Testimonials
Testimonials from Administrators
I was a principal at Covington Middle School in Austin, Texas, from 2006 to 2013. Laurie Hunter used the program she designed and developed, Cultivating Reading and Phonics, to tutor our students. These students began progressing on our district benchmark tests and on final state assessments. This intervention is outcome-based and data-driven, which helped drive her lessons and instruction. This great TEA-approved program was precisely designed and methodically sequenced to build each skill for growing improvement in reading.
Laurie has put much time and passion into the mission of developing and helping struggling students stemming from family personal needs. Her multisensory program covers many areas, from phonics to decoding, to handwriting, and much more. She has personally followed her students throughout post-high school and has observed them become successful adults in a variety of business and work-related endeavors. I truly believe that many of these students could have been high school dropouts without this reading help. I would have given anything if her program had been created when my oldest dyslexic son was struggling in school. I highly recommend this TEA-aligned, Cultivating Reading and Phonics, program to any and all school districts.
~Candace Hughs, Principal 2002-2013, College Professor, Superintendent Internist
Dear Laurie, Thank you for the most remarkable year of my career. The campus is a better place for students, staff, and parents because of your tremendous contributions to this place…Thank you for your tutoring of students who needed intensive help…I’m overwhelmed and deeply grateful.
~Karon Rilling, Retired Principal, 30 years in education
Testimonials from Teachers
I have seen the results of Laurie Hunter’s Cultivating Reading and Phonics program firsthand when she tutored several of my middle school students who had Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and/or received special education services. Not only did my students progress in their reading, but they also willingly arrived at school well before the first bell to participate in Laurie’s program.
Aside from personally witnessing the growth my students made, I am also pleased to report that her program meets the components set forth in the TEA Handbook. As a dyslexia interventionist myself, I am trained in several TEA-approved interventions. Her program systematically and explicitly introduces orthographic patterns, rules, and their sounds using multi-sensory instruction. Students are introduced to phonics patterns with phonological awareness (“listening for”) exercises. Students make their own 3-D phonics flash cards to build sound-symbol relationships and pronunciation/spelling rules, followed by phonological awareness, decoding, handwriting, and encoding exercises. The program presents the sounds in a systematic, explicit order, so it’s fun and memorable. Towards the end of the program, students learn about syllable division, morphology, and syntax. It’s a well-designed program that is both fun for students and meets the components outlined in the TEA Handbook.
~Shannan Peterson, M.S. Ed., National Board Certified Teacher, Dyslexia Interventionist, Special Education Teacher
We were referred to Laurie Hunter for our second son, Levi. He struggled with reading proficiency and accuracy, spelling, and handwriting. After two years of Laurie’s intervention and curriculum, Levi was admitted to a magnet program for middle school, where he maintained a place in the A-honor roll almost all three years…My wife and I firmly believe his success is due to having Laurie as his support and guide, as well as the implementation of her curriculum. I remember him talking about the flashcards he would create with Laurie, and even now, in a considerably more rigorous academic environment, he is much more relaxed when he has to put pen to paper. As a 22-year veteran of the Special Education Department for Austin ISD, from my professional and personal perspective, I can say I wholeheartedly support and recommend Laurie Hunter’s curriculum and program work.
~Gustavo (Gus) Tostado, Austin ISD Job Coach, 22-year veteran of the Special Education Department
I came to know Laurie three years ago when her son Preston was enrolled in my fourth-grade class at Cowan Elementary. Faced with many struggles in spelling and decoding in reading and writing class, Laurie took it upon her own to volunteer her time two days a week to serve him as well as five other students in my class who also faced similar issues. Just as any regular education teacher, Laurie would develop highly detailed lesson plans of her activities and often scripted out her steps for me to follow so that I would have a good awareness of what she was doing with these students. Looking back on these lessons, I noticed how she heavily incorporated the auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning styles into them…I rarely had any kids ever miss her group time, and often others who were not in the class would inquire out loud as to when it would be their time to work with Mrs. Hunter’s group.
Her students became very close-knit as a result of this training, and amazingly, one of them even managed to score a four on the state’s Writing TAKS test exam for 4th graders that particular year in February. That individual struggled immensely with many misspellings throughout the year; however, once she began working with Laurie, I immediately noticed a more confident and determined student who pushed herself more to read and write more than ever before. It was as if a real connection occurred within her language, and she was not about to let it go. It was through Laurie’s work that this student, as well as her son Preston and the other four individuals, prospered in my room.
