Ozarks Profile: Merica Clinkenbeard

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Owner and instructor, Cultural Kids Foreign Language Academy, 330 E. Pershing. Clinkenbeard teaches Spanish to children ages 2 1/2 to 12. Classes at the academy are 45 minutes to one hour long, once a week. Clinkenbeard began tutoring children out of her home in October 1999 and opened Cultural Kids Foreign Language Academy in January 2000. Clinkenbeard is a member of the National Network of Early Language Learning. She said having her own language school has been a dream of hers for quite some time it was just waiting for the right time to start. |ret||ret||tab|

Age: 34|ret||ret||tab|

No. of years in Springfield: Clinkenbeard has lived in Springfield for 10 years.|ret||ret||tab|

Education: Clinkenbeard has a bachelor of arts degree in international studies from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, where she minored in Spanish and communications. She also has a master of arts degree in education from Drury University.|ret||ret||tab|

Early career: Clinkenbeard said the job that got her interested in learning Spanish was working with the children of migrant farm workers who passed through her hometown of Hope, Ark. While attending college in Little Rock, Clinkenbeard got an internship with the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration. She assisted trade specialists in working with Arkansas companies in exporting and organizing international conferences. She was working in Little Rock, waiting for a job to open up with the International Trade Administration in Washington, D.C., when she met her husband. She moved to Springfield about seven months after that and worked at the Marlin Company, initially doing international market research, and later working as an account assistant. She left to sell advertising for Fox KDEB 27, but returned after a couple of years. About a year after her return to The Marlin Company, Clinkenbeard said she realized that what she really wanted was a position that would utilize her Spanish skills. "By this point, it had been so long since I had traveled or studied, I decided the best way to get my own skills back was to teach (Spanish)," she said. Her first teaching job was at Clever High School. She took some time off after the birth of her first child, then began teaching part time at Hickory Hills Middle School, where she worked for a year. |ret||ret||tab|

Current projects: Clinkenbeard is still building her business. Her biggest challenge has been helping parents understand how crucial it can be to learn a second language at a young age. She plans to add more languages, French, German and Japanese by 2001. She is traveling to Spanish-speaking countries to attend school and bring back authentic teaching materials. Clinkenbeard's next trip is in August, when she will travel to Cuernavaca, Mexico to attend the Center for Bilingual and Multicultural Studies.|ret||ret||tab|

Management philosophy: "My work philosophy is to constantly work on strategies for teaching language and improving curriculum to ensure that the children are getting the best possible in language instruction. I like to keep classes fun, we sit on floor cushions, sing lots of songs and play games." She also sends homework home with the children, so parents can make sure language skills are used throughout the week.|ret||ret||tab|

Spare-time pursuits: Clinkenbeard said between her children and building her business, she doesn't have much spare time, but she enjoys reading, bike riding, sewing and doing different projects at home, such as painting and refinishing furniture.|ret||ret||tab|

Family data: Her husband, Bob Clinkenbeard, is operations and marketing manager for Fidelity Title Agency. Their children are Ty, 4, and Trace, 13 months old. |ret||ret||tab|

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