Tessa’s Testimonial

Tessa attended the Active Reading Clinic for seven months, from September 2000 until her graduation from the program in March 2001. Here she describes life before and after her time in our program.

“What is the point of school if it does not teach you how to read?,” I often wondered as a first grader. My classmates already seemed to be able to read chapter books while I still stumbled over my alphabet. My second grade teacher wanted me to stay back and my third grade teacher told my mother that I would never be able to attend college. In fifth grade my Mom enrolled me in the Active Reading Clinic and my path finally took a turn for the better. With the right kind of help I began to speedily catch up with my classmates, and at the end of the fifth grade I was at the reading level of a first month fifth grader.

I no longer feel pain in attending school, but pleasure in its place. I am able to learn and achieve my goals with determination. I maintained a 4.0 GPA in high school and now I am at UC Berkeley and doing well!.

- Tessa