Year-in-Review:
Reflections and Highlights
of Aligned Academics
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2023
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| Celebrated five years in business! 🩷 12/1/2023 | |
| Opened a TPT store | |
| Participated in the virtual conference “Unlocking the Structure of the Science of Reading” offered through OGA (my favorite session being the one by New York Lawyer Alexis Greenberg) | |
| Continuing to offer these services: -Specialized interventions for dyslexia, in-person and online -Small group tutoring -In-person and online tutoring during the school day, through the student’s school |
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| Realized that a monthly tuition model has saved my sanity and definitely increased the longevity of my business | |
| One-year anniversary of scholarship spot fully funded by Aligned Academics | |
| Enrolled a high school student; now officially serve students in K-12th grade | |
| Approached by Annmarie McEwan to tour the dePaul School for Dyslexia in Clearwater, FL; what an amazing gem of a school! | |
| Took a part-time Reading Specialist position at St. Paul’s Independent School of Clearwater; so proud to be a part of the team at this prestigious school! | |
| Noteworthy: -Visited fellow tutoring friend Emily Laidlaw in Maui -Consulted with president of The Reading League FL and a Fellow-in-Training |
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| Read: -Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills, -One-by-One: Working with Dyslexia, -The Writing Revolution (re-read #3) |
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2022
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| Became Orton-Gillingham certified, with practicum, at the Associate level through OGA | |
| Changed business name to “Aligned Academics” | |
| Switched to a monthly tuition-model | |
| Had a short-lived identity crisis thinking I should have invested in a Speech-to-Print approach instead of Orton-Gillingham | |
| Realized that becoming OG certified was absolutely, definitely worth it | |
| Took on first scholarship student fully funded by Aligned Academics | |
| Added three new services: -Specialized tutoring for individuals who have dyslexia -Small group tutoring -In-person and online tutoring during the school day, through the student’s school |
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| Began offering consultation sessions for tutors and teachers | |
| Realized that hiring and managing additional tutors is not the direction I currently want my business to go; created a waiting-list | |
| Took the Keys to Beginning Reading online course | |
| Added two more professional memberships: -International Dyslexia Association -Orton-Gillingham Academy |
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| Noteworthy: -Listened to Sold a Story podcast |
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| Read: -Keys to Beginning Reading, -Beneath the Surface of Words, -Dictionary of Root Words, -Reading Reflex, -Writing Skills, -Homophones Visualized, -The Writing Revolution (re-read) |
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2021
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| Began official Orton-Gillingham journey, with Dawn Nieman, through OGA | |
| Participated as a guest speaker on The Reading Project podcast Episode 3.17 | |
| Discovered that 16 clients is too many | |
| Hired an excellent additional tutor to help with the demand | |
| Expanded personal resource collection of Latin Morphology | |
| Added Reading Science Academy as first professional membership | |
| Hosted several tutor support meet-ups on Zoom | |
| Became familiar with The National Reading Panel Report | |
| Noteworthy: -Consulted with Learning Science PhD student -Took a training called “SOR in Action” professional development course |
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| Read: -Research-Based Methods of Reading and Writing Instruction, -Phonics and Spelling Through Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping -Reading for Life, -Explicit Instruction, -The Logic of English, -Overcoming Dyslexia |
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2020
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| Switched to online instruction due to Covid 3/1/2020 | |
| Turned our second bedroom into my home office | |
| Changed business name to “Kids Tutoring Online” | |
| Became familiar with the Orton-Gillingham approach, trying to decide if the 4K investment is worth it | |
| Created the Facebook group Science of Reading – Elementary Tutors 12/25/2020 |
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| Noteworthy: -Implemented the SPIRE curriculum in order to become familiar with an OG-based program |
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| Read: -The Writing Revolution, -The ABC’s and All Their Tricks, -Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers, -Understanding and Teaching Reading Comprehension, -Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties, -The Megabook of Fluency |
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2019
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| Tutoring services include: -In person general reading, writing and math tutoring (at client’s home) -Homework help |
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| Gained 6 clients | |
| Became familiar with “The Science of Reading” |
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| Became a Science of Reading mentee | |
| Noteworthy: -Listened to Hard Words podcast |
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| Read: -Why Johnny Can’t Read, -The Victims of Dick and Jane, -How to Tutor, -Reading with Phonics -The Word Within the Word |
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2018
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| Quit my full-time teaching position at Ponce de Leon Elementary | |
| Established a tutoring business 12/1/2018 (as The At Home Tutor) |
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| Utilized the website Care.com to find potential clients |