“This school year has proven to be a true testimony to N’s perseverance, resilience and of course her amazing tutor. She started tutoring in January of 2020 and was reading at a 3rd grade level (2nd semester 6th grader) with very little confidence and independence. By the beginning of September, she improved to a mid 5th grade level and was able to apply strategies to unknown vocabulary and think critically while reading a story because she could now focus on comprehension rather than just decoding. But as summer came to an end and the realization that school was going start virtually, I panicked. I frantically started to look into private school (- crazy expensive) and home school curriculum which realistically wouldn’t have happened because.......ummm I work. We needed to trust that keeping her life normal would best. We knew that Emily’s individualized instruction would be exactly what N needed while allowing her to stay with her friends. Like everyone else, She started the year full distance and continued with Mrs. Laidlaw 2x week (1 hour). She was in a full inclusion cohort at (middle school) and was able to navigate schedules, directions for assignments and grade level texts independently. She had the confidence to participate in virtual class discussions, typing in the chat box, which can be very scary for a child w dyslexia, and completing all her work independently. She is finishing the year on the honor roll. She had a 4.0 the first 3 quarters. Distance learning can be so isolating and debilitating for students, but this year has been none of that for N. She has made new friends, built relationships with her teachers and been empowered to be responsible for her own learning. She loves working with Mrs. Laidlaw and definitely sees the value in learning how to read. Emily has unlocked N’s potential and empowered her to take risks in school. This is something I could never have done on my own, even as a special education teacher. N needs me to be her mom, biggest supporter and advocate. Mrs. Laidlaw’s expertise in understanding dyslexia and brain development, her engaging and explicit instruction and her genuine personal connection to N has been the key to N’s success. It’s not about finding a tutor, but finding the right one. Emily Laidlaw is a God given gift.”