ENDORSEMENTS

Amy is a beacon of hope for the families with which she works. Her knowledge of the intricacies of the language, focus on the overall well-being of the child, and mastery of multisensory teaching strategies allow her to develop and deliver high-quality Orton-Gillingham lessons. She is an impactful interventionist, and I recommend her highly.

– Fellow, Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators

For several years now, I have closely observed Amy handle multiple complex cases in thoughtful, impactful and highly effective ways. She cares deeply about her students and their families, and she marshals her broad background and extensive knowledge very effectively on their behalf. Amy is a true asset to the field of special education, and families can fully trust her motivations and expertise.

– Special Education Advocate

Our third grade son learned more with Amy in one hour than he did all week in school.  Amy is an immensely talented teacher who brought energy, enthusiasm, and expertise to her one-on-one support of our son focused on reading, spelling and expository writing. Amy is incredibly well-prepared for every session and offered follow-up support for us as parents to understand what Matthew was working on in his sessions, suggestions for appropriately challenging IEP goals, and effective school progress monitoring. She is a wealth of knowledge regarding the special education process and was a trusted partner in our son's learning, and we cannot recommend her enough!

– Parent, 3rd Grader

The only word I can use to describe what Amy has done for my child is life-changing. My son has had difficulties with fluency, handwriting, and spelling throughout his schooling, and was slipping in his comprehension.  As a teacher myself, it was frustrating seeing him not make growth, even with extra activities at home.  Even though he is a 6th grader, he was still spelling words without vowels, and his writing was so illegible that even he could not read it at times!  Not only was he not closing his skill gap, but he began regressing even further!  I was connected with Amy at Sky Bound Learning, and everything changed.  In six months, my son made a whole year's worth of growth, and a few months later tested above grade level.  Amy creates engaging lessons that attend to all his needs, and he has never resisted beginning a single lesson. He has developed a self confidence that did not exist before.  His learning trajectory completely changed, as did his entire future.

- Parent, 6th Grader

My 8-year old daughter has been working with Amy for a year now, and our partnership has proven to be a successful one. I was struck by Amy’s ability to immediately access both my daughter’s academic and social needs. Our daughter has a complex profile of Dyslexia, ADHD and Auditory Processing Disorder. Amy used her skills and experience to keep our daughter on track during each of her sessions. Even when we were forced to move to distance learning, Amy did not disappoint. She uses a variety of ways to engage our daughter while teaching her using the Orton-Gillingham methodology. Amy used the structured reading program in a firm, yet fun manner, in order to keep my daughter interested and challenged. Amy helped me as a parent see our daughter’s reading gaps and address them both at home and at school. This knowledge gave me the confidence to ask for what our daughter needed at school and was not receiving.  In the three years my daughter was receiving reading instruction at school, she made almost no reading progress. In the time Amy worked with her, she made significant growth in the areas that they focused on. This is a testament to Amy’s skills, dedication and talent to both struggling student and her family. 

– Parent, 2nd Grader

Amy has been tutoring my 2nd grade son for year and I have seen a wild improvement in my son's approach to reading. He has previously met with other tutors but this is the first time he looks forward to his sessions. He no longer fears reading.  She knows how to connect with students and motivates them to work hard with determination. For instance, my son loves all things unicorns, fairies, and sparkles. She makes sure to inject all of his unique interests in her lesson plans to make it fun and exciting while still providing him with much needed structure. She is able to give her students, especially those wired uniquely, the tools to be successful. On top of all the work she puts into the lessons, Amy is also an amazing advocate for your child. I can't wait to see all the amazing strides she will continue to make with my son!

– Parent, 2nd Grader

Amy has been absolutely terrific.  My daughter's writing has definitely improved, and this is reflected by her grades and the comments her teachers have made. I love that Amy always sends a detailed summary of the work done in each session. She pushes my daughter to think more critically about her own writing, and is building her skills in vocabulary, grammar, complex sentence construction and multi-paragraph essay composition. She makes it fun by incorporating high-interest articles.  Lastly and most importantly, my daughter thoroughly enjoys working with Amy and looks forward to each session. 

- Parent, 7th Grader

When the schools went to the distance learning model spring 2020, I hired Amy to assess my Kindergartener’s needs and tutor her remotely. Language-based disabilities run in the family, and with Kindergarten being a critical year, I wanted to make sure my daughter’s needs were addressed early since they were not being addressed in school. Amy immediately ran her assessments and started tutoring her using Orton-Gillingham, which utilizes evidence-based, multisensory techniques to teach reading. Amy provided us with an outline of our daughter’s strengths and weakness, speaking specifically to everything from her phonemic awareness and comprehension, to her physiological and emotional response to learning to read. We have been able to utilize this information for her IEP upcoming evaluation and it has provided us with a roadmap of what to look for in her 1st grade year.

– Parent, Kindergartener

I have both a hearing and non-hearing daughter, both close in age, and yet exceptionally different. I have consulted Amy on a variety of questions pertaining to pre-reading skills, writing, and comprehension enhancing strategies over the years. Amy has an amazing arsenal of resources and she has been able to point me to specific materials, articles, and books from early literacy development to phonemic awareness activities. She has empowered me with knowledge and advocacy skills so that I know what to ask for in discussions with schools and teachers, and how to monitor progress over time.

– Parent, Preschool and 3rd Grade

As a first grade teacher, Amy proved to be a passionate and hard-working educator. She quickly developed a rapport with each student in the class, while dedicating herself to all the students each day. Amy invested herself completely to get to know every child, while meeting the needs of the various learning styles within the classroom. Amy is a professional, kind and passionate educator. She is a goal-oriented person and clearly sets high expectations for herself as well as with the students. She is organized, thoughtful and dedicated. Any student would be lucky to have her as their teacher.  I have all the confidence in the world in her.

– 1st Grade Teacher, Greenwich

Differentiation is a key component to any classroom. Amy is consistently observing her student population and works to adjust her plans to meet student needs. The students were always engaged, collaboratively working and had a clear understanding of Amy’s expectations for each lesson. She is reflective about her lessons, which demonstrates her ability to put students needs first. Amy has a vibrant personality that makes her a solid team member. She is a conscientious person who demonstrates thoughtfulness in her approach to instruct students of varied learning capabilities.

– 5th Grade Teacher, Westport

What stands out about Amy is her passion she exudes for supporting students to grow as readers, writers and communicators. Her responsive approach to students and her tremendous drive to learn best practices will undoubtedly influence your student to not only thrive academically but to grow socially and emotionally. Amy is on her way to becoming a master teacher in short time. She is thoughtful and prepared, but she also recognizes the critical need for spontaneity and joy. Her tremendous skills as a teacher as well as her friendly and collegial nature are well known across the faculty. You will quickly see how she goes above and beyond for her students.

– Professor of Literacy and English Education, Manhattanville College

I worked closely with Amy over several years as her professor for multiple courses. I have only superlatives to use in describing her attitude, commitment and openness to learning. Since these qualities as a learner are directly related to those that manifest themselves as a teacher, I am supremely confident in Amy’s ability to display her many teaching talents and ability to connect with learners. A highly devoted student, Amy has spent much time exploring critical pedagogical skills and student learning in elementary school classrooms. She pays close attention to detail while allowing room for flexibility in situations that require creative thinking – an excellent combination. Amy’s current knowledge coupled with a demonstrated personal drive will be of great benefit to any family wishing to employ an enthusiastic teacher who can guide student learning in all areas.

– Professor of Childhood Education, Manhattanville College