My son, who is now a rising 7th grader, has been working with Lara for just about a year, and we have seen such dramatic improvements in his ability both as a reader and writer. I feel so lucky to have found Lara. There is no struggle in getting my son to engage in his sessions with her, and his progress has been significant. I know the gains that my son has made this year are due to her efforts working with him through a research-based approach to overcoming dyslexia. Her approach is multi-dimensional and focused on long-term improvement, not short-term wins. Lara is a well-trained specialist, and she took the time to really assess my son's needs before coming up with a strategy or engaging in any tutoring sessions. She was honest and direct with me in what she thought he needed to be successful, and she was a wealth of information on resources that we could access outside of the tutoring environment as well. I wanted a tutor who would be rigorous and compassionate, focused and flexible, and Lara is all that and more!

Katie, Centreville Parent

I can't say enough about Mrs. Booher. She is kind and patient and truly an expert at what she does. Almost two years ago, when my son started with her, I was in a state of panic over his spelling and reading. My son hated school and had become very self-conscious. In the second grade, he struggled with common first and second-grade sight words, letter sounds, and blends, and was reading at a beginning first-grade level. In our first meeting with Lara, she tested and evaluated him, and we came up with a plan to get him reading and spelling. Mrs. Booher knew how to work with his abilities. Using her knowledge as an expert in dyslexia, she designed a specialized reading and spelling approach for him. Almost two years later, my son is an entirely different student. He ended the 3rd-grade with a fantastic report card and is reading on his own and will enter the 4th grade confident and on track. I can say confidently that this outcome would not have been possible without Mrs. Booher. 

Jolie, Oakton Parent

We have been seeing Ms.Lara for the past two years and are very happy and satisfied with the progress our son has been making in reading. Ms.Lara is extremely patient, friendly, and a great teacher. When we started with Ms.Lara, our son had trouble with decoding, fluency, and comprehension. Our son’s sessions focus on his areas of challenge, and her strategies have helped our son greatly improve his skills. Her style makes him feel relaxed and helps him focus and engage in the session without getting distