Our founder, Irene Daria, is the author of the Steps to Reading workbook series and of I Didn't Believe Him, a best-selling memoir detailing her son's struggle with ineffective reading instruction at a prestigious Manhattan public school. A prominent voice in education and advocacy, her work emphasizes the flaws in many modern reading programs and offers insights into how children actually learn to read.
In 2005, as a doctoral candidate in developmental psychology, Dr. Daria realized many NYC children—including her own son—were not being taught how to read in school. Instead of being taught how to sound out words, they were taught to guess what the words could be by looking at the pictures, by using context clues, and—only if they were really stumped—by looking at just the first letter in a word.
NYC changed its reading curriculum in 2025, and Dr. Daria expected fewer students to struggle with reading. Much to her surprise, the number of students turning to her for help has INCREASED even though the new curricula do teach phonics. That’s because some mistakes from the earlier curriculum are still being made in schools. Among them is the fact that most schools teach phonics separately from reading and teach it much too quickly, without giving children enough tools and practice to reinforce each sounding-out rule. Because parents are now more tuned-in to the fact that many schools failed chidlren terribly, more are reaching out for help.
“I see little first graders who can recite all the phonics rules,” says Dr. Daria. “They even use technical terms like `r-controlled vowels.’ That seems impressive at first, but these little ones are struggling with reading because they don’t apply those rules when they read. They can recite them but have not had a chance to really master them. This causes them to have to guess what the words are, and they start to say they hate reading. This is completely unnecessary, and we make them feel better about reading from their very first lesson with us.”
Dr. Daria will assess your child to determine exactly what he knows and what he needs to learn. You will see this firsthand since we encourage you to sit in on the assessment. An individual lesson plan will then be established. Starting exactly where they need to, children are taught phonics systematically, with each step building on the one that came before. They also learn sight words in order of frequency of use. They get lots of fun worksheets to practice and reinforce each lesson, as well as phonics board games, phonics Bingo, online activities, and little decodable books to read from the very start of their lessons. These books are very important since they help children apply what they have learned and is the place she sees most schools fall short.
Children enrolled with us learn to read so quickly, and so well, that the discriminating moms on Urban Baby called us "the best phonics program in the city." Part of our success lies in the fact that kids LOVE their lessons with us. Many have reported that we are their favorite after-school activity, and they ask to come even in the summer. That’s because we make the process fun and also because kids are very aware of the progress they are making. They feel great about themselves and about reading. What more could a parent ask for?
What Our Clients Say About Us
With these books, anyone can teach a child to read!
Our renowned reading lessons are now available in these workbooks for parents to use at home.
"Irene is truly remarkable at teaching children how to read. For some children, learning to read can be harder than it appears to be for their peers. This was the case for my daughter. Irene not only took the anxiety away from the experience of learning to read, but she made it genuinely fun and totally stress free. And the confidence it gave my daughter is something that remains with her years later! I feel so fortunate that I discovered her for my children."
-- Kate Winslet, actress
“It was such a pleasure to meet you last week. My son and I went to Barnes & Noble and bought lots of books and the reading DVDs you recommended. He and his sister watched the DVDs to and from the Hamptons and loved them. We worked on recognizing the early sight words like `the.' Last night, at bedtime, we pulled out one of the little phonics books you recommended and, well, my son was a superstar. He looked at me and said, `Mom! I can read!’ He was so excited and I was so proud. THANK YOU for already making a difference!”
--Upper East Side mom of two children in private school
"We wanted to let you know how much we appreciate your support and insight into helping our son. He's improved so much because of the exceptionally good job you and your tutor did with him. He's reading an hour or two before bed almost every night now, and his teacher says he writes easily and at length without prodding. More importantly, she noted that he made connections that were thoughtful and showed insight and understanding of the subject matter. His vocabulary is through the roof and his reading comprehension is also very strong. This nearly brought me to tears! Such a long way he has come."
--Parent at Hunter Elementary School