For parents new to the education system, the role of “Reading Specialist” is often misunderstood.

A reading specialist has advanced training in effective reading instruction for students who struggle with comprehension and with other difficulties. They evaluate reading skills, devise strategies for instruction, provide literacy materials and resources, and have ongoing collaborations with teachers, parents and school administrators.

Specialists are a crucial part of the team of professionals working in our classrooms, and often serve as resource teachers who provide one-on-one or small group instruction to students. They are dedicated to helping students attain the comprehension skills and vocabulary necessary for daily life – in the classroom, in the community and at home.

Meet the reading specialists who serve our Academy360 Lower and Upper School students:

Margaret Pisani

Reading Specialist, A360 Upper School
With Academy360: Two years

Background:
I have been a teacher for 14 years, a Reading Specialist for 20 years and a school administrator for three years. I am also Wilson Reading certified.

Biggest lesson you’ve learned:
The biggest lesson I have learned is to try to challenge my limits and my student’s.

Did you know? Reading Specialists …
I assess students to identify their reading levels. I differentiate all of my instruction, which is tailored for each of my students and their needs.

One activity with students:
The students play various fun Reading board games that focus on various skills and strategies which include: inference, main idea and detail, and reading informational text as well as phonemic games.

How do you engage non-verbal learners?
If my student uses a device, I will engage with them verbally and they reply on their devices. I use the Promethean board to teach lessons for students to listen to and learn various reading skills and strategies that are taught in a fun way. The Lexia Core 5 program is also utilized. This program is completed by students, on their iPads or on the Promethean board, through listening comprehension and phonemic skills understandings of which they choose answers according to what skill or strategy they learned.

Most important consideration when working with students with learning differences:
Time, understanding, patience and kindness go a long way.

 

Erin Perkins

Reading Specialist, A360 Lower School
With Academy360: 10 years

Background:
I taught at a charter school in Pennsylvania for four years. My first two years I was a middle school classroom teacher and the remaining two years I was a supplemental Reading teacher.

Biggest lesson you’ve learned:
I’ve learned to never doubt or assume a student can’t do something without trying first!

Did you know? Reading Specialists …
I don’t think some people are aware of how important it is to explicitly teach the necessary strategies for phonics, comprehension, and vocabulary to our students to help them generalize and use the strategies not only in the Reading lab, but in their classrooms and in the community.

One activity with students:
For my students who receive vocabulary instruction, one of the first activities they complete before a new passage or book is introduced, is to complete a Vocabulary Knowledge Chart independently. The chart tells me the vocabulary terms that are unfamiliar in meaning to the student.

After the unfamiliar words are identified, the students work on completing a Vocabulary Strategy to help understand the meaning of the unfamiliar words. The student is presented with context sentence(s) with the unfamiliar word in at least one of the sentences, looks for context clues (they are learning about the different types of context clues), looks for word-part clues (prefix, base word, suffix), put the meanings of the word parts together to find the meaning, guess the words meaning, see if their meaning of the word makes sense in the context sentence(s) and then use the dictionary to confirm the meaning of the unfamiliar word(s).

How do you engage non-verbal learners?
I love when the students use their device whether it be for help or to tell what they want at the moment.

Most important consideration when working with students with learning differences:
I’ve learned to utilize the appropriate strategies for each of my students, for those who need phonics instruction and for those who are working solely on comprehension. Once the strategies are taught, modeled and practiced and consistently implemented the students have a better chance of learning and using those skills.

 

Meghan Constantinople

Supplemental Reading Teacher, A360 Lower School
With Academy360: 14 years

Background:
I had worked at another private school with adults on the autism spectrum for 5 years. I had just completed my masters degree and dual certification in elementary education and students with disabilities before beginning my job at Spectrum.

Biggest lesson you’ve learned:
It is so important to include motivational ways to keep the children engaged in reading. It sometimes helps to include some of their favorite things or favorite books to keep reading rewarding.

Did you know? Reading Specialists …
We are always available to assist in the classroom with any training needs at any time.

One activity with students:
Lately, I have been working on a phonological awareness activity called the yellow brick road where the students drive a toy car over yellow paper to identify the number of words in a particular sentence (e.g., I love cars!= 3 words).

How do you engage non-verbal learners?
In the reading lab, we train staff with children that are non-verbal. We are able to have them receptively identify words and concepts and also answer various questions using their communication devices or their specific form of communication.

Most important consideration when working with students with learning differences:
A multi-sensory approach to learning letter sounds and how to decode and encode helps the students to acquire the new skills, and also maintain these skills, as well.