is to take the work out of learning.<\/p>\n

Husna and her staff of learning assistants have the initial goal of boosting their students\u2019 confidence with introductory-level mathematics and reading activities. Taking on new challenges becomes a gradual process in which the children are supported at every step, she explained. Learning assistants evaluate the children\u2019s weekly progress and encourage them to build new skills once they\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to start feeling success,\u201d Husna said.<\/p>\n

She regards the parents as partners, and communicates with each family regularly, encouraging them to go along with their child\u2019s natural inclinations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell families not to push if it doesn\u2019t feel natural,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Trusted to follow strengths at their own pace, students hardly notice the work is getting more difficult, because they\u2019ve mastered the requisite academic skills and work habits to undertake more responsibility.<\/p>\n

Husna sees to it that Kumon\u2019s library is well-stocked with books for each reading level \u2014 which students are free to borrow \u2014 and she offers reading lists to parents. Pursuing children\u2019s own reading interests promotes literacy skills and fosters a sense of enjoyment rather than obligation, Husna said.<\/p>\n

Husna\u2019s emphasis on sound work habits, persistence and responsibility is no doubt largely due to her own role models.<\/p>\n

Born to Pakistani parents who emigrated in the 1970s, Husna witnessed her mother and father\u2019s drive and determination to change their lives for the better. For generations, her family stressed the importance of gaining a college education before marriage, as well as the significance of striving to reach one\u2019s full potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork hard now; it will pay off later,\u201d Husna recalls her parents saying to her.<\/p>\n

Husna herself pursued an ambitious journey through college and graduate school. She studied engineering at the University of Rochester, taking positions after graduation in laboratory robotics and then quality assurance in medical imaging.<\/p>\n

Returning to Syracuse, she completed a joint program with Syracuse University College of Law and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, earning a law degree and a master\u2019s in public administration. Her combined education in engineering and law led her to patent law.<\/p>\n

Then her first son was born, and Husna\u2019s priorities changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d leave in the morning and come home when he went to bed,\u201d she said. \u201cIt broke my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

She decided to stay home with her children. After seven years, she acquired ownership of Kumon from her mother, who had retired from the business.<\/p>\n

Husna still spends her days away from home, but now her husband and children can spend that time with her at the center. Watching Husna work helps her children experience literacy on both a personal and communal level, and understand that \u201cnothing happens magically,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Recently, Husna was able to put her passion for learning and literacy into practice with a significant contribution to the DeWitt Community Library. In her family\u2019s frequent trips to the library\u2019s Shoppingtown Mall space, Husna learned of the library\u2019s new building project and request for contributions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I couldn\u2019t turn away from that,\u201d Husna said. \u201cThey had some significant needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

After hearing about the plans for a children\u2019s area, Husna and her husband decided Kumon would gift the Children\u2019s Collections Area. The new DeWitt library building on Jamesville Road is scheduled to open Aug. 21, and the Children\u2019s Collections Area is slated to bear recognition to Kumon Reading and Math Center and to literacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s nothing else I can contribute to our community, I\u2019d be happy to know that this is my legacy,\u201d Husna said. SWM <\/em><\/p>\n

For more information on Kumon, visit kumon.com\/dewitt<\/a>. Hair styling by Laura Marino.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Literacy Leaders By Carol Radin | Photography by Mary Grace Photography\u00a0 Learning and literacy at Kumon Math and Reading Center in DeWitt are a family affair for owner and director Husna Lapidus. As a businesswoman and mother of three, Husna brings the principles of engaged learning from her home to workplace everyday. At Kumon, her…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[293,312,314,311,313,262],"class_list":["post-964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-august-2017","tag-carol-radin","tag-dewitt","tag-husna-lapidus","tag-kumon-math-and-reading-center","tag-syracuse-woman-magazine"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Husna-1.jpg?fit=5200%2C3408&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1679,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1679","url_meta":{"origin":964,"position":0},"title":"Pragya Murphy","author":"Staff","date":"March 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Funding WISE Women\u00a0 By Carol Radin | Photography by Mary Grace Johnson\u00a0 In her role on the WISE Women\u2019s Business Center\u2019s board of directors, Pragya Murphy takes to heart the words WISE stands for: \u201cWomen Igniting the Spirit of Enterpreneurship.\u201d Pragya, chair of the board\u2019s fundraising committee, is ignited by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pragya-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pragya-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pragya-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pragya-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Pragya-6.jpg?fit=1200%2C789&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1599,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1599","url_meta":{"origin":964,"position":1},"title":"Sheryl Garofano","author":"Staff","date":"March 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Putting an Exclamation Point on Life\u00a0 By Carol Radin | Photography by Alice G. 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