A comprehensive literacy assessment provides a clear picture of where a student is thriving and where additional support is needed. We use research-backed screening tools and diagnostic measures to measure foundational reading skills, identify strengths, and pinpoint areas that require targeted support. These assessments help us understand how a student is decoding, reading fluently, processing text, and constructing meaning — giving us a detailed picture of how to move learning forward.

Each assessment may examine:

• Phonological & phonemic awareness

• Alphabetic principle and decoding

• High-frequency word recognition

• Oral reading fluency

• Vocabulary & comprehension

• Writing samples (as developmentally appropriate)

Families receive a clear summary of results along with instructional recommendations and next steps. Assessments ensure that tutoring is intentional, responsive, and data-driven, allowing us to meet each learner where they are and support growth with precision.

*Please note: A reading assessment MUST be completed before any intervention can begin.

Early literacy growth is most powerful when children are engaged, curious, and immersed in meaningful play. Our early literacy sessions blend the Science of Reading with developmentally appropriate, play-based learning — ensuring instruction is both research-aligned and joyful.

Using evidence-based methods, children ages 4-6 build foundational reading skills through activities that promote language, exploration, and hands-on learning. Skills are introduced explicitly and intentionally, then practiced through playful, interactive experiences that support confidence and long-term retention.

Each session may support growth in:

• Phonological & phonemic awareness

• Letter–sound correspondence and decoding

• Early high-frequency word recognition

• Oral language and vocabulary

• Fluency with developmentally appropriate text

• Fine motor, handwriting, and emergent writing skills

For students who struggle with reading accuracy, fluency, vocabulary, or comprehension, intervention provides explicit teaching with targeted support and skill-building using evidence-based, systematic instruction. We assess where learning is breaking down, address skill gaps, and work toward stronger, more confident, independent reading. Sessions are structured, responsive, and intentionally paced to help students make measurable progress. Programming is completely individualized.

Each intervention session may include:

• Explicit instruction in phonics and multisyllabic decoding

• High-frequency word recognition and automaticity development

• Fluency practice using controlled and connected text

• Vocabulary development to support meaning-making

• Comprehension strategies developed within a connected text

Reading intervention provided in groups of 2 or 3 students. Only offered by the reading tutor IF clients have similar needs. Needs will be identified through the initial reading assessment.

Writing is a complex process that requires both transcription skills (spelling, handwriting, sentence construction) and strong composition skills (planning, organizing ideas, developing text structure). Our writing sessions are grounded in current writing research, which shows that students make the most progress when both mechanics and meaning-making are taught explicitly, systematically, and with guided practice.

Instruction is built around evidence-informed approaches, including the SRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development) framework — a highly researched writing methodology that helps students learn to plan, organize, monitor, revise, and take ownership of their writing. Through modeled practice, strategy instruction, and scaffolded independence, students learn how to write with clarity, purpose, and confidence.

Sessions may include:

• Strengthening transcription skills such as spelling, handwriting, and sentence formation

• Explicit teaching of text structures (narrative, informational, persuasive, etc.)

• Guided planning, drafting, revising, and editing strategies

• SRSD-based instruction that supports self-monitoring, motivation, and independence

• Building vocabulary and language to support more expressive written work

• Developing organization and coherence across longer pieces of writing

Our goal is to help students write with fluency, structure, and voice — equipped with tools they can use independently across grades and subject areas.

Our parent coaching sessions are designed to empower caregivers with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to support early literacy at home, particularly for young or beginning readers. These sessions focus on helping families understand how reading skills develop, what effective practice looks like, and how to create a positive, literacy-rich environment through everyday routines, play, and shared reading.

Coaching is intended to guide parents in supporting early literacy development — not to replace formal intervention or tutoring. We provide practical strategies, demonstrations, book routines, and early reading activities that align with evidence-based practice, without expecting parents to deliver structured intervention themselves.

Through coaching, families can:

• Build foundational knowledge about how children learn to read

• Learn simple, research-aligned activities to reinforce skills at home

• Receive guidance on choosing appropriate books and supporting reading behaviours

• Understand early signs of reading readiness and areas of need

• Gain confidence in supporting literacy through play and daily interactions

These sessions are collaborative, encouraging, and meant to strengthen the home-school connection so young learners experience consistent, joyful literacy exposure beyond tutoring.