“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
– Maya Angelou
My name is Melissa Petersen
I am a certified teacher in Washington State and a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist (C-SLDS), certified through the International Dyslexia Association. Using Structured Literacy and the Orton-Gillingham approach, I am passionate about providing literacy support for ALL students.
Scientific evidence has shown that reading and writing do not happen as naturally as speech does. Instead, literacy skills must be taught explicitly and practiced to mastery. For some, these skills seem to develop effortlessly. For others, it is a long and arduous journey.
As students develop foundational literacy skills, their reading fluency, comprehension, spelling, and written expression improve. Building a strong foundation allows students to use their cognitive resources on tasks such as planning, inferencing, and comprehending text.
The power behind my approach is explicit instruction (“I Do,” “We Do,” “You Do”), adequate practice based on diagnostic assessment, frequent progress monitoring, and a coaching approach.
Let’s explore whether I could be a good match for your child’s learning needs.