Setting the standard for professional tutoring.
As both a credentialed teacher AND a credentialed Reading Specialist, I provide an expert level of teaching. I am the only instructor your child will work with so you are always guaranteed the highest level of instruction. With over 34 years of teaching experience, I am able to effectively work with a very diverse demographic of learners.
Reading/Language Arts
Melinda Pina provides direct reading intervention to students and adapts instructional routines and strategies to provide direct specialized reading instruction to students with reading difficulties, including monitoring, and adjusting intervention instruction. All
areas of Language Arts are covered during tutoring sessions. Some of the areas of focus include phonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency, writing, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling.
Math
Tutoring sessions also focus on math concepts, according to grade level
standards. Some of the areas of math instruction include building number sense,computation, critical thinking, and strategies to attack word problems.
Professional Development
Melinda has created and delivered school and district wide professional development in many areas including oral reading fluency, spelling, comprehension, vocabulary, student engagement, phonics, and phonemic awareness.
Her audiences include administrators, teachers, instructional coaches, paraprofessionals, and parents.
Consulting
Melinda works with school districts to support administrators and teachers in providing specialized services. As a credentialed Reading Specialist, she works with district staff and parents to create appropriate IEP goals. Her consultation services also include working with individual students who require specific reading and math instruction that is aligned to the student’s IEP.
Special Needs
At Piña Reading Academy, we provide individualized support for neurodivergent learners, including individuals with Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, and other learning differences. Our services focus on building functional literacy for safety and independence—such as recognizing important signs, reading community words, understanding personal information, and following written directions.
We also support daily living skills, including routines, organization, communication, and self-management strategies that help clients participate more confidently in home, school, and community settings. In addition, we offer life skills development in areas such as money awareness, time management, problem-solving, and social-emotional understanding.
Our approach is centered on skill-building, functional independence, and meaningful progress, ensuring that each student receives professional, compassionate, and developmentally appropriate instruction tailored to their unique strengths and needs.