My name is Julie Hines, and I have proudly worked as an educator, specializing in reading intervention, for over twenty-five years. I have taught students in grades Pre-K through sixth grade. For as long as I can remember, I have been wholeheartedly passionate about helping children discover the joys of reading and writing, which can be harder for some than others due to a number of reasons.

I realized early on in my career that when it comes to teaching reading and writing, children can greatly benefit from individualized attention, and focused lesson planning catered towards meeting their specific needs. More so than in other subjects, I have found this tendency to be one of the drawbacks of the practice of establishing generalized curricula for all students in a given class. As such, throughout my teaching career, I have sought out opportunities to provide specialized instruction that some students required in order to excel. I am grateful to have observed the incredible progress than can be achieved as a result.

Currently, I work as a Reading Specialist, working with small groups of students who require extra attention with phonics instruction and reading strategies. However, I have often found myself frustrated and saddened by the fact that in many cases, it can be extremely difficult to provide struggling students with the individual attention they require while continuing to meet the developmental needs of the rest of the group. My passion to help solve this problem is what inspired me to open "Academy Learning Center", a place where I can meet one-on-one with students, and provide a very individualized reading program for every student.