All in all, I have always been astonished as to what Laurie has done in the study of children who have dyslexia. Along with countless hours and unpaid volunteer time, she has maintained a highly self-motivated attitude and has demonstrated herself to be one that is a truly caring and compassionate individual who deeply has a passion for helping others in need.
~Juli A. Naranjo, 4th Grade Teacher
I have been battling with Dyslexia all my life, and I can confidently say that the strategies the author describes in the book, Cultivating Reading and Phonics, and her other one (for 3rd to 12th graders) really do work! This book is extremely helpful if you are a parent or teacher with a child who has Dyslexia, ADHD, or another learning disability.
~Teresa Lentz, 9th grade teacher
Testimonials from Parents
My son was diagnosed with dyslexia at a very young age, coincidentally, by my Aunt, Dr. Martha Hougen, who has spent her entire career focused on the field of literacy to help children with dyslexia while at UT and the University of Florida. My Aunt, after recognizing the signs, suggested that we get him professionally evaluated for learning disabilities. Once we had the dyslexia diagnosis, Martha introduced us to Laurie, who had been one of her best graduate students, and she felt strongly that Laurie could help Nikolas.
Laurie did a reading intervention with Nikolas at the age of 5, while he was in Kindergarten. I was very skeptical at first, but through her dedicated and persistent guidance and encouragement, she transformed my son, a child with very low self-esteem, who hated school, into a completely changed and confident student that he is today. I can still see Nikolas sitting at her table, poring over her colorful phonics books, and engaging with interest and excitement as he gained confidence in what he was learning. I am fully confident in saying that if Nikolas had not had the reading intervention with Laurie while in Kindergarten using her books and methods, my son would be a very different child than he is today.
I am sure that there are hundreds of students whom Laurie has inspired and for whom she has changed the trajectory of their learning experience. I am always quick to recommend her and her books when I meet other parents whose children are struggling with learning or have received a learning disability diagnosis, and I feel as hopeless as we did all those years ago.
Nikolas still works with Laurie to this day, and our family is so grateful for all that she has done for Nikolas and the dyslexic community of students. I cannot recommend her and her curriculum highly enough. Not only has she ignited a spark for learning in my son, but she has given him something far greater by igniting a confidence in himself for which there is no measure in how far it will take him.
~Mona Knutsen, parent
My son’s reading intervention tutor uses this Cultivating Reading and Phonics program; it has made a huge difference in his life! He has dyslexia and dysgraphia. And three years ago, he went from being a non-reader to a successful reader by working through this book! As parents, we didn’t know how to teach him; his Montessori school wasn’t equipped to support his learning challenges.
My husband has been the primary parent involved in tutoring, but this summer, I’ve started attending sessions too-and I’m realizing how much I didn’t understand about phonics.
I’m now reading this book myself (our son is heading into 5th grade), and I love the introduction. It outlines a successful and practical path for supporting a child with reading difficulties—at home, in school, or with a tutor. This approach keeps my son motivated and eager to learn.
Most importantly, it replaces that helpless feeling with real, actionable strategies. I highly recommend it to any parent navigating similar challenges.
Thank you to Laurie Hunter for showing the positive approach to nurture and enhance the lives of children facing dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, and other learning challenges…I can truly see how powerful and effective these lessons are in practice.
~Vanessa Vance, parent
Laurie Hunter has children of their own who have dyslexia. And during their elementary school days, Laurie was having difficult times with the school to bring the right programs that offered the most benefits. So, Laurie dropped everything and not only became her children’s strongest advocate and learned how to help her children with their schoolwork, but she also attended every session that was available. When Laurie saw the results in her children, she took it a step further and had the desire to help every child who needed extra help in school. She quit her job and dedicated herself to going to several schools a week to work one-on-one with the children that she knew would benefit from her program. Not only did Laurie take on this incredible challenge, but she also took this task without being paid. I have never heard Laurie complain about not being compensated for her time and efforts working at the schools. She did all this volunteering. You might ask them what her reward or accomplishments were. I’ll tell you, it was to see the light in the children’s eyes that she helped. Now, that was her greatest satisfaction.
~Madeline Mansen, parent