Literacy Tutoring

Kate pointing to her lips and enunciating a word in front of a microphone on Zoom, with a green succulent tapestry in the background.
Kate points to a whiteboard with lines under specific words that analyze spelling patterns. The board reads, We are going to have fun today! We will work with sounds and words.
Kate sits at her desk holding a giant pink teacup. A cat rests on the top of her chair behind her head.

Are you a new reader?

A struggling reader?

A good reader looking to supercharge your reading, spelling, and writing for more success in every area of life?

I’m excited to share EBLI (Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction) with you!

A few screenshots from a virtual literacy lesson.

EBLI is a speech-to-print (S2P) linguistic phonics approach that is…

  • Effective for people of all ages, from preschool to adulthood. We use age-appropriate materials - no baby texts for older learners.

  • Accessible for people with dyslexia, autism, ADHD, and other disabilities.

  • Challenging and rigorous for all learners.

  • A powerful alternative to Orton-Gillingham. Orton-Gillingham, aka “OG,“ is often called “the gold standard” for teaching reading, but S2P approaches are quickly gaining a reputation for being more pragmatic, accelerated, and effective.

My story

I’m a hyperlexic lit nerd. I’ve been obsessed with reading and writing since I was 5, and I’m a voracious learner, with dual master’s degrees in Special Education and Creative Writing.

But I had a dirty little secret: I didn’t like teaching people to read. I adored books, read-alouds, and teaching creative writing, but I dreaded phonics and spelling. I couldn’t keep track of diphthongs and schwas and unreliable spelling rules. I learned to read without them, so it hurt my head to teach them, especially to struggling readers. My students made progress, but I knew I wasn’t challenging them to their full potential.

Then I discovered S2P (speech-to-print, aka linguistic phonics) approaches like EBLI, and everything clicked. I love teaching reading! My students make faster progress, the learning is more practical, and it’s also more fun.

What's different about the S2P / SLL (speech-to-print / structured linguistic literacy) phonics approach?

  •  We focus on letter sounds, not letter names, so the learning is more concrete, intuitive, and streamlined.

  • In English, there are 280+ letter combinations that can make sounds… but only 44 sounds. Print-to-speech methods like Orton-Gillingham focus on letter combinations - but it’s much simpler to master 44 sounds and their patterns than 280+ letter combinations and their sounds!

  • We don't teach skills in isolation. We integrate listening, speaking, writing, and reading to make the learning “stick.”

  • It doesn’t require lots of working memory or a huge cognitive load. Instead of teaching a ton of rules (and exceptions!), we focus on real words and their meanings, while teaching problem solving and pattern thinking.

  • It's a dynamic system for all: accessible for people with disabilities, yet fun and challenging for typically developing & accelerated learners!

Tutoring should take months, not years.

I would love to work with you or your child for ages… but tutoring shouldn't take forever! I work with a streamlined process to get you reading and writing as fast as possible. And I teach you good habits so that you can be a better teacher to yourself.

If you’d like to learn more about the methods I use and why they are so powerful, check out some of these links:

  • Yellow honeycomb background.

    "My son used to avoid writing like the plague, but Kate makes it fun and makes it more manageable. It makes me so happy to see him proud of his writing for the first time ever!"

    Amara

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    "Kate was able to connect with my daughter on her level quickly and was able to get a lot in during their time together. She made class fun and engaging, and remembered a story my daughter had told her, which made her day! Lots of great activities at a good pace!"

    Jess

  • Yellow honeycomb background.

    "Kate is amazing at connecting with students and communicating with them in many different ways. She is calming yet engaging. I’m thankful for such a kind soul connecting with my child.”

    Liz

FAQs

  • I've taught literacy for over a decade as a homeschooling parent, public school teacher, ESL teacher, family education specialist, and performance poetry workshop facilitator. I have master’s degrees in Special Education and Creative Writing, and have trained in Wilson Reading System and Reading Simplified. I'm currently pursuing certification in EBLI. I have a background as a developmental therapist, so I bring a multisensory approach, with expertise in mental health, mindfulness, and culturally affirming practices. I’m also a published, award-winning writer.

  • Yes! I love teaching people of all ages. It's never too late to improve your reading and writing. I use age-appropriate materials for older learners - no baby stuff.

  • Science is always evolving, and large studies unfortunately require massive funding - so I’m suspicious of anyone who claims to teach “THE Science of Reading.” That said, I’m constantly learning about brain science, reading science, and learning science, and refining my teaching accordingly.

    I aim to transcend divisive “reading wars” binaries like phonics vs. whole language. I teach enough phonics so that learners can “crack the code” of written English, while also teaching critical thinking and engaging with real literature beyond decodables and curriculum sets. Literacy is both a science and an art. I know from experience that cultural humility and culturally affirming teaching are just as important as staying on top of the data. As a writer and voracious reader, I have deep respect for literature in all its forms - oral traditions, song lyrics, rap and hip hop battles, zines, dialogue in great movies, plays, and TV shows… authentic literacy can be found all around us!

  • Absolutely! I’d love to chat with you about crafting sessions based on your interests and needs. I can teach all of the following:

    • Reading comprehension, including analytical skills, expanding content knowledge, and reading to deepen social-emotional capacities such as empathy, problem-solving, tolerance for ambiguity, etc.

    • Creative writing (fiction, memoir, poetry, etc).

    • Advanced academic writing and test prep (outlining, essays, research, revision, etc).

    • Public speaking / storytelling / creating audio books.

    • ESL (English as a second language) learning support.

    • Literacy for nonspeaking learners and learners who use AAC (assistive and augmentative communication).

  • I’m a certified educator, so I can accept state ESA funds.

    I use a sliding scale for tutoring: some people pay more so that others can pay less. My sliding scale runs from $40 - $100 per hour, but I can go even lower if necessary. If you can meet your basic needs comfortably, thank you for paying on the higher end! Your generosity makes it possible for me to serve more people in need. I offer discounts for packages, and sometimes I offer small group classes. We can discuss payment options during your free consult - click the button below to schedule!
Collage of 2 young people, a capybara, and an alien reading in a library. A cat looks out of a window at the sunset. There are magazines and cactus plants on the windowsill.

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

Frederick Douglass