Here at The Literacy Academy (TLA), our goal is to be the model for superior instruction and sound educational theory. We pride ourselves on a modern and dynamic instructional technique, and hands-on learning activities for our students. This is our promise to all of our clients—and our challenge to ourselves!

Over the last five years, the teachers at TLA have gained a reputation for instructional excellence throughout the lower Fairfield County community. We’re professional literacy specialists with years of experience teaching reading and composition to adolescents and young adults. We’re particularly known for our intensive, one-on-one college preparation services, which help students of all abilities achieve their best scores on the College Board exams’ reading and writing sections. Our students have been admitted to top schools such as Tufts, Georgetown, Boston College, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Stanford and Brown, to name a few. Many students for whom college hadn’t appeared an option previously are now college bound—something we’re very proud of! Check out our Testimonials to see what families have said about our services over the years.)

TLA takes pride in an environment that’s uniquely conducive to learning. To foster the highest level of consistency possible, all instruction is given on a one-on-one basis— always with the same teacher, day and time. In addition, all classes are a full hour and fifteen minutes long—encouraging the maximum opportunity for learning per session.

Because many students spend most of their days behind desks, our learning center is designed to resemble more of a relaxed home environment than a classroom. With its couches and coffee table, our reading center offers a “book club” environment—while our writing center has a spacious table, comfortable chairs and enough room for each student to use a laptop computer and writing notebook simultaneously. The classroom has plenty of natural lighting and carpeting, heating in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer.

TLA’s wireless notebook computer lab is equipped with the necessary software to conduct research and produce publishable written pieces. For maximum productivity, each student has a laptop and enjoys access to a color laser printer, digital camera, digital mini camcorder, LCD projector, and reading/writing/presentation/web software. Students can start and finish projects right here in the classroom, or work on projects between the classroom and their homes. Our software is Mac- and PC-compatible.

It’s easy to enroll your child in one or several courses at TLA (see scheduling info). First, determine whether your child needs reading instruction, writing instruction, or both. Then, contact us via email or phone. We’ll ask you questions to help you determine your child’s learning level, develop a personalized study course for your child and him or her in a one-on-one relationship with one of our certified instructors (who hold Master's degrees in education). During your child’s first visit, we’ll evaluate his or her reading and writing performance to make sure that the correct learning plan has been implemented. Your child will enjoy all of the personal and professional attention he or she needs to succeed as a reader or a writer—and you’ll enjoy frequent feedback and progress updates from the instructor.