Our Mentors
Our mentors are experienced and committed change agents.
All hold one or more advanced degrees in education, special education,
speech and language, and reading. Collectively we have over 225 years of
teaching experience, and decades of paid and volunteer work beyond school walls
Literacy How mentors:
- have all been teachers. We understand the daily demands of teaching so we offer realistic approaches that help educators work smarter, not harder.
- work, learn and grow as a team. We share challenges, successes, strategies and resources at our regularly scheduled meetings with staff and colleagues.
- respect and respond to each school’s unique culture and climate. As external literacy specialists, our goal is to become viable members of school teams and earn teachers’ trust.
- read and discuss current reading research to make it meaningful and relevant to classroom instruction.
- understand the importance of setting high, but realistic goals for student achievement and guide teachers to do the same. We help students and teachers succeed through backwards planning, using the K-grade 2 scope-and-sequences we developed.
- know the role that assessment plays in helping students succeed. We work at the district or school level to assist in identifying assessments for each grade level and component of literacy as well as with individual teachers to use data most effectively.
- have the experience and flexibility to relate to groups of all sizes and backgrounds. We can work one-on-one, with school or grade level teams, and in workshops with scores of attendees.
- generate successful results that lead to validation of our approach.
- have seen student achievement improve as teachers become more comfortable with and proficient at using research-based practices. Time and persistence pay off. We can help facilitate remarkable "aha" moments that can change lives.
