Developing Readers Academy with Megan & Laura

Jul 16

LE Podcast #41 - Developing Readers Academy

Megan & Laura

Both taught in the same intervention room at a school in Minnesota.
After looking at their end-of-the-year data, they realized their students simply were not making progress.
Megan and Laura then went through LETRS and Orton Gillingham training to sharpen their skills.
After that, they devoured every single SOR training and resource they could!
When they implemented these practices, they instantly saw results in their intervention room.
Megan and Laura wanted to ensure all kids were being given the resources that they need in order to be successful readers - not just the ones in their own small intervention room.
So they started sharing ideas on Instagram and realized how fun it was to share structured literacy approaches and the magic of the science of reading.
From there, Developing Readers Academy was born.

Our program is self-paced. Kids begin with a diagnostic assessment (phonological awareness, letters, phonics, etc.) We look at the individual child and then give them a personalized path.
What we wanted to do that’s different from other resources out there is that we really follow the child. Families are getting us as if we are their private tutors, yet it’s flexible!
When children need more attention and practice in a certain area, we ensure that families are getting what they need so that their kids are mastering skills. And we see amazing progress!
Since we work with neur-diverse kids, our tutoring is given in bite-sized pieces that are flexible, easy to understand, and easily attainable.
Developing Readers Academy focuses on “brain love” - encouraging growth mindset and confidence in children. If children believe they can read - they can! DRA loves to nurture that in kids.

Each lesson begins with affirmations and exercises that prime their brain for learning.
The lessons end with a celebration and something to get them excited to come back for more lessons.
DRA also has separate “brain love” lessons, chatting about how we can learn from our mistakes and giving them tools that empower them.

We cannot simply “give it time.” If we wait, it could snowball and then they end up missing skills.
Our biggest advice is to look into why they’re struggling and get help.

When we went through our course practice round to see how it turned out, it felt a bit flat and not very exciting.
We had this idea of being weird characters to bring more excitement.
This developed into Miss Buddy that will do all the goofy, scary, and funny things!
This ended up being one of the best aspects of DRA because families and kids love it and find it fully engaging.

Stay tuned for some big announcements from Developing Readers Academy in June!
No matter what your child is diagnosed with - ADHD, dyslexia, or the like, just know that you’re not alone, your child is amazing, and they will be successful in this world.