Joanna Brown is a Denver native who loves working with children of all ages. She is excited to privately tutor students as a Reading Specialist with the My Learning Springboard team.
Joanna earned her B.A. in History from the University of Colorado and her M.A. in Elementary Education and Literacy from Bank Street College. She has training in the Orton-Gillingham based, multisensory approach Preventing Academic Failure (PAF) as well as the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. She also has expertise in Reading Rescue and Wilson’s Fundations. Joanna has worked in a variety of educational environments throughout New York City, including charter schools, public schools and private schools. Before working as a full time Reading Specialist, Joanna worked as a head teacher at Kane Street Kids Preschool in Cobble Hill, and more recently as a Head Teacher at the Coop School in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Joanna’s literacy philosophy focuses on building independence and a sense of confidence as pathways to becoming a better reader. By teaching students to use a toolbox of skills and strategies, students are able to help themselves as they read more independently and gain confidence in the process. Joanna helps students to strengthen and improve their:
- Fluency
- Handwriting
- Oral and written comprehension
- Phonemic awareness
- Phonics/word study
- Spelling
- Vocabulary
Joanna has a calm, patient nature and a playful sense of humor that help her to connect with students on a personal level. She believes that interest and motivation are critically important in supporting more thoughtful reading. She is passionate about helping students learn to love reading!
In her free time Joanna enjoys pilates, improv comedy, creative writing, dancing, and board game playing.
