PINE STATE
LEARNING

Part Time Tutoring

Individualized remediation for reading, spelling, comprehension, writing, and math. The question that matters most is why a child is struggling, because the answer determines what kind of instruction will help.

How we start

Reading, writing, and math difficulties rarely have a single cause, and they rarely respond to a single approach. A child who cannot sound out words has a different underlying profile than a child who can decode but does not remember what they read.

Every student begins with a skills assessment. We look at the sub-skills in each academic domain, including phonological awareness, orthographic processing, rapid naming, number sense, and working memory, and compile the results into a learning map. Those results determine which methodology to use, shape the individualized learning plan, and set the goals for instruction.

See a sample skills assessment (redacted) →

How instruction runs

One-on-one, following an explicit teaching model. We demonstrates, the student practices in multisensory modalities with support, then independently. Instruction is targeted and explicit, with manipulative tools and visual supports appropriate to the content and student, and each lesson is scaffolded from easier to more difficult tasks.

We report progress every quarter, or 20 hours of instruction (whichever is more frequent). Parent updates track where the student is in the curriculum, what they have mastered, what they are working on, and what comes next.

See a sample parent update (redacted) →

Research-validated methods, matched to the profile

Different learning profiles require different interventions. Our clinicians are trained in multiple evidence-based programs and draw from one, or combinations, that fits each student's profile and pre assessment data.

Reading and spelling
Seeing Stars® and LiPS® (Lindamood-Bell), Orton-Gillingham, and Visualizing and Verbalizing®. Each targets a distinct part of the reading system: symbol imagery, phonological awareness, morphological knowledge, or language comprehension.
Math
Morningside Math builds computational fluency through precision teaching; On Cloud Nine® (Lindamood-Bell) develops the conceptual imagery underlying number sense. Math-U-See helps older learners earn credit while getting support.
Writing
Landmark School's "From Talking to Writing" provides structured, direct instruction in grammar, sentence construction, and paragraph organization; The Writing Revolution works on higher-level skills. Writing is integrated with reading and spelling work, because encoding develops alongside decoding.

Two schedules

Part Time Tutoring
A steadier pace for students who need consistent support alongside their regular school day. We meet with students a minimum of twice per week. 
Ask about part time tutoring
Daily Intensive Instruction
For students more than two years behind grade level: daily sessions of at least 90 minutes. Higher-frequency instruction closes learning gaps quickly, so students get the skills they need and get on with their lives. It is what we offer at our Summer LEAP program; during the school year we call it intensive instruction.
About intensive instruction

Start with a free 15-minute consultation.

A quick conversation helps us hear your concerns and guide you to the next steps. We will get you set up to start tutoring, an independent academic evaluation, or a home learning kit, or send you to the professionals who can help if we cannot.

Book a free 15-minute consult
207.426.4267 lisa.murphy@pinestatelearning.com
Our Commitment to Equity

We are committed to working against the way that racial and socioeconomic privilege manifests itself in the identification and remediation of learning disabilities.

We do what we can by offering need based scholarships, doing pro-bono consultation for families with economic needs, providing services in some of Maine's lowest resource schools, and working with educational advocates on the toughest cases to help ALL students get what they need.