Partners & Clients
Portfolio of Work
San Mateo County
In cooperation with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, LWA helped train interns for an afternoon STEAM enrichment program led by San Mateo County Libraries. Based on the Center for Childhood Creativity we used the CREATE Framework to offer child-directed and emotionally attuned enrichment curriculum.
The Big Lift
Working with key stakeholders in Big Lift communities LWA helped launch a county-wide literacy initiative which is now successfully exiting its pilot phase. These key stakeholders and community-based organizations would convene on a regular basis to strengthen this coordinated collective impact approach within each community. LWA served as a program coordinator and liason for The Big Lift’s 300+ organizations including business, government, education, philanthropy, and nonprofit agencies. The Big Lift is making a difference in the lives of thousands of San Mateo County children who are entering school ready to learn and staying on track to read proficiently at third grade!
Palo Alto Unified School District
LWA worked with school leaders and specialists to successfully launch an early learning intervention program at their ECE site. This called for the instructional specialists to consider a four part cycle: Plan>Do>Check>Act, an improvement cycle based on the scientific method of proposing a change in a process, implementing the change, measuring the results, and taking appropriate action. The coaching sessions provided instructional specialists with guided assessment analysis, 1:1 and small group lesson modeling, and strategic time to consider how this cycle informs their work by being asked probing questions that provided feedback and encouraged reflection. Instructional specialist sessions focused on improving the strategies and tools used to support diverse learners and evening the playing field for children entering Kindergarten.
Marin Waldorf School
This educational consultant project is focused on how to improve literacy outcomes for older students who are reading below grade level. Participants learn the research behind literacy accelerators that can propel reading progress, consider how to support students in rebuilding their academic confidence and gain practical skills for how to implement these ideas to support students in regular classroom settings.
Bacich Elementary School
Teachers are participating in six LWA professional development sessions focused on refining content knowledge of the Science of Reading and addressing associated emotions that we experience in the process. Sessions are engaging participants in choosing areas of focus, reflecting on current practices, and analyzing ways to improve classroom literacy practices following current research and cognitive neuroscience. The instructional leadership team is participating in LWA strategic coaching sessions focused on meeting staff needs, developing skills and instructional coaching models.
Tutoring Testimonials
Ali D. - Mill Valley
"Alyssa came into our lives when my daughter was feeling frustrated about her progress in school. As a family, we couldn't figure out the missing link. Our daughter did her homework, read nightly, and paid attention in class but was still reading several levels below benchmark. Alyssa was able to work with her and pinpoint the key areas that needed development and boost her confidence. More than an education specialist, Alyssa empowered our daughter with the tools to succeed and brought more ease and joy to our entire family. Now our daughter meets and exceeds all expectations in school and we couldn't be more grateful!”
Lauren and David S. - Mill Valley, CA
"Our family feels so fortunate to have had the pleasure of working with Alyssa over the summer. Our daughter needed extra support in reading and Alyssa was perfect for the job! She engaged our daughter in a loving and supportive way and encouraged her growth in reading and writing.
Alyssa made reading fun for our daughter and she always looked forward their time together and often remarked, “Reading is fun with Alyssa”! She gained strength in reading fluency, reading comprehension, and phonemic awareness skills. Alyssa even provided us with books and phonemic awareness activities for our daughter to do on vacation to continue to sharpen her skills. Our daughter’s confidence in reading and writing grew so much with Alyssa’s help.
At the same time, we appreciated how Alyssa communicated clearly and effectively about our daughters’ progress. She let us know her strengths and communicated areas of need to help us better understand how we could support our daughter at home. She thoughtfully used assessments in order to instruct our daughter with best reading practices.
Alyssa is an experienced reading teacher with a wide range of knowledge and expertise in reading and writing instruction and she has a genuine interest in helping your child succeed. We would gladly recommend Alyssa to anyone looking for a competent, engaging reading teacher for their child."
Matt and Whitney T. - San Francisco, CA
"We reached out to Alyssa a few months into the pandemic when our then 7 and 9 year-old children were about to begin a new year of virtual school (Fall 2020). We spent the end of the previous school year (Spring 2020) with both of them very frustrated with writing and us not sure how to best support them.
Alyssa’s instructional style supported both our very different children well. She not only created scaffolding to help them positively approach their virtual school assignments but also worked with them on individual writing projects which followed their interests. What we loved is how much they enjoyed their time with her. Everything was over Zoom and we’d often walk into a room during a session to see them smiling and giggling. We’ve also been impressed with how they have taken the tools she developed with them into the new school year (Fall 2021) which is now in person. They approach their new writing assignment with greater confidence and have more strategies to accomplish the work. We feel lucky she was able to help them grow during such a challenging year!"
Lana M. - San Rafael, CA
My son was needing some help in 1st grade with English language development and spelling and reading. She worked online with him and was so flexible with our situation. Alyssa helped him and went above and beyond to work with his teachers and make a good plan for him.
Casey F. - Mill Valley, CA
"Alyssa has been great! Her tutoring has helped our 3 kids immensely. She is patient and keeps the kids engaged while they learn and practice math. Alyssa is punctual and she is flexible in her teaching approach for different ages/learning styles! A great tutor!"
Roselala L. - Rohnert Park, CA
"My 4th grade son was really struggling with multiplication, especially when working with bigger numbers. It wasn’t making sense to him at school and I couldn’t help him. We contacted Alyssa and within a few online sessions he was feeling more confident and independent. She was gifted at connecting and engaging and found out so quickly what worked best for him as a learner. He actually and truly looked forward to his math sessions with her! Alyssa is a unicorn and I know she can help your child too!"
Erica and Edmund K. - Mill Valley, CA
"Luckily having known Ms. Althouse since our daughter was in first grade, we were pleased to be able to turn to her for supplementary tutoring during the recent lockdown and homeschooling period. Her classes were via a bi-weekly zoom. At the end of the year not only had our daughter's reading and writing greatly improved, but her then third-grade teacher wrote us to say how organized and prepared she was for each class, a reflection of Ms. Althouse’s pedagogical skills. Our daughter is now in fourth grade and reading at a fifth-grade level. We believe that Ms. Althouse created the foundation for organization and strong reading and writing skills and as a result, we will look to continue with her input to support our daughter's progress."
Alena L. - San Rafael, CA
“[My child] is VERY excited about lessons with you and, you’re right, she even figured out zoom login by herself. Thank you so much for your help!”