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My daughter Ella is 17 years old. She has an intellectual disability. We have tried everything over the years to help her with literacy skills. Nothing we have tried has proven as successful as working with Jeaneen. It’s hard to explain the joy and emotion as week after week we saw Ella finally making gains. Ella was engaged and enjoying herself on the zoom sessions with Jeaneen. Distance Learning with Ella’s school class did not work at all for her, so we were so surprised to see how amazing she did with Jeaneen during her OG sessions. She looked forward to them every week. When you have a child that is well into their teens and still struggling with basic concepts it’s hard not to give up. Jeaneen’s approach and Ella’s progression has given us so much hope for what is possible for Ella if she has the right supports. I would encourage every parent considering this service for their child to make this investment for their child’s future. There has been a big push from Ella’s educators to focus only on “functional” skills. Watching Ella the past few months after spending time learning with Jeaneen has convinced me that there is no skill as functional as literacy. We are so thankful.
Sarah P.
My son, Jack, was in grade 3 when academic testing revealed learning disabilities. At this time we managed in school by working individually with teachers and within small groups. At home, we tried to do extra work with Jack to help him keep up. Despite our best efforts however, he got farther behind in his classes, especially with math. As we approached the end of the 4th grade, we soon realized we needed additional support and started exploring tutoring options which led to a referral to Mrs. Jacobs. After the initial assessment, Mrs. Jacobs was able to provide us with a clear idea of what level he was at and areas he needed help with. Mrs. Jacobs met with Jack twice a week and during this time she explored various teaching methods that would help him. I was impressed at her creativity and out of the box thinking to help him learn in his own unique ways. She would have him doing activities that engaged him and made numbers more interesting. Once she even took Jack and his twin siblings on walk within the neighborhood and did math with the house numbers. She never gave up on him and continued to explore learning methods. By the end of grade 4, Jacksons grades had improved significantly and most importantly, his confidence in himself and his ability to learn excelled. Mrs. Jacobs was instrumental in exploring and developing Jacks unique learning methods and set him up for success within the classroom.
Jack continued to do well in school until the pandemic hit and like everyone else, life was turned upside down and suddenly he found himself trying to keep up with his studies online. Like many other students, he struggled with this way of learning. Even though Mrs. Jacobs was not tutoring Jack at the time the schools closed, she reached out to us and sent us a list of learning resources for which I was most grateful for as I took on this unexpected role of home schooling. It was during this period of time, when I was trying to help with my children’s education, that I realized the significance of Jack’s learning disabilities. He was motivated to learn and put in the time and effort, however sitting in front of a computer screen trying to absorb information was getting him nowhere. Very quickly, Jack fell behind again in his class and by the end of grade 6, not only did he struggle in math but now his reading comprehension was behind. Once again, we turned to Mrs. Jacobs for assistance in hopes that over the summer we could improve his reading level to prepare him for grade 7. My hopes were exceeded though and it was apparent the work we did in those two short months made tremendous difference. Shortly after the start of the school year, he proudly brought home his first test with an +A! And it didn’t end there as tests and assignments that followed were all A’s and B’s. Recently when we met with his teacher, she told us Jack was hardworking, an advocate for his own learning and role mode for other students. She also stated if he didn’t have a learning plan, she would not even know he had a learning disability. The teacher commented that it was clear the work he did with Mrs. Jacobs over the summer set him up for a successful year and more. We are thrilled with these results and Jackson now has the confidence to know that no matter what challenges he may meet, he has the ability to overcome them. Mrs. Jacobs work with him not only taught him math and reading skills, but she taught him HOW to learn and how to be an advocate for his own learning. We are all so grateful for her patience and dedication to his learning which has set him up for success.
Though we do not believe it will always be an easy road academically for Jack, he has developed the tools and the confidence to address his learning challenges. And as Jack goes through Junior High and high school, if we meet some challenges that need additional help, we will undoubtedly call Mrs. Jacobs for a ‘learning tune up’. I am forever grateful for the time and effort she put in to help Jack.
Annalynn B.
I am writing this letter to recommend the Orton Gillingham (OG) Approach and Jeaneen Jacobs as a tutor. In March 2021, Jeaneen began tutoring my daughter Katelyn who is in grade 5 and has a learning disability. During the past seven months, I have had many opportunities to observe Jeaneen in her role as a tutor. It is without hesitation that I give you my recommendation for Jeaneen. She possesses both the personal and professional qualities that will allow her to be an effective tutor of the Orton-Gillingham Approach.
Jeaneen is an enthusiastic and creative teacher. Her tutoring sessions are well planned and were hands-on that provided an abundance of opportunities for my daughter Katelyn to contribute and participate. Jeaneen always came prepared with fun manipulatives, games and worksheets that she had created. My daughter Katelyn really enjoyed Jeaneen’s tutoring sessions and they were often laughing and would chat about life after the sessions were over.
Jeaneen has a thorough knowledge of language arts and the Orton-Gillingham (OG) Approach. Her expectations were conveyed to my daughter Katelyn and to us as parents. Katelyn has responded well to those expectations and we have noticed an improvement in her reading and cursive writing. Jeaneen presented lessons clearly and assessed Katelyn accurately, fairly and consistently. Jeaneen’s dedication to teaching is shown in her commitment and passion to tutoring with the Orton-Gillingham Approach, and creating a positive learning environment.
It is important to have the Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach and people like Jeaneen who is dedicated, energetic and always striving for excellence from herself and from her students that she tutors.
Stacey K.
I have known Mrs. Jeaneen Jacobs for over five years in a professional capacity with Edmonton Public Schools and over twenty years in a personal capacity.
When I first met Jeaneen, she was a determined and inspired young professional who fiercely believed in educating and empowering children in our community. Working alongside Jeaneen, I have seen her become more and more passionate about improving her already excellent teaching strategies. She began noticing certain students would continue to struggle with reading and writing after receiving conventional instruction. Thus began her tireless journey of professional development.
Jeaneen has spent countless hours, summers and years studying the science of reading and writing through courses, programs, lectures and books. I have never met anyone so devout in researching the complexities of teaching struggling students to read and write.
It is my honour and privilege to advocate for Jeaneen for any professional teaching position, especially as a remarkable interventionist in reading and writing. I would not hesitate to recommend her to parents to support their children as a therapeutic teacher of the Orton-Gillingham approach.