Hi there, I’m Joann

 

Why I Do This Work

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I bring both personal and professional experience to this work. More than a decade ago, when my child was diagnosed with dyslexia, I was stunned. As I learned more about dyslexia, the characteristics and the challenges, I began to recognize something familiar in myself. I realized that the way I had learned all along had a name. I am dyslexic, too. That realization sparked my journey to understand how reading works and how to teach it effectively.

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My experience growing up as a struggling reader, along with my journey as a parent, has deeply shaped how I approach instruction. I do not believe a student’s reading journey can be defined by a single test score. While assessments can offer helpful information, they are only one part of a much larger picture.

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When I work with students, I look at the whole student. I consider where they are when they meet me, both as a reader and in their confidence as a learner. Both matter, and both deserve to be understood, nurtured, and developed.

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As I deepened my understanding of dyslexia, I pursued formal training. I trained with the Orton-Gillingham Academy and the Children’s Dyslexia Center, where I learned a print-to-speech approach to reading. While these methods can be effective, they are often laborious and time-consuming.

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I am now a certified instructor in Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI), a speech-to-print approach that equips students with skills to read the types of material they encounter every day, including classroom assignments, books, and real-world text, rather than practicing skills only in isolation. EBLI addresses all five pillars of reading, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, while guiding students to apply these skills in meaningful, connected ways.

Part of my work as an instructor is a continued commitment to learning. I regularly engage in ongoing training, study, and practice to strengthen my instruction. This includes training in Releasing Readers, an explicit approach to teaching writing, Nuffield Early Language Intervention practitioner training, and Structured Word Inquiry. I also participate in ongoing professional development through conferences, research, and continued study in literacy.

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Alongside providing structured, explicit instruction in reading, writing, and spelling, I intentionally create a trust-based learning environment. Successes are recognized and celebrated. Learning is not shame-based. By nature, learning requires us to take risks, make mistakes, reflect, and try again.

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The result is that students gain confidence in reading, spelling, and writing complex words and strong sentences, enabling them to grow as readers while being supported in sentence-level writing.

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My personal experience, along with my child’s and more than a decade of study and practice, gives me a unique perspective. I do not just sympathize with my students, I deeply empathize with them. I know there is a more effective way to learn to read, and while it takes time and effort, the results are life-changing.

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A core principle of my practice is to help students build, and often rebuild, confidence as learners. When students begin to experience success, they not only grow in their reading and writing skills, but also in how they see themselves and what they believe is possible.