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I have been a reading specialist at Rouses Point Elementary since 2007 except for one year when I taught kindergarten.  I am certified in both classroom teaching and literacy for birth through grade 6.   I like to make learning fun by playing a lot of games and encouraging students to read and listen to books they are interested in.  I allow any child at Rouses Point Elementary to borrow books from the reading room.  We have a wide variety of topics, genres, and levels to choose from!       

I am married and have three (adult) children. When I am not at work I enjoy spending time with family (including our two dogs, Nala and Skye), reading, working in the yard, and watching sports.   I am very much a homebody but I also like to travel to new places.  

After sixteen years, our district has moved away from a Balanced Literacy approach in K-2 to using instruction based on the Science of Reading.  This means we will no longer be using book levels during the early stages of reading.  Instead, we will focus on developing the ability to notice and manipulate sounds in words while both reading and writing.  We will choose materials that match our students' phonics skills until students have "cracked the code".  If you have questions about this change, or about anything related to reading or writing in the early grades, please reach out to your child's classroom teacher or to me at (518)297-7211; mbedard@nccscougar.org; or via Parent Square.

Best wishes for a fun and successful school year!