Ms. Joy is a certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist with credentials from the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and the Center for Effective Reading Instruction (CERI). With over 20 years of international teaching experience in Venezuela, England, Singapore, and Mexico, she brings a rich global perspective to her coaching practice.
Her approach is grounded in Orton-Gillingham principles and the science of reading, with a focus on clear, step-by-step phonics instruction and personalized strategies tailored to each learner’s needs. She specializes in supporting children with reading challenges, including dyslexia, through skill-building coaching.
All coaching sessions are delivered online via Zoom, making expert literacy support accessible to families everywhere.
Ms. Joy is dedicated to building confidence and creating learning experiences that go beyond memorizing words. She believes every child’s brain is unique and works in its own way. Kids with dyslexia may feel like their brains need to be “fixed,” but she wants them to know they are not broken—they just learn differently. Her coaching focuses on helping students understand how reading works through clear strategies, so they become independent and confident readers. She works closely with families to create personalized reading plans that grow with each child.
Ms. Joy is a certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist with credentials from the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and the Center for Effective Reading Instruction (CERI). With over 20 years of international teaching experience in Venezuela, England, Singapore, and Mexico, she brings a rich global perspective to her coaching practice.
Her approach is grounded in Orton-Gillingham principles and the science of reading, with a focus on clear, step-by-step phonics instruction and personalized strategies tailored to each learner’s needs. She specializes in supporting children with reading challenges, including dyslexia, through skill-building coaching.
All coaching sessions are delivered online via Zoom, making expert literacy support accessible to families everywhere.
Ms. Joy is dedicated to building confidence and creating learning experiences that go beyond memorizing words. She believes every child’s brain is unique and works in its own way. Kids with dyslexia may feel like their brains need to be “fixed,” but she wants them to know they are not broken—they just learn differently. Her coaching focuses on helping students understand how reading works through clear strategies, so they become independent and confident readers. She works closely with families to create personalized reading plans that grow with each child.
Online Structured Literacy Coaching with Ms. Joy
For clear and consistent support, I offer live, online coaching sessions with personalized attention. Please review the FAQ, coaching schedule, and session guidelines below to ensure smooth coordination across time zones and optimal support for your child.
Thank you for considering Reading with Ms. Joy!
Confirm fall registration by June 14th annually to secure your spot for the upcoming school year.
Parents can support their child's literacy development by completing the practice games provided between sessions and engaging with any shared resources or activities offered. Discover more ways to support your child at home by visiting our Resource Page.
Our live sessions occur weekly or biweekly for 30-40 minutes. Between sessions, students receive customized weekly practice (in game format) to complete independently or with parental guidance. Occasionally, I may request videos of home practice to monitor progress and ensure skill development.
My online coaching stands out for its personalized, skill-based approach. After each session, I tailor weekly practice to your child’s needs using engaging, interactive activities that reinforce progress and build mastery in essential reading skills.
I use core reading programs like Blast Off to Reading and I Can Fly, both grounded in Orton-Gillingham principles. These structured, step-by-step programs offer over 50 lessons designed to strengthen phonics, decoding, and literacy development.
As a certified Structured Literacy Coach, I provide individualized attention and a customized learning path that aligns with your child’s strengths and challenges — ensuring consistent progress and a solid foundation for reading and spelling success.
Ms. Joy's approach is diagnostic and personalized, addressing each student’s unique needs. Unlike traditional methods, which rely on summative assessments and a one-size-fits-all approach, her method tailors instruction to struggling readers, particularly those with dyslexia and related challenges. Her approach also emphasizes early literacy and English language development, supporting both native English speakers and bilingual Spanish-speaking learners, while providing emotional support.
These strategies include fostering a supportive environment, offering choice, using real-life connections, technology, and SEL. Engaging students at the word level—through multisensory activities, storytelling, and decoding practice—makes reading more interactive, fun, and meaningful.
Reading with Ms. Joy takes place over Zoom, where students can actively participate by controlling the screen—moving the cursor, highlighting text, and interacting with the lesson in real time. Her technology toolbox includes, but is not limited to, Pioneer Valley Books Digital Readers, Word Wall, Online TLC Studio, and InferCabulary for vocabulary development. The document camera is also used when needed to share materials in real-time, helping students follow along and engage.
Registration for new students typically closes by June 30th to guarantee a coaching slot. After that date, enrollment is subject to availability for the remainder of the school year.
Summer coaching opens each year on May 1st. To reserve your July sessions, please complete registration by the end of May, just before Memorial Day weekend kicks off the summer season.
If you plan to conclude your child’s Reading Support Coaching Plan (RSCP), please provide at least one month’s notice before your final session. Most RSCPs naturally wrap up at the end of June, aligning with the school year.
This notice allows us to celebrate progress, close out goals, and ensure a smooth transition — whether your child is pausing coaching or preparing for next steps.
If you wish to extend your RSCP into summer or begin a new Coaching Plan , I’ll work with you to adjust your goals and scheduling. Families often choose to continue coaching to maintain momentum, reinforce skills, or prepare for the upcoming school year.
Share your reading success stories through testimonials to demonstrate the personalized approach of Reading with Ms. Joy. Your feedback helps new families align their needs with my services and build trust.
Each coaching session is grounded in effective, engaging methods that strengthen reading skills while nurturing confidence. I work at your child’s pace, using diagnostic, explicit, and multisensory strategies to support meaningful progress. Along the way, I focus on building self-esteem, fostering independence, and ensuring your child experiences a sense of achievement in every session.
English has 26 letters: 21 consonants and 5/6 vowels (Y can sometimes act as a vowel).
There are 44 distinct sounds represented by the 26 letters of the alphabet.
English uses 6 common syllable patterns for arranging vowels and consonants in words.
My priority is understanding each student’s unique learning style, pace, and reading behavior. I focus on mastery and accuracy to help students achieve reading fluency. During our live sessions, I continuously assess students’ comprehension and provide personalized feedback to meet their individual needs.
Sight Words: Common words that are recognized by sight rather than phonetic decoding.
(-ch/tch, ck/k, -dge/ge): Rules for spelling common sound patterns in English.
The R 'controls' how the vowel sounds. Instead of the vowel being long or short, it takes on a unique sound because of the R. For example, the sound of /r/ can also be represented as “er, ir, ur.”
Breaking Words into Syllables: Dividing words into manageable parts to aid in pronunciation and reading.
Complex Words: Understanding and decoding words with multiple syllables.
Common/Frequent Prefixes and Suffixes: Identifying and using prefixes and suffixes to alter the meaning of base words.
(-ing, -s/es, -ed, -est/er): Inflectional endings are suffixes added to words to indicate changes in tense, number, or degree.
Non-Phonetic Words: Recognizing words that do not follow standard spelling rules.
I am writing this letter regarding our experience with our son’s reading tutor, Ms. Joy. Ms. Joy helped our son with reading strategies, fluency, comprehension, and accuracy. The growth we’ve seen in our son has exceeded our expectations, to put it mildly. At the beginning of this process, our son really struggled while reading and would quickly become frustrated and discouraged to the point of tears at times. Now he has a bookshelf full of chapter books that he reads by choice and is developing preferences as to the types of stories he enjoys. Thank you for your hard work with my son. You help set him on an entirely different path.
- Shane
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