Micah was an amazing teacher and tutor to our daughter. What sets Micah apart from other teachers was her ability to quickly assess and determine the bigger levers for facilitating my daughter’s writing ability. She is also incredibly warm, kind and thoughtful in the process. Our daughter learned so much from Micah because she felt cared for, challenged and connected!

Micah is a thoughtful and caring Orton -Gillingham Tutor. In addition to her knowledge of skills and strategies , she also has a comprehensive knowledge of the English language as it pertains to teaching writing and reading. Micah’s experience with students from various backgrounds and ages gives her the compassion and empathy to support them, whether they are learning fundamental decoding and encoding skills, or the structure of English for improved reading comprehension and writing. The students she works with also benefit from her extensive historical and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion knowledge.

I was so lucky to work with Micah at The Carroll School! Micah and I broke down challenging history texts so that students with different reading levels could access them. We adapted readings to include accessible vocabulary and simple sentence structures. In addition, we paired those articles with multisensory activities that reinforced essential terms for each unit. Micah ensured all students received the same, high-quality content, but in texts that they could read with less teacher support. I loved working with her and always felt I was learning something new!

I had the opportunity to work with Micah while I was teaching middle school US History. Although I had taught for years before, teaching History was a newer endeavor. Fortunately, I could always turn to Micah to guide and support me during this time--whether it was to talk me through a new lesson plan, share additional resources and materials, or simply to provide emotional support. I was in awe of all the work that she did to make the school a more inclusive and empathetic community. Micah developed a school-wide curriculum rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through the "Foundations for Brave Conversations," she was able to create an essential space for students and faculty to discuss important, controversial topics in an accessible way. At the grade level, Micah put extensive thought and time into revamping the grade's History curriculum so that students would be able to learn about the perspectives of people who have not been highlighted within the dominated narrative. Through the curriculum work that she did, students were challenged to think critically about History and the perspectives in which the narrative is told. Micah also tailored the curriculum and her teaching to support each student. She integrated multisensory, skill-based, and social/emotional methods into her instruction. Micah is a thoughtful and passionate educator, and I am glad to have learned so much from her!

Micah worked diligently during her Orton-Gillingham training to master the teaching principles of OG and demonstrates this expertise throughout her lessons. As her primary instructor and supervisor, I observed her ability to grow professionally and to become a diagnostic/prescriptive teacher. Micah’s command of the structure of language and her goal oriented teaching enabled her to develop well-constructed lesson plans that were carefully designed to meet the individual needs of each of her students. Her well designed lessons included phonemic & morphological awareness practice, decoding instruction, as well as, vocabulary development and comprehension exercises. In addition, she used her creative talents to enhance her lessons with activities and visuals that allowed her students to maximize their visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. Micah is masterful in her understanding of each of her student's learning styles and to work with them to build both skills and confidence.

Dr. Wittmer is a brilliant educator whose expertise is invaluable. Her ability to view curriculum and make recommendations through both DEI and language based learning differences lenses is fantastic. Thanks to her expertise and guidance we were able to improve our instructional practices and curriculum design not just within the classroom, but the greater school community as a whole. Staff, and most importantly students benefited greatly from her skills and expertise. I greatly value and appreciate the time I had to work and learn along side her. Speaking on a personal level, I am a much improved educator thanks to my time working with her and I will consistently refer back to what I have learned from her in my day to day design and instruction.