About Us
WHO WE ARE
The Reading Room, tutoring service Plantation Florida, has been in business since 2018. Dr. Cynthia Januszka established the business due to the increased need for reading help among elementary students. Dr. Januszka first started out as a K/1 teacher in public and private Montessori schools in south Florida. Through this Montessori training she saw the power in hands-on lessons and how far children can progress when they are interested in a topic. Then she moved on to teaching in public, inner city magnet schools, while getting a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. After several years in the elementary setting, she went back to school to get a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction. There she learned research proven ways to positively impact instructional methods. Dr. Januszka taught for several years graduate and undergraduate education classes, sharing with teachers the best ways to impact student achievement.
Through all of these experiences Dr. Januzka was able to create an individualized and caring approach to tutoring. The same year The Reading Room started, the Step Up scholarship was funded by the State of Florida to give $500 Reading Scholarships to struggling students. The Reading Room immediately applied and was approved to be a vendor for the Step Up scholarship, thereby enabling families of all income levels to get free tutoring. Many success stories ensued with students making two year gains in as little time as five months, others being accepted to their high schools or colleges of choice, and former nonreaders picking up books to read in their free time. These results coupled with free tutoring are why families love our tutoring service Plantation Florida.
Dr. Januszka started as the main tutor and then began training tutors and adding them to her business. Tutors are all education professionals who have been taught the best methods to reach children with learning differences. The outstanding faculty for the tutoring service Plantation Florida include:
WHAT WE DO
Our Students
Current students range from 3 years old to seniors in high school. Some have documented learning differences like dyslexia, ADHD, and autism. They may have a hard time understanding concepts based on traditional or online teaching methods. We present the material in other ways that can be better understood by these students.
Some students may be falling behind in the classroom or failing their reading subject. Individual tutoring helps these students increase their reading proficiency resulting in improved grades in school
There are students that fall into the ESOL category (English for Speakers of Other Languages), while others are great readers whose parents just want them to be even better.
Note: Not all of our tutoring service Plantation Florida students are struggling readers.
Join Our Team
MEET THE TEAM
Dr. Cynthia Januszka
CEO
My passion for teaching reading and helping children led me to start The Reading Room. As a former elementary school teacher, I saw that there were always students who struggled and it was hard to bring them up with the large classroom sizes. I started this business to meet the needs of those students. I have over thirty years of experience teaching in South Florida K-12 schools as well as with undergraduate and graduate students at the university level. My degrees include a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. As a literacy professor at FIU, I have taught college students the best methods to teach literacy and I use that same skill set to train my tutors.
In addition, I have conducted and presented educational research at local, national, and international conferences. My writings have appeared in such periodicals as the Journal of Research in Childhood Education and the Kappa Delta Pi Record. I have also served as a book, scholarship, and manuscript reviewer for several academic journals. As a parent and business owner of a tutoring service Plantation Florida, I have served on many educational boards such as the FAU alumni board, local School Advisory Councils and PTAs.
Ms. Lair
Hello, my name is Athena. I am a certified ELA teacher with a Bachelor’s in English Literature (concentration in British Literature) from Florida Atlantic University.
I taught 5th and 8th grade ELA with a focus on literature, grammar, vocabulary, and writing. My goal is to foster a lifelong love for learning while guiding each student toward their own academic success.
Mr. Steve
Hi, my name is Stephen Dailing and I have been with The Reading Room, an exceptional tutoring service Plantation Florida, for two years now. A long time Plantation resident, I was educated in the Broward County Public Schools and at the University of Florida where I received my BA in history.
I cover the subjects of English, both grammar and comprehension, all of the social sciences, and most life and physical sciences. I have taught ESL and had a long career in banking, where I performed a number of different functions, including trainer. I also teach catechism at St. Gregory Church in Plantation and volunteer with the Friends of the Helen B. Hoffman Library, assisting with their book sale.
My style of teaching is to learn as much as I can about my students, and then adjust my approach according to their needs, methods of learning and interests. I spend the necessary time to plan effective lessons. I’m a story teller!
Ms. Emilia
I graduated from the University of Florida in 2017 with state certifications in Elementary, Math, and Spanish education.Before working as a full-time teacher, I worked as a reading interventionist for 3rd through 6th grade for a Florida Charter school. I also helped as a teaching assistant for a Montessori private school where I got to experience teaching in an environment that promotes independent learning. Then I moved on to work with a Broward County Charter school as an elementary and middle school teacher for Math, Science, and Reading. Rewarding students throughout a lesson for working hard is my way of promoting learning.
Ms. Donna
With a Masters of Arts in Teaching English and Journalism in Secondary Education from the University of Pittsburgh, I taught in public and private schools in PA and FL.
A subsequent Master of English from Florida Atlantic University qualified me to teach as an Adjunct Instructor at Broward College and Nova Southeastern University. I am a Lifetime member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.
Mr D.
I have been working with the Palm Beach County School District for the past 26 years. My educational background includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communication from Saint Joseph’s College and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from St. John’s University.
The following quote epitomizes how I feel about books:
“Books are the plane, the train, and the road. They are the destination and the journey. They are home.”