Inspiring Achievements

Celebrating Educators
Lori S. Katz, Learning Consultant
Sharp Elementary School—Cherry Hill, NJ

Years spent teaching students with severe autism, cognitive impairments, learning disabilities, and behavior issues helped Lori Katz understand the varying needs of struggling learners. Today, Lori is a learning consultant who is able to merge that experience with a strong desire to advocate for these students.

Now, with 33 years’ experience, including time spent studying with learning disability experts and master teachers, Lori finds that students who enjoy the most success not only have received excellent multisensory teaching in reading, but have developed an understanding of their personal strengths and weaknesses and have embraced their learning differences.

As a result, these students have learned to advocate for themselves in a variety of situations by knowing which strategies work best for them and how best to express their needs to teachers.

An example of this was evident with a student who arrived at Lori’s office with tears in her eyes. “She explained to me that she had ‘dyslexia’ and was concerned with what her friends would think.” Lori worked with the student over several months to help her learn about dyslexia. In addition, they spent time discussing her strengths, applauding her creative accomplishments, and developing strategies she could use in and out of school.

“Through this process, this student learned to advocate for herself by sharing with others that she has dyslexia. She now has the knowledge and confidence to work with her teachers and develop strategies to aid her success,” noted Lori.

Lori stresses that laying the foundation for strong self-esteem is crucial for those with learning disabilities, and with all of the changes in education she remains convinced that one element should never change. “These children need to feel good about their abilities. It’s my hope we never forget that in order to be successful, students not only need good teaching, but empowerment to stand up for themselves and their learning needs.”

	EPS began as the leading publisher of materials for students with dyslexia. Over the past 50 years, we’ve developed programs that support students with a wide variety of learning disabilities. Choose a subject from the left to learn more about these resources.