Reading Specialist Heather Berkley

Introduction: I am a Massachusetts licensed K-12 Reading Specialist currently working at a Charter school in New Bedford, MA. I work with the most struggling readers in the school to determine their reading needs and strengths and design instruction for them. I also work with teachers in all content areas to assess their students abilities in reading and design instruction for their classes. I have a masters in literacy. I assess students and then set reading goals in their needed areas (phonics, fluency, reading comprehension, etc) always showing students their progress. Once students see how they're improving their confidence as a reader begins to grow. More than anything, I try to make reading a fun experience for students. Reading is thinking- I model and teach students strategies and guide them in trying them on their own until they can do them independently. I also model and guide writing strategies with students, and provide feedback and guidance in writing. I have 9 years experience educating and tutoring grades 1-12, and also currently work with the College of Nursing at Umass Dartmouth to help college students who are struggling with understanding their textbooks.