Kathy Dunn has been working with Reading Connections, Inc., since February of 2008. In that time, our students have grown to rely on her skills as a kind and helpful teacher, and our staff has found her expertise to be irreplaceable.

Originally, Kathy worked for over a year, one-on-one, with an adult learner. In 2009, she expressed an interest in teaching small group classes. Together, Kathy and our Volunteer Coordinator developed a Civics class and a basic-level reading class called FUNdamentals, which is based on our Phonemic Awareness Toolkit. Kathy completed two sessions of the FUNdamentals class in 2010. Both have been met with unequivocally positive reviews by students and staff.

Kathy has always been a hard worker and fantastic tutor, but her talent as a teacher has really shown in this group setting. Not only does she spend an incredible amount of time developing meticulous, thoughtful lesson plans for her students, but she is patient and thorough in her application of these lessons. Furthermore, she's incredibly humble about her abilities, and always eager to share her many years' experience with new tutors. 

Kathy has become a mentor tutor to many new tutors along the way. Whether they are working in a one on one setting or a small group class, Kathy takes the time to talk with tutors about their struggles in order to come up with a plan to ensure a comprehensive and successful lesson. She also helps at our monthly Tutor Trainings, giving new tutors a chance to hear from someone who is on the front lines delivering instruction. Kathy has a generosity of spirit which has become a trademark of not just her teaching style, but her personality.

The staff at Reading Connections knows we can rely on Kathy to be honest, dependable and, most importantly, an encouraging influence on the lives of our students. Whether it's finding the perfect activity to supplement reading class, explaining the benefits of tactile/kinesthetic teaching to a new tutor, or brainstorming her next great class, Kathy is one of the most outstanding volunteer tutors at Reading Connections. We don't know what we would do without her!