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"Your staff are amazing. They are the
most caring people I've encountered."
All staff members are first selected for their ability
to work with students. Qualities of patience,
flexibility, and caring are nurtured at the
clinics. An undergraduate degree in a specialized
field is a pre-requisite. Once selected, all staff
undergo extensive training and mentoring
in the clinical programs before working with clients.
Although all work is one-to-one, the approach is very
much a "team" effort since
students do not have one-to-one for all hours with
the same clinician (instructor). This requires a coordinated
effort on everyone's part to ensure continuity
in the programs from hour to hour and a genuine sense
of success for the student. Student
progress is monitored carefully by
the Team Leaders and Dr. Truch to ensure the best
in the way of outcomes. Students in the program are
tested periodically to ensure that progress is being
made and Team Leaders provide feedback to parents
regarding their child's progress on a weekly basis.
Weekly team meetings and daily monitoring by the Team
Leaders help provide quality and individualization
of instruction. Formal post-testing occurs
at the end of the program and follow-up programs,
routines and strategies are recommended at that point.
Parents are able to observe at any time
and are especially encouraged to do so just before
their child exits the program so they can observe
the manner in which to reinforce their child's
reading and spelling at home.
Here are just some of our hard-working and caring
staff.
Dr. Steve Truch
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Steve created The
Reading Foundation clinic in Calgary in 1990,
having worked for 14 years before that as a
school psychologist. He received his Ph.D from
the University of Calgary in 1978, specializing
in learning theory. Steve has extensive experience
at all levels of the school system, having also
served as a classroom teacher, and an assistant
superintendent for special education. New research
in the field of reading, which started in early
1980's caught Steve's attention and eventually
led to the development of The Reading Foundation
clinic, the first of its kind in Canada. Steve
was particularly excited about the consistency
of results for students that was obtained with
the new teaching methods and delivery approach.
He has written several books, many articles
and some research papers and has travelled throughout
North America on speaking engagements, workshops,
training courses and presentations. |
Alison Kennedy
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Alison Kennedy,
Director, The Reading Foundation (Vancouver).
In 1995, Alison joined the Reading Foundation
as a clinician. She took on the position of
Director of the Vancouver Clinic in 1997. In
addition to teaching students at the clinic,
Alison also trains teachers and professionals
in the programs offered by The Reading Foundation.
These training sessions haven taken her to various
parts of Canada, The Northwest Territories,
and the United States. Most of all, however,
Alison finds the one-on-one interaction with
students the most fulfilling. In particular,
helping them to achieve their potential, enjoying
the humorous interaction that often occurs,
and watching their growth in confidence are
what Alison finds most rewarding. Alison has
a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University
of Waterloo. |
Kama Truch
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Kama has worked
at The Reading Foundation since 1991. She has
a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Psychology
from the University of Calgary. She was the
Director of The Reading Foundation in Vancouver
for six years, and is now Assistant Director
of the Calgary clinic. Her work has also taken
her to Medicine Hat, Yorkton, Kelowna and the
Sunshine Coast. Along with her work at The Reading
Foundation, Kama enjoys her time with her son
North. |
Amanda Camponi
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Amanda has worked
at The Reading Foundation since 2004. She has
a degree in Psychology from the University of
Calgary. Amanda works as a Team Leader and clinician.
She is also responsible for public relations,
promotions, and advertising at The Reading Foundation.
She values the time that she spends with all
of her students. |
Alita Truch
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Alita has a Bachelor
of Arts in Anthropology with a Spanish minor
from the University of Calgary. She loves to
travel and spent a year studying at the Universidad
Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico. She has also
worked in England, France and Australia. She
speaks Spanish and French. Alita has been at
The Reading Foundation since 1999, dividing
her time as the Office Manager and a clinician.
Alita enjoys working with all of the students
at The Reading Foundation. |
Michelle MacDonald
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Michelle
has worked at The Reading Foundation since June,
1992. After finishing her Bachelor of Arts in
Linguistics in 1991, she was excited to explore
both the spoken and written language with her
students. Her love for and committment to teaching
took her to different towns in both Alberta
and British Columbia with programs offered by
The Reading Foundation. Michelle has had extensive
input in revising current programs and exercising
a voice in developing new programs. In April,
1995, she gave birth to her daughter and in
September 1997 she went back to University to
complete a "Masters of Teaching" after-degree.
Her experience at The Reading Foundation, at
the University, in the schools, and as a parent
have each had a hand in Michelle's love for
children's literature. "Many children need
direct instruction with the reading process
in order to enjoy the gift of story". |
Jayelene Lenz
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Jayelene
graduated from the University of Calgary with
a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics and
with a minor in Spanish. She has worked at the
Reading Foundation since 2000. Jayelene works
as a Team Leader, a scheduler, and a trainer.
In addition to working clinical hours at The
Reading Foundation, she was recently involved
in the development of the Discover Reading –
Beginner Level Program. |
Devan Kublik
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Devan
has worked for The Reading Foundation since
June of 1999. She has a Bachelor of Arts in
Linguistics. Devan has worked on teams to develop
resources for both Discover Math and Discover
Reading, most recently completing work on Discover
Reading – Beginner Level. In addition
to being a Team Leader, Devan works as a scheduler
and trainer for The Reading Foundation. |
Sabine Schlichting
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Sabine
has worked at The Reading Foundation since it’s
opening in 1990. She has a Degree in French,
with a minor in Linguistics. She also has a
Diploma in Educational Psychology with a specialization
in Guidance and Counseling. In addition to teaching
at the clinic, Sabine has been involved in revising
current programs and creating new programs taught
at The Reading Foundation. |
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