Stefanie Waite, M.Ed.
Learning Specialist
Practice Philosophy
Stefanie has twenty-five years of experience as a teacher and an evaluator of children, adolescents, and adults. She designs and delivers instruction as well as performs evaluations for clients of all ages, specializing in identifying dyslexia, dysgraphia, language-based learning disorders, and giftedness. In her work teaching children who struggle with reading and written language, she uses a strengths-based approach to address individual learning needs and employs evidence-based best practices that are multi-sensory, structured, systematic, cumulative, and explicit.
Experience
Currently self-employed, Stefanie previously worked at the Stern Center for Language and Learning, where she held a variety of roles over 23 years, including Instructor, Educational Diagnostician, Director of Instruction, Director of Evaluations, Director of Communications and Marketing, and Professional Learning Director. She performed more than 850 evaluations and presented locally and nationally on topics related to phonology, reading instruction, written language, pragmatic language and study skills.
Training
Prior to joining the Stern Center, Stefanie was trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach and taught English and Social Cognition at a private high school for students with significant learning disabilities. She has pursued extensive professional learning on topics related to oral language development, literacy, dyslexia, dysgraphia, nonverbal learning disorders, executive functioning, attention, and gifted learners.
Education
Stefanie holds a Master of Education degree from St. Michael’s College and a bachelor's degree in English from St. Anselm College. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in Education from Concordia University but is on leave during the pandemic to focus on the educational needs of her three children while running her own private educational consulting practice.