Meet The Tutors

Mary Jennifer Payne brings nearly 25 years of experience teaching students with a variety of learning disabilities – including dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia and ADHD – to her tutoring. After starting her teaching career in Southeast London, she returned to Canada to teach in the Toronto community of Regent Park, where she spent nearly two decades mainly in Special Education. A strong advocate for inclusion and equity, she carefully tailors each student’s program to reflect that individual’s strengths and needs and ensures that culturally-responsive and relevant resources are used. She utilizes the Barton Reading and Spelling Program and the Nessy Learning Programme, both of which are Orton-Gillingham based, as the foundation of her approach to supporting students with dyslexia.

Mary Jennifer also uses Foundations In Sounds which helps with auditory discrimination, auditory memory size and auditory sequencing skills. Payne is available for tutoring as well as educational advocacy for families, especially those navigating the public school system.

Mary Jennifer is an internationally-published writer and the author of many children’s and YA books. Her work can be found in Orca Press’s new ultra-readable hi-lo series and their hi-lo Soundings series, as well as Rubicon Publishing’s award-winning Boldprint series. She strongly believes in the importance of student voice and is passionate about approaching special educational exceptionalities from an asset-based lens.​

Heidi Siebert is a OCT certified teacher with 22 years of experience with the Toronto District School Board. Heidi graduated with a BA from Dalhousie University and then taught English to both adults and children in Japan. She then graduated with a BEd from Mount Saint Vincent University before moving to Toronto in 2000.

She has worked in bookstores and has worked as a private ESL tutor. Most of Heidi’s career as a teacher has been working as a classroom teacher at the Primary and Junior level, however, she has also worked as a Resource and ESL teacher in many different grades. Heidi has travelled the world extensively and uses the knowledge she has gained to better understand other people and how we all learn differently. Heidi feels learning is an ongoing process and has taken courses in Reading, teaching ELLs as well as Special Education to help enhance her career. She looks forward to tutoring students and helping them to develop a love of conversational English as well as English reading and writing.

Naomi’s approach to teaching is student centered and supports the creation of a shared learning space that is inclusive. She is an educator who cares about the all-around learning experience of her students. This includes building positive working relationships and understanding their readiness to learn.

After graduating from York University with a BEd and BA in Sociology, Naomi traveled to Australia and taught in Sydney’s public schools as an elementary teacher. She has a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies and is an OTC certified teacher with qualifications in Primary/Junior Education and secondary school qualifications in Senior Social Science and Environmental Science. Her experience with students also includes one-to-one tutoring and classroom teaching in Toronto’s public elementary schools. 

Naomi is currently living and teaching in the UK, but is available for engaging, online sessions

Paula Quintana is an educator in Toronto, with a specialization in Early Years education. She graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Education (specialization Early Childhood Education). She also attended the University of Ottawa, where she earned a Masters of Education in Education Counselling.

Upon returning to Toronto she was hired by the Toronto District School Board where she has worked in various positions in the classroom, ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 6 including Special Education and Health and Physical Education. Over the past 5 years, she has been centrally assigned. One of her roles was in Numeracy and Literacy to support students in grades 6 to 8 in the transition to Secondary school.

Currently she is working as a Early Literacy Intervention Teacher with Students in Kindergarten to Grade 2. She has extensive knowledge in early reading development. Paula is a responsive educator and approaches teaching from a student centered stance.​

Since 2009, the majority of Sherr's career has been in Special Education, teaching learners with a variety of learning and behaviour difficulties. She has a Saskatchewan Professional A Teaching Certificate and is listed in the Public Registry of the Saskatchewan Professional Teachers Regulatory Board.

Tutoring with the Barton Reading & Spelling system, she specializes in structured literacy for students with dyslexia and other reading difficulties. Sherri has completed the required coursework at the Classroom Educator and Associate levels through Learn Literacy, an approved training agency of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. 

Additionally, Sherri is listed in the International Dyslexia Association's Professional Directory as a structured literacy tutor. She is also an accredited REGISTERED Instructor through the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW).

Hyejin Park has been teaching mathematics in the Korean and Canadian Public School systems since 2003. She now serves as a private math tutor and math consultant collaborating with teachers and parents to enhance math education.

Hyejin is skilled at connecting math concepts to practical, real-world scenarios, making math relevant for students. She excels at identifying areas where students need help and making new concepts easy to understand by relating them to what they already know. Hyejin prioritizes helping students understand the ‘why’ behind concepts, not just the ‘how’. She values making math enjoyable and accessible, and is dedicated to creating an engaging learning environment for her students. Seeing students succeed brings her great joy.

Sanmi completed her Masters degree in Civil Engineering from Mumbai University with being one of the top scorers of her batch. She is a Math enthusiast and has a keen interest in teaching and delivering her subject knowledge to students. Her experience with students includes classroom teaching in Dubai and one-on-one tutoring in Toronto. She has a very positive and patient approach to helping students master the subject. Her focus is to build student confidence when dealing with Math as a subject.

Cathy is currently a grade 1 and 2 French immersion teacher in Alberta. She has been a primary French immersion teacher for over 20 years. She recently finished her Master of Education with the University of British Columbia through the faculty of language and literacy where she strengthened her knowledge of best practices for teaching a second language and reading in French immersion. She is also Orton-Gillingham trained.

One of the things Cathy loves most about teaching primary students is the progress and excitement they show as they learn to read. She has worked with students with reading difficulties and dyslexia in the French Immersion context both in classroom settings as well as in small group settings providing interventions. She uses a Structured Literacy approach to teaching reading, with a focus on oral language comprehension in French to help her students learn to read.

Cecil is a passionate and dedicated educator based in Toronto, Ontario. With 18 years of experience as a French teacher in the Toronto District School Board, he is committed to helping students excel in their French language skills. Cecil’s expertise includes working with students at various levels, including those in French Immersion programs and those with limited understanding of French.

As a bilingual educator fluent in both English and French, Cecil leverages his skills to create engaging and effective lessons. He consistently explores strategies to further enrich his teaching practices.

Cecil integrates the Science of Reading into his teaching methods, emphasizing a structured literacy approach to help students develop strong foundational reading skills in French. He combines evidence-based practices with engaging activities to support oral language comprehension, phonics, and vocabulary, ensuring his students build confidence and fluency in reading.

Cecil is deeply invested in the success of his students whether in classroom settings or through one-on-one tutoring. He is particularly passionate about creative learning approaches which make French come alive for his students.

HandinHand Reading Owner

Expert Assessments: Our experienced team provides thorough dyslexia assessments, offering valuable insights into your child’s learning profile.

Empowering Workshops: Interactive sessions designed to help parents understand dyslexia, navigate the educational system, and support their child’s learning journey.

Professional Career:

• 2008 – Special Education Teacher

• 2017 – Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist

• 2018 – Certified Academic Language Specialist