Welcome to Novaread.

As parents, we see education as a source of limitless opportunities for our children. School age arrives, and the first day of school signals the beginning of daily stories of friendship, adventures, and learning. ABC’s and 123’s lead to reading stories and memorizing multiplication tables.

Little by little, as expectations increase, stories of learning being fun give way to talk of frustration and confusion. Books being read by others in the class seem too difficult. Words sent home to study for spelling tests seem too advanced, difficult to retain, or are forgotten soon after the test. Concepts in math aren’t understood. Our initial response may be that extra effort or paying greater attention will solve these problems.

Children may begin to feel frustrated with the outcomes given the effort they put in. Thinking of themselves as less intelligent than their peers begins to creep in. As parents we may ask ourselves: what’s going on; why aren’t they getting it; what does this mean for my child’s future?

Assessment

First, we work on our own understanding. So we know exactly how to help your child.

At Novaread we administer a comprehensive assessment that examines every skill needed to be successful in and out of the classroom. Working with children in one-on-one settings creates a unique opportunity to individualize the approach we use with each student.

The processes that enable learning to happen are complex. Children in the same grade, having difficulty with the same material, may be struggling for entirely different reasons. Identifying the root cause of these struggles is essential to the outcomes we achieve.

Programs

The keys that unlock learning potential.

At this point we know we have a student who is fully capable of performing much better in school – of experiencing education for what it’s meant to be, rather than as a source of anxiety.

Testing has indicated, not just what they can’t do, but exactly why. Knowing this, we can structure an approach that begins where it needs to for that particular student. Whether we’re addressing literacy, language, or math, there is a process we can apply.

That process will flow through various stages, each step following the one before it, and every one critical to the end result. We start with a step the student can take; then we build their strength so they can keep making progress.

Reading & Spelling

Level 1

Our Level 1 Reading and Spelling program successfully stimulates phonemic awareness: the ability to recognize that a spoken word is a sequence of individual sounds. This is one of the strongest predictors of later success in reading.

It provides the foundation needed to become self-correcting and independent in reading and spelling.

Level 2

Building on the skills taught in our Level 1 Reading and Spelling program, Level 2 focuses on developing fluency and speed through word recognition, comprehension, visual memory and spelling.

It extends a child’s technical ability to read to understanding and visualizing the meaning of the words on the page.

Language & Comprehension

A primary cause of language comprehension problems is difficulty creating the “full picture” from written information. It’s called weak concept imagery. This weakness leads to individuals only retaining a few facts or details, resulting in difficulty with critical thinking, following directions, or expressing ideas in an organized manner. Our Imaging and Understanding program enables students to create fully detailed imagery that assists comprehension, retention and recall, ultimately improving critical thinking, reasoning, and expressive language skills

Math

A primary cause of math difficulties is an inability to image and verbalize the concepts underlying math processes. Math Facts and Concepts stimulates thinking, reasoning, and problem solving with numbers. It emphasizes mathematical reasoning along with computation, helping students not only do, but enjoy math.

Results

The best proof of what we do is in what parents and students say about their experiences with NovaRead.

  • Without the help of Novaread there is no doubt in my mind that Peter would have been frustrated with his schooling, and possibly have dropped out.

    Peter didn’t drop out. He finished high school as president of the Student council, with a mid-90s mark average.

    Jonathan Gale, Parent

  • When I arrived at Novaread, I felt inadequate intellectually, and incapable of learning some of the simplest things.

    But Novaread’s staff members wouldn’t let these negative ideas take hold of me.

    Peter Gale, Student

  • I’m so happy with what feels like a sudden breakthrough, although I know it's thanks to all the foundation work you did with Dylan.

    Avila Cox, Parent

  • Brian made learning fun and helped establish academic confidence for our son. We will forever be grateful because if this.

    Celina Spence, Parent & a Happy Mom

  • Novaread has been a very important and special part of my kids education for over 10 years. Brian and his team have supported them both in all aspects of their learning.

    Heather Elaine MacLellan, Parent

Blog

Some things we've been learning about lately.

  • Why are educational assessments important?

    Navigating the educational journey for your child can be challenging when you find yourself confronted with more questions than answers. As children engage with the demands of the classroom, they are called upon to employ a set of foundational skills, primarily revolving around literacy, math, and language.  Literacy: encompasses the ability to process written language, […]

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  • How to Know if They Truly Can do the Work Before Assigning Blame for Poor Results

    No child makes a conscious decision to make life miserable for themselves. If they are failing to meet the expectations being placed on them in school, there could be and most often is, something making it significantly difficult for them to do so. If you’ve ever had a child that has struggled to keep up […]

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  • Why Flexibility Makes One on One so Powerful

    The Strength of One on One or Individualized Programming is that it Provides Flexibility When and Where it is Needed During Every Step of a Program.  Group  In any school, public or private, you find similar designs around the classrooms and delivery of content. A variety of rooms are set up to educate between 20 […]

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  • Assessing How our Student's Skills Compare to Their Peers

    What is a Percentile Score? In many of the tests we, and others, use to establish areas of relative strength and weaknesses, the results are presented as percentile scores.  What is a percentile score? For those who have children and have gone through the process of taking them to the pediatrician, you will be somewhat […]

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  • How to Achieve Fluent Reading and Efficient Writing

    A quick explanation of what is happening when you read. Let’s look at the sentence I like to run in the forest with my friends. The goal of any reading is to take meaning from it. If the reading is for enjoyment, you will need to understand what you are reading and if the reading […]

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  • Which will Ensure Outstanding Results Over the Long Term

    Remediation vs. Accommodation Remediation: the development of skills in order to access the innate ability within the students we work with. The students that we work with at Novaread arrive with the natural ability to interact with the expectations of their current grade. That natural ability has yet to be developed so they are struggling. […]

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  • Building Fundamentals that Improve as the Expectation Increases Over Time

    What is Bottom Up vs. Top Down Tutoring We are often asked what the differences between Novaread and, for the sake of this explanation, Oxford Learning are. It can be difficult to answer because answering questions like this one can lead to answers that sound like us describing why we are effective and how another […]

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  • Successful Student, Happy Child, Satisfied Family. Novaread, this is what we do!

    Novaread works with families who are motivated to invest in their children’s education and overall health. We do this through the diagnosis and remediation of language based learning difficulties. How these relationships often begin The motivation we see from our families normally comes from seeing untapped potential in their child. On a daily basis that […]

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