Award-Winning Certified Reading Intervention
Tutors
Award-Winning
Certified Reading Intervention
Tutors
Private 1-on-1 tutoring, weekly live classes for academic support, test prep & enrichment, practice tests and diagnostics, and more to elevate grades and test scores.
Based on 3.4M Learner Ratings
UniversitiesSchools & Universities
DeliveredHours Delivered
ProficiencyGrowth in Proficiency
Who needs tutoring?
No obligation. Takes ~1 minute.

Two years of teaching elementary students who struggled with literacy gave McKenna firsthand experience identifying where decoding, fluency, or comprehension breaks down. She builds targeted exercises around phonemic awareness and sight-word recognition for younger readers, while older students get scaffolded strategies for tackling longer texts. Her certified reading intervention approach is patient and structured, meeting each learner's specific gaps.

I received my degree in Elementary Education from York College of Pennsylvania. I then attended McDaniel College where I received a masters degree in reading and became a Reading Specialist. My love for teaching reading continued and I furthered my education at Mount Saint Mary's University for training in Reading Recovery. I started my career teaching kindergarten and currently am a reading specialist in my school district, where I work one on one and in small groups with struggling readers. My passion is for tutoring early learners to help them gain the skills they need to grow as readers and writers. In my tutoring sessions I love to get to know my learners interests and personalities. I incorporate manipulatives, sight word games, leveled texts, and writing into sessions to make sessions more engaging. I love to build confidence in my learners by focusing on their strengths in order to get the most amount of growth out of my learners. My hobbies include exercise, spending time with my family, and going to the beach.
I'm not tutoring or buried in my textbooks, you will either find me rock climbing at the Triangle Rock Club, playing Ultimate Frisbee, working on my car, or enjoying the great outdoors (beaches, mountains, forests--you name it, I love it). On rainy weekends I enjoy tinkering with computers and old electronics, playing Pokemon, or picking at my guitar.
I am an interdisciplinary educator with an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. from Dartmouth College. My background is primarily in integrated arts learning and museum education and I specialize in visual arts, history and art history, and object-based learning. In all subjects, I take a creative, inquiry-based and learner-centered approach, designing opportunities for each unique individual to meet their learning goals.
I am a recent graduate from a masters program in biostatistics at Columbia University. I received my Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences, with a focus in neurobiology at Northwestern University. In August, I will be starting a doctoral program in biostatistics at NYU. I was a teaching assistant at Columbia University in my department and also have tutored graduate students and undergraduates privately as well. My primary areas of tutoring are math and statistics coursework in addition to math sections on standardized tests such as the GRE and GMAT. I am very passionate about helping students feel more confident and excited about math. In my spare time, I enjoy running, playing piano, and spending time with friends and family.
I am a graduate of Wesleyan University, where I received my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with High Honors. With eight years of experience working in education, I've tutored students in math, science, history, and English, as well as helped students prepare for standardized tests. I've guided adults towards passing the US Citizenship Exam and taught English in India, where I lived for six months. Whenever I work with a student I personalize the lessons to fit their particular learning style, since I know every student is unique and having the right fit can make all the difference in making learning fun and effective. My strengths are tutoring the social sciences and humanities, as well as making math and standardized tests approachable to students that normally don't like those subjects. In my spare time I like traveling, spending time in the outdoors (climbing & backpacking), meditation, and playing soccer. Next fall I will be beginning my PhD in Education at Harvard University.
I am a rising sophomore at Harvard College and am about to declare as a Mechanical Engineering concentrator, working towards a Bachelor of Science degree. I've always enjoyed sharing my knowledge with my peers and those around me and have done so in both formal and informal settings. I've been a tutor for both Math and Spanish programs in high school and enjoyed the strides I made with students. I am willing to tutor any subject I have a background in, but am strong in mathematics, the sciences, Spanish, history, writing, and ACT prep. I enjoy teaching mathematics most due to the joy I can see in children once they master a topic and can answer even pointed questions meant to stump them, and maybe even put their knowledge to real world use. As a tutor, I like to give a strong foundation to orient my student, and then gradually grant them more freedom and independence until they can feel themselves grasp the concept, pointing out pitfalls or common errors along the way; teachers who used these methods on me always left the most lasting impressions. Outside of my studies, I really enjoy listening to music, both old favorites and new interests, reading classics, and gaming/playing basketball with my friends.
I'm Solange - a recent graduate from Harvard where I studied Sociology & Women's Studies. I've been tutoring for eight years now, and have worked with a wide range of ages and in a wide range of subjects. Some of my specialties are college prep/test taking II worked in the admissions office on campus); social sciences; and literature/writing.
I am proud to be a part of Varsity Tutors! I am originally from San Antonio, TX; I completed my undergraduate education at Rice University in Houston where I received a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Currently, I am in my second year of medical school at Baylor College of Medicine.
I am a junior Mechanical Engineering major at Yale, and I hope to become a Naval Aviator after college. I am also a varsity sailor, and enjoy playing music with friends when I can get some free time. I have been tutoring my fellow students throughout my entire academic career, and I would best describe my tutoring style as one that adapts to each students' needs. For example, I have always tried to frame questions in a different way so that the student can better understand the question. Some students need visual representations of numbers and systems to understand them, and others benefit more by understanding the concepts behind each formula. I prefer to tutor in math and physics, and especially with real world application problems. I hope to help students improve their standardized test scores and their understanding of the math and sciences so that they can achieve their academic goals!
