A Message From Our Founder
I had a secret!
I had a secret that I could not share with anyone!
When I began teaching over 20 years ago, I closed my classroom door to any possible onlookers and did my best. I nodded my head in agreement during conversations with others about reading programs and instruction. At the same time, the one area in education that I struggled the most to teach was, ironically, the most important area of all: reading.
The techniques for teaching reading I had briefly touched on in my preservice were, at best, inconsistent and met with only varying degrees of success. I was often left to wonder, is it my methods or the student's inability to grasp the concept? These students were otherwise bright, inquisitive, attentive, and eager to learn. So, where was the disconnect?
Asking for help would, in my mind, imply that I was not a good teacher.
Further, teaching and raising a family was a busy time for me, as it is for many. There was no time to research or filter through the plethora of professional development resources, which often ended up in a pile behind my desk. While my intention was good, logistically, these efforts did not seem attainable. I refused to believe that there wasn’t a simpler way to reach beginning and struggling readers. I soon discovered there was!
At the time, I did not know it, but I was in the process of creating a program that would change lives forever!
Through years of classroom teaching, researching, obtaining a Master's Degree in Education, Orton Gillingham training, opening The Reading Clinic, and endless trials, I developed a systematic, sequential, explicit, multisensory program for all readers.
As I shared the program with teachers who felt the same love, passion, and enthusiasm for teaching reading, the program proved successful time and time again. Many more began to ask about the methods I had developed.
While nothing is simple, I have attempted to make this program as user-friendly as possible while still unequivocally building on each student's foundational skills. This enables me to provide educators with the knowledge, skills and confidence to teach reading to beginning and struggling readers of all ages.
Literacy is a fundamental human right. Join me in empowering our future readers.
Out with your secrets!
Sincerely,
Mary-Anne Mouawad, OCT
The Reading Clinic
