Is Reading a Nightly Battle?
- Does the mere prospect of reading make your child mad or frustrated?
- When it’s time to read, does he look at the pictures, your face, the band-aid on his thumb… anything except the actual words
- Does she seem anxious or sad when time for school? Does she get a lot of stomach aches that would keep her home?
Find out with a FREE
Phonemic Awareness Assessment
schedule my free assessment
What Makes
The Active Reader Different
Structured
Literacy
(aka "Orton Gillingham")
A research-backed approach endorsed by the IDA, Center for Effective Reading Instruction, and ALTA builds reading from the ground up, step by step.
Gold standard for literacy instruction
Expert Instruction
+ Human Connection
Dyslexic kids need different help
I teach the exact skills the dyslexic brain struggles to develop on its own. To ensure the child doesn't "check out." Passive learning doesn't work.
Designed from the ground-up to be delivered online.
Hand-picked
Video Games
Customized for your child
Games that reinforce the
specific skills that need to
be developed in your child.
specific skills that need to
be developed in your child.
These are skills that are overlooked in almost all literacy programs.
About Kate
Hi. I’m Kate.
I’m The Active Reader.
I like big words, small dogs (well, my small dogI) and I've obsessed with trying to learn how to sing. I have an awesome 12 year old daughter who still thinks I'm cool. Cool-ish.
After graduating from Smith College wrote screenplays, toured the US, Europe, and Japan with a pop band, and taught reading throughout southern California. Convinced I was going to change the world, I taught middle school in Compton, where I discovered that it took more than enthusiasm and a love of books to get a room full rowdy 8th graders reading at grade level.
So I know hard it is to be a classroom teacher.
Later, I worked for a small company that (incredibly) taught four-year-olds to read using systematic, incremental instruction. That experience taught me that the signs of dyslexia can be discerned very early— even before preschool! -- and that has made me passionate about effective screening and early intervention.
I’ve been teaching reading for over twenty-five years, to students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. I’m a certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Therapist, trained through IDA-accredited programs including Lexercise, Lindamood-Bell, Words in Color, and F.A.S.T. Phonics.
I’m also a certified yoga instructor, and while I’m a terrible meditator, I’m an excellent breather. I've used that training to help my students manage their anxiety, settle down, and perk up. (I have yet to find anything more energizing than doing a headstand, and believe it or not, I often do them with my student, even over Zoom.)
Someday, I want to start a middle school where all academic content is taught through the science and business of food and cooking.
But for now, I just want to teach kids how to read.
But for now, I just want to teach kids how to read.
As many as possible.
Structured Literacy is the Path.
Confidence is the Payoff.
With The Active Reader,
your child can improve a
full grade level in 12 weeks.
your child can improve a
full grade level in 12 weeks.
And that’s just the beginning.
Schedule Your Free Assessment
Fast, Measurable Progress....
On your schedule, from Your Living Room
Three Paths Forward
We'll find the perfect place for your child to start!
Active Reader Foundations
A 12-week, one-on-one jumpstart for
kids who need a true reset in reading.
A 12-week, one-on-one jumpstart for
kids who need a true reset in reading.
When a child struggles to read, it’s almost always because the foundations were never fully built. This program goes back to the part most approaches skip: how sounds work, how letters work, and how the two connect — so reading finally makes sense.
Perfect for: Dyslexia • ADHD • Dysgraphia • Early readers who are struggling and no one can quite explain why.
Why Is English So Weird?
A 12-week, one-on-one course that’s
empowering, playful, and sneakily sophisticated.
A 12-week, one-on-one course that’s
empowering, playful, and sneakily sophisticated.
English spelling isn’t random — it’s a mix of influences from farmers, doctors, and chefs who all brought different languages (and alphabets!) into English. Students learn to ask one powerful question: Who would use this word?
This becomes their key to understanding spelling patterns that once felt unpredictable.
Perfect for: Kids who decode but still struggle with spelling, vocabulary, or "tricky words."
Morphophonemia
A 12-week, one-on-one course in
seeing the meaningful “clues” inside words.
A 12-week, one-on-one course in
seeing the meaningful “clues” inside words.
English isn’t purely phonetic, but it isn’t random either — it’s morphophonetic. Students learn to spot the Greek and Latin pieces inside words so they can understand meaning, pronunciation, and structure at a deeper level.
Vocabulary that used to feel out of reach becomes a secret strength.
Perfect for: Students ready for more advanced vocabulary, or those who’ve mastered basic decoding but still feel unsure with unfamiliar words.
Q&A
My child already does phonics at school. How is this different?
Most school phonics programs skim the surface.
In this work, we target the underlying processing skills (phonological & phonemic awareness, orthography, morphology) that make reading actually work.
In this work, we target the underlying processing skills (phonological & phonemic awareness, orthography, morphology) that make reading actually work.
Can you help with dysgraphia and handwriting?
Yes. Handwriting is built into Active Reader Foundations and integrated where needed in the other paths.
What ages do you work with?
Roughly early elementary through teens.
We’ll know quickly if your child is a good fit — and I’ll be honest if I’m not the right person.
We’ll know quickly if your child is a good fit — and I’ll be honest if I’m not the right person.
Do you work with kids with ADD?
Is online learning really as effective as in-person?
Dyslexia Doesn't Fix Itself
The Cost of Waiting:
Insufficient
school support
school support
Reading difficulties
intensify over time
intensify over time
Emotional and psychological consequences
Delayed intervention
= Lost Opportunities
= Lost Opportunities
"I wanted to let you know that W is now reading at a 9.6 grade level!!!
He is still working on his writing skills, but he is doing fantastic at reading... You left a lasting impact on both of our lives.
Thank you for all that you do!"
New Column
It's not too late.
Hi! I'm Kate.
I’ve been teaching reading for over twenty years, to students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
I’ve been:
- An English teacher in Compton, learning the hard way that enthusiasm isn’t enough
- A reading teacher for four-year-olds, discovering how the foundations of literacy are truly built
- A dyslexia therapist working online with students who once thought they’d “never” be good readers
Along the way, I trained in multiple proven programs (Lindamood-Bell, Words in Color, Tattum Reading) and completed advanced practicum through the IDA-accredited Lexercise Professional Education program. I am a certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Therapist.
I also bring a background in yoga and body-mind practices into my sessions—because sometimes the brain needs a headstand, a laugh, or a deep breath before it’s ready to learn.
Underneath all of that is something simple:
I really, really love teaching kids how to read—and I take their struggles seriously.
I really, really love teaching kids how to read—and I take their struggles seriously.
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