I am a graduate of Washington University in St Louis, where I received my Bachelor of Arts in History with minors in Humanities and Anthropology. Since graduation, I have worked as a tutor, teacher, and director of tutors at a charter public middle school in Boston. During this time I also received my Masters in Mild to Moderate Disabilities from Simmons College. I have worked extensively with students with a range of abilities, including students with specific learning disabilities, emotional impairments, dyslexia, and ADHD. My teaching experience has given me a deep understanding of the knowledge and habits essential to academic success and has given me the opportunity to hone a variety of strategies that ensure students at each level can achieve their academic goals. While I tutor a broad range of subjects, my favorite ones are Reading, Elementary/Middle School Math, History, and Test Prep. In my experience, tutoring is the most rewarding when a student has that "aha!" moment and achieves a new level of understanding and confidence in his/her abilities. I am a firm believer in the transformative power of education, and I see my role to be that of a facilitator and coach who is there to help the student reach his/her goals through individualized support and rigorous practice. In my free time, I enjoy reading, running, practicing my Spanish, and discovering new music. I am also an avid traveler and just got back from a 3 month trip to South America. I look forward to the opportunity to work with you!
I am an aspiring applied mathematician, with particular interest in image processing and climate science. I graduated in May 2017 from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor's in physics and mathematics, and am beginning a PhD program in September 2017 at the University of Chicago in Computational and Applied Mathematics. I've tutored introductory physics students for three years and enjoyed it thoroughly, as a chance to help other students while revisiting fundamental concepts to enhance my own knowledge. I'm eager to continue reaching out and helping students of math and physics to succeed and, furthermore, to appreciate the beauty and power of these subjects.
Testimonials
Because the right Certified Reading Intervention tutor makes all the difference.
Average Session Rating – Based on 3.4M Learner Ratings
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Frequently Asked Questions
Phonics instruction focuses on teaching the relationship between letters and sounds—helping students decode words systematically—while fluency work develops the ability to read those words quickly and accurately in connected text. A reading intervention tutor might spend time on phonics if a student struggles with decoding, but will also incorporate repeated reading, phrase-level practice, and prosody (rhythm and expression) to build fluency. Both are essential; strong phonics alone doesn't guarantee a student can read a paragraph smoothly.
This gap—called hyperlexia—requires explicit comprehension strategy instruction rather than more phonics work. A reading intervention tutor teaches techniques like predicting before reading, asking questions during reading, visualizing scenes, and summarizing after reading. They model these strategies aloud, then gradually release responsibility to the student through guided practice. The tutor also helps students build background knowledge and vocabulary, since comprehension depends heavily on what a reader already knows about a topic.
Certified reading intervention tutors use structured assessments—like running records, phonemic awareness screeners, and comprehension inventories—to pinpoint exactly where a student's reading breaks down. Rather than assuming all struggling readers need the same help, these assessments reveal whether the issue is phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, or comprehension. This diagnostic approach ensures tutoring time focuses on the student's actual gaps, not generic remediation.
Yes. Certified reading intervention tutors are trained to recognize signs of dyslexia and use evidence-based approaches like structured literacy and Orton-Gillingham methods, which teach phonics in a systematic, cumulative way. These approaches are specifically designed for students whose brains process written language differently. While a tutor can't diagnose dyslexia, they can provide the specialized, multi-sensory instruction these students need and can recommend formal evaluation if appropriate.
Early intervention is most effective—ideally in kindergarten or first grade when reading foundations are being built. However, students at any age can benefit from intervention if they're falling behind grade-level reading expectations. A second-grader who hasn't mastered phonics, a fifth-grader struggling with multi-syllabic words, or a middle schooler with weak comprehension can all make significant progress with targeted tutoring. The key is addressing gaps before they compound and affect other subjects.
Parents play a crucial role by practicing specific skills the tutor recommends—whether that's phoneme blending, sight word recognition, or reading short books aloud together. A reading intervention tutor will typically send home brief, focused activities (5-10 minutes daily) rather than generic "read more." Parents should also create a print-rich home environment, read aloud to their child regardless of age, and avoid correcting every mistake during shared reading, which can discourage engagement and slow progress.
Many students show measurable progress within 4-6 weeks of consistent, targeted intervention—especially in foundational skills like phonemic awareness or phonics automaticity. However, the timeline depends on the severity of the gap, the student's age, and how frequently tutoring occurs. A first-grader with early phonics gaps might catch up in a few months, while an older student with deeper comprehension issues may need 6-12 months of sustained support. Regular progress monitoring helps the tutor adjust instruction and keep momentum going.
A reading intervention tutor monitors progress using assessment data—running records, fluency rates, comprehension checks—to determine when a student reaches grade-level benchmarks consistently. The goal isn't just to "catch up" once, but to build independent reading strategies the student can apply to new texts. Before exiting, the tutor ensures the student has internalized strategies and can apply them without constant prompting, and recommends follow-up monitoring to prevent regression.
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