About Shofer Educational Consulting
My Experience is Personal
I understand firsthand the difficulties and frustrations that students that learn differently face every day.
As a child with language-based learning differences, I remember all too well being asked to read a page out loud to my reading group in elementary school and struggling to figure out the sounds of each of the letters, and then trying to remember the series of sounds in the correct order, and then form them into words, in order to read each sentence, only to then have my teacher ask me to answer comprehension questions about what I had just read, while having no memory of the content of what I had just read.
While I was struggling to read the page, and answer the questions the teacher had just asked, I could hear the other students in my reading group laughing at me. The teacher said nothing to the other students about the impact that their laughter had on me. As a result of my own academic struggles, I bring empathy, compassion and understanding to the educational consulting process. I am passionate about making sure that no child experiences the pain and humiliation that I have experienced.
I’ve also parented a child who struggled as a teenager
and participated in wilderness therapy, and several aftercare programs, as well as parented my other children who have struggled due to language-based learning differences (one of whom attended boarding school). I have a profoundly respectful understanding of how difficult this process can be for parents and their children.
I understand the complex set of factors that need to be understood and considered in academics and treatment when considering what school or program would be the best “fit” for my clients. Each young person and family are unique with their own strengths and challenges. I am passionate and driven to provide families with the opportunities, skills, and support to live, learn and thrive together. I am here for you throughout your family’s journey.
Our mission is helping families find the best place for their child to feel safe and able to learn, heal and thrive.
My Professional Background
Bachelor of Science degree in moderate and severe special education and elementary education with a minor in psychology from Boston University
Master’s Degree (M.Ed.) in special education in learning disabilities from American University.
Completed a one-year 300-hour certification program and practicum from Massachusetts General Hospital’s language disorders unit/reading clinic in Boston, MA.
Graduate of the 2022 (IECA) Independent Educational Consultants Association Summer Training Institute.
I am an Associate Member of (IECA) Independent Educational Consultants Association and subscribe to their ethical standards.
Member of the International Dyslexia Association since 1981, I also belong to the Phono-Graphix Association of Reading Therapists, The Council for Exceptional Children, CHADD- Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and SBSA The Small Boarding School Association.
I attend regional and national conferences annually to expand my professional knowledge and skills as well as to network with colleagues and admission directors.
I have twenty years of professional experience working in both independent and public schools, as a learning specialist, special education teacher, executive function coach and as a certified Orton-Gillingham reading specialist trained to work with children, adolescents, and young adults in a variety of settings. I have taught in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Maryland.
Since starting my career in special education as a reading/language arts teacher and live-in residential duty team member at a New England boarding school for students with dyslexia or other language-based learning differences, I have worn many different “hats”.
A glimpse into some of the varied positions that I have held include:
- Special education teacher at a private school teaching students with severe hearing, speech, language delays and medical issues,
- Public school self-contained special education classroom teacher teaching students with behavior disorders who learn differently,
- Public-school resource room teacher teaching students with language-based learning differences,
- Executive function coach teaching high school students with language-based learning differences to use time management and organizational skills when applying to colleges
I have dedicated my personal and professional experience in teaching, diagnostic assessment, educational intervention, and executive functioning skills instruction, to focus on helping families find appropriate schools or therapeutic programs for their adolescent or young adult.
I am proud to be a member of these organizations
