Founder · Builder · Mom
I build the things I wish existed. Right now that means a better way for families to find a real teacher, and a suitcase worth arriving with.
01The podcast
Honest conversations about building a company while raising a family: what's working, what isn't, and what I'm learning along the way.
Episode 01
The tutor search that turned into a company.
02The company
Where Big School House gets built, most days.
Big School House didn't start as a business plan. It started as a mom who needed a tutor and couldn't find one she trusted.
When my daughters needed extra help with school, I did what every parent does. I searched. I downloaded the apps, scrolled the marketplaces, and read the profiles. What I found was a maze.
There were thousands of listings and no way to tell who was actually a teacher. Nobody promised anything about quality. Most options were a video call. And the few that offered someone in person felt more like booking a gig than bringing an educator into my home.
I didn't want a screen. I wanted what I had growing up: a real teacher at the kitchen table, with a pencil, a workbook, and a plan. So I decided to build it.
"I couldn't find the tutor I was looking for, so I built the place where she could be found." Cara Coley, Founder
Big School House connects families with verified, degreed, background-checked teachers for in-person learning. Every session is backed by real curriculum. And teachers are treated like the professionals they are.
What I kept running into
Endless profiles, pay-to-browse walls, and no clear way to compare real credentials.
Anyone could list themselves. Nobody stood behind the person who showed up.
Most options were another screen, for kids who already spend all day on one.
Degreed, verified, and background-checked educators. Professionals, not gig workers.
In person, at your table, with physical workbooks and a curriculum that carries from one session to the next.
Parents see what was covered and what's next. Teachers earn respected pay, even when a session cancels.
Our mission
Every child deserves a real teacher in their corner.
Big School House exists so no parent has to gamble on a stranger from a search result. We're building a trusted network of educators, one city at a time, and starting with supply: great teachers first, then families.
03Coming 2027
Olas means waves. Steady, unhurried, certain. Luggage for people who treat travel as a rhythm, not an interruption.
Arriving 2027
04A little about me
Everything I build begins at home, with my girls.
I'm a Miami mom who has always been the one to figure things out: the family organizer, the researcher, the one who reads the fine print. My career has wandered through operations, media, and small business, and every stop taught me the same lesson: if something important is missing, build it.
Motherhood made that personal. Watching my daughters grow, and trying to find them the right support, is what turned an idea into Big School House. These days I split my time between the company, the websites I run, and learning to build with AI, usually after bedtime.
05Learning in public
I'm not a trained engineer. I'm a founder who decided to learn. These are field notes on building with AI: what I tried, what broke, and what I'd tell a friend.
I put Big School House on Wix with a Supabase backend, pairing with an AI coding agent the whole way. I learned more about databases in a week than I had in years.
Lesson: describe the outcome, then read every change before you accept it.
I set up a panel of AI advisors (finance, legal, operations, a skeptic) to stress-test every Big School House decision before I make it.
Lesson: the most useful advisor is the one assigned to disagree.
Research summaries, draft reviews, and gap checks for a federal education research grant. The AI did the legwork, and I kept the voice and the judgment.
Lesson: AI speeds up the draft. Only you can make it true.
My first repo was a CS50 exercise in 2020. Six years later I run a network of news, family, and kids' sites, and every one of them taught me something.
Lesson: start embarrassingly small and keep shipping.
06Built & managed by Cara
Beyond the two companies, I design, build, and run a small network of sites: local news, family, and places for kids. A few favorites:
07Open notebook
Most of my client and company work lives in private repos, but I share what I can. Come see what I'm tinkering with.
github.com/carareaves ↗Say hello
Press, partnerships, teachers who want in, or parents with a story to share. My door's open.
hello@caracoley.com →