Welcome! I’m Amy and I love learning, asking questions, and reading.
I am passionate about teaching children to read and believe that every individual deserves to be given the opportunity to master the skills necessary in order to become a lifelong learner.
When I first began my career in education, I discovered the science of reading and how the brain learns to identify sounds and symbols and translate these to words and meanings to communicate ideas. I have an undergraduate and graduate degree in education and am dual licensed in elementary education and special needs in the state of Massachusetts.
It is a really exciting time to be teaching children to read! With new advancements in science we know so much about how the brain learns to read and how best to teach children to read. I have spent the past 20 years reading, learning, and applying this knowledge to help children with learning disabilities to learn to read as a special education teacher, home school mom and tutor.
I am a home school mom of 3 including one child with a learning disability in reading and math. I understand the worries of being a parent of a child who needs extra support and specialized instruction to learn academic skills while continually impressing me with other areas of strength.
Knowing that individuals often need additional time or individualized approaches to become truly proficient in certain areas has been a motivation for me to offering tutoring services in reading.
In Person and Online Engagements:
- In person tutoring is available at locations within a 20 minute drive of Northampton, MA.
- Online tutoring is available for via live and interactive online sessions.
Personalized and Objective Based:
At the beginning of an engagement we schedule an initial meeting that will consist of a little time to get to know one another and to conduct an initial assessment.
From that assessment a plan will be proposed that will include a recommended frequency for meeting as well as establishing measurable objectives so that progress can be tracked through our engagement
At the end of each semester a brief status report will be communicated in order to ensure that the work together is effective in achieving the intended outcomes. Adjustments to approach and/or updating objectives will occur at these times to be sure the tutoring objectives continue to scaffold and align to the student’s needs.
My Approach
I use a scaffolded and systematic approach to teaching. Everything I teach is built upon previous instruction. It’s really helpful for students to see how everything fits together and builds in plenty of repetition and practice for previously taught skills.
For a student needing support with decoding and fluency skills we will work on:
- Phonemic Awareness
- Sound/Symbol Correspondence
- Syllable Division Rules to Decode and Encode Multisyllabic Words
- Read Decodable Text
- Repeated Readings
For a student needing support with reading comprehension we will work on:
- Vocabulary
- Oral Language Skills
- Background Knowledge
Scheduling and Associated Fees:
I feel strongly that the tutoring engagements are a partnership that require investment from every involved individual. I have found it to be most beneficial to establish schedules on a monthly basis in order to give sufficient time to introduce approaches and to assess progress.
Scheduling will be conducted monthly in advance by mutually agreeing to meeting times/locations for a one month period. Existing students that are actively engaged will be assumed to want to continue with the engagement and will maintain their scheduled days/times each month for as long as the engagement continues.
- Initial meeting and assessment – Free
- Ongoing Tutoring Sessions:
- $50 for one 50 min sessions
Tutoring Fees will be charged monthly on the first of the month for the upcoming month where tutoring is scheduled.
Cancellations, Rescheduling, and No-Shows:
Being a mom of three I totally understand that exceptions arise. If a specific day/time needs to be rescheduled or canceled please contact me and we will work out a reasonable accommodation to reschedule the session during the month.
Cancellations with advance notice of at least an hour of the start time of the session where a suitable rescheduled slot cannot be found a refund of $30.00 will be issued.
In the case that I need to cancel a session and no suitable rescheduled slot can be found a full pro-rated refund will be issued for the session in the form of a credit on the next month’s engagement fees or as an additional session in the next month.
Because you are reserving a scheduled slot for the month – refunds will not be applied for days/time where a cancellation is made within an hour of the scheduled start time or in situations where a student does not arrive for their session.
Ending an Engagement:
It is my hope that every engagement is beneficial to everyone involved. Although bitter-sweet, it is inevitable that the time will come when all of the necessary and desired objectives have been met, or that some other case arises where it is determined that it is best for an engagement to end.
An engagement can be stopped by emailing me with a request to end our tutoring engagement that includes the desired last meeting day. Any sessions already scheduled after this last meeting day will be cancelled in accordance with normal cancellations.
If a case arises that I need to end an engagement I will provide 2 weeks notice prior to the start of the upcoming month or in an unforeseen emergent situation provide a prorated full refund for any sessions not yet conducted.
Next Steps:
Please contact me using the following online form: