FAQ

This assessment is targeted toward beginning readers, or those who are struggling to make progress in kindergarten through third grade.  It is also for students who "guess" words, cannot successfully sound out words, or depend on pictures to figure out words.  

Yes, although many kindergarteners who are in the very beginning of the school year should wait until they are at least half way through the year.  Most kindergarten teachers are AWESOME at getting kids up to speed; you will not know if your child needs this kind of extra support until later.  

No. Reading Recovery, while it may help some students in the short term, does not focus on explicit, systematic phonics instruction which is crucial for long-term skill retention.  I focus on phonics and phonemic awareness first; this is the type of instruction that is based in science and is known as structured literacy.

Contact me to discuss this further.  In many cases, YES! I have worked with a rainbow of students who all have specific abilities and needs.  My former elementary school was full-inclusion, which means that all students with IEPs and 504 Plans were included full-time in my classroom.

Unfortunately, good phonics books are very hard to come by, even in public and school libraries.  Most books are not decodable, and typical "beginning readers" are often way too hard for a child who has not mastered phonics patterns.  Students must start with very specific phonics texts (a.k.a. training wheels) before they graduate to other books (a.k.a. a two-wheel bike).  These are called decodable texts, and I will help you find great ones!

The good news is that once you know where to begin, it is easy to find some good strategies online.  The bad news is that a) your child might resist working with a parent (like my own children!), b) it is A LOT of work, and c) there is a huge learning curve and time commitment.  But yes, absolutely!  I can help you get started.