Dyslexia Awareness Month: Get to Know the SBP Faculty
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month: a time to celebrate the contributions of students in Friends Academy’s Sally Borden Program (SBP), an integrated program for students with language-based learning differences. In observation of this month, get to know the SBP faculty and staff who are dedicated to helping our SBP students succeed.
Director of the Sally Borden Program: Analise Brower
Share your experience teaching students with language-based learning differences.
I am a certified academic language therapist; I am trained and certified in therapy-level intervention for students with dyslexia through the Academic Language Therapy Association. I have worked with learners with dyslexia since 2016, primarily in one-on-one settings. I practice primarily using the Orton-Gillingham-derived curriculum Sounds in Syllables, and I am also trained in a small group and classroom-level intervention called Language Foundations. My hope is that a variety of approaches in our SBP toolkit can both broaden and deepen how we support our learners every day.
What made you want to become an educator to children with dyslexia/language-based learning differences?
In 2011, I had a student with dyslexia in my seventh grade Reading and Language Arts classroom. I was a third-year teacher with experience in curriculum and instruction, but I did not have the experience or knowledge to effectively support this student. The memory of his experience in my classroom stuck with me and inspired me to begin my training. I felt strongly, then and now, that access to literacy is an instrument of restorative justice for our students.
What is your favorite thing about being an educator in the Sally Borden Program?
My favorite part about being an SBP educator is the community of students, families, and colleagues! Everyone has been so welcoming, warm, and kind to me as I transition into this role and to the school. Our students are such cool, creative people. Their families are generous and friendly. And the SBP teachers are ideal collaborators and colleagues. It’s a pleasure and a privilege to be here!
Lower School Teachers
Megan Brillon (3), Brigid Conlon (4), and Carla Landreth (5)
Share your experience teaching students with language-based learning differences.
Mrs. Landreth: The majority of my teaching experience has been as an elementary school inclusion classroom teacher of students with learning differences and English as a Second Language. When my oldest son was diagnosed with dyslexia in first grade, I realized I had very limited knowledge of dyslexia. To support my son, I became focused on learning as much as I could about dyslexia and how to teach students with dyslexia. This made me realize how underserved these students are in most school settings. When I found out my second son was also dyslexic, I decided to change my focus as a teacher. I spent a year in an Orton-Gillingham certification program to help my own children and to make a difference as a teacher with students who struggle with reading and writing.
What made you want to become an educator to children with dyslexia/language-based learning differences?
Ms. Conlon: After teaching in the Orton-Gillingham Summer Program and seeing students make such progress, I was honored to be given the opportunity to teach in an SBP classroom. Supporting students with dyslexia and language-based learning differences as they discover their strengths and develop strategies to become confident, capable readers has been profoundly rewarding. Watching them gain confidence, embrace their learning style, and thrive not only academically but in all areas of their lives is truly a gift.
What is your favorite thing about being an educator in the Sally Borden Program?
Mrs. Brillon: My favorite part of being an SBP educator is that everyone shares the same common goal to help students reach their full potential. Every stakeholder in the community gives their full support. Families are invested in doing everything they can to support their child. Administrators, staff, and faculty all work tirelessly and collaboratively to meet the needs of every individual student. I also love collaborating with and learning from my trusted colleagues — they have such a wealth of experience, knowledge, and expertise in the field of teaching students of language-based learning differences.
Middle School Teachers
Jess Macdonald (6), Jennifer Costa (7), Alisha Nadeau (8), and Abi DeRego ’14 (Math)
Share your experience teaching students with language-based learning differences.
Ms. Nadeau: Over the years, I have noticed variations of student learning, particularly those with dyslexia, through roles including a classroom teacher, parent of children with dyslexia, and now as a specialized eighth grade literacy instructor. My training in the Orton-Gillingham approach and continued professional development classes through Landmark, Brain Frames, and Notice & Note have been instrumental in providing targeted, multisensory, scaffolded instruction to help students manage their specific learning challenges.
What made you want to become an educator to children with dyslexia/language-based learning differences?
Ms. Costa: In college, my professor at the time recommended I pursue my masters in special education. She pointed out that I had always allowed students the space and time to get to an answer on their own, and I would provide them with multiple avenues to get there. As I continued my degree and worked with students of all abilities, I always felt myself drawn to help those who were struggling a bit more than others. When I discovered the Sally Borden Program, I was excited to work with a community of students to foster their knowledge and creativity while helping them find tools to express themselves in a way that best suited their individual needs.
What is your favorite thing about being an educator in the Sally Borden Program?
Ms. DeRego: My favorite part about being an SBP educator is the students. Getting to hear their perspectives, see their thinking, and watch them take charge of their education is such an amazing experience. As a math teacher, watching them work through problems and reason with numbers and concepts is so much fun, and seeing them empowered and engaged in their work is even better!
Learning Specialists
Megan O’Brien and Merrie-Beth Cleary
What made you want to become an educator to children with dyslexia/language-based learning differences?
Ms. O’Brien: My daughter Olivia entered FA as a sixth grader in 2008, the same year the Sally Borden Program began. The more time I spent with SBP students and faculty, the more I wanted to be involved with teaching and supporting neurodiverse students. There was a growing demand for trained literacy instructors, so I enrolled in the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Associate Level training in 2009. I wanted to be part of the solution and help children with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences to become competent and confident readers and writers. Watching a child evolve from a place where reading felt like an impossible task to participating in a presentation in front of the entire school attests to the visible progress SBP students make academically and emotionally. How can that not be gratifying?
What is your favorite thing about being an educator in the Sally Borden Program?
Mrs. Cleary: Every day is new and interesting, and I learn something new. Our brains are complex organs, and I’ve found the ways my students go about making connections or thinking about something in a different way to be inspiring. Have you ever seen that look in the eye of someone who has just learned something new, mastered a skill they’ve been practicing for some time, or had an aha! moment that created a meaningful connection? That’s my why.
SBP Staff
Shelbi Randenberg (Director of Sally Borden Connect) and Kendal Martes (Director of Outreach)
Share your experience teaching students with language-based learning differences.
Ms. Randenberg: While getting my MAT at Brown, my supervisor had noticed that I honed in on students who were having difficulty accessing the curriculum. It was there that I realized that I only wanted to work in a similar program. I attended the Orton-Gillingham training through Friends Academy the following summer, along with Lindamood-Bell. I started at FA as a reading specialist before becoming the SBP fifth grade teacher. I now hold the position of director of Sally Borden Connect, running a tutoring program to reach kids who do not have access to schools like Friends Academy. We also host Orton-Gillingham teacher trainings; since 2022, we have trained more than 600 teachers worldwide.
What made you want to become an educator to children with dyslexia/language-based learning differences?
Ms. Martes: When I worked as a SLP, many students on my caseload had difficulty with speech production or language processing, and then they would go on to have difficulty with reading and writing. I knew about the connections of oral and written language, so I sought out ways that would help me treat all aspects of a child’s learning rather than just my silo of speech and language. Why wouldn’t I help a child learn to read if I could? Additionally, I have a brother who has learning differences, and I saw my students as younger versions of him. Although he is successful today, my brother didn’t always get the help he needed, so that motivated me to do right by these very capable students. Reading isn’t just a gift; it’s a fundamental right.