About the President and Founder, James Brauer:

To begin with, thank you for visiting the Ripples to Rapids Tutors website!  I look foward to the opportunity of working with your family and providing individualized educational supports and tutoring for your family.  Ripples to Rapids Tutors was launched in December 2007 and has been steadily growing since.  We serve students in grades K-12 in all subject areas.

Professionally, I am an assistant principal at a K-12 alternative school in the North Kansas City School District.  Prior to becoming an administrator, I worked as a special education teacher in USD 500 Kansas City, KS.  As a special education teacher, I implemented and created personalized curriculums to meet the varying individualized needs of all my students.  These demands also carried over into the general education setting, where I utilized creative teaching/learning strategies and provided individualized supports for all students. 

Academically, I just completed my Ed.S. Educational Administration degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, with an emphasis on urban leadership. 

I was also very fortunate to have attended the University of Kansas, which houses the #1 special education graduate program in the country.  I earned the following degrees from KU:

• M.S.Ed. Adaptive Special Education
• M.S.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction
• B.S.Ed. Comprehensive Social Studies

This past summer I just married my new wife, Mandi, who works as Vice President of Ripples to Rapids Tutors.  

I have very high expectations for the quality individualized services that can be provided to each-and-every family.  While our nation’s schools must demonstrate proficiency on their annual assessments, they must always be willing to provide educational assistance and supports to ALL students, to meet their actual needs.  The fact is, they do not.  Because of this, Ripples to Rapids was created.

About the Vice President of Tutoring, Mandi Brauer:
Mandi is basically the true reason Ripples to Rapids Tutors runs as smoothly as it does.  She continues to believe in the mission that was inspired by her husband and works hard to provide excellent services for all of our families.

Mandi works as a family and consumer sciences teacher in the Park Hill School District. 

She has earned the following degrees:

• M.S.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
• B.S.Ed. Family and Consumer Sciences (Northwest Missouri State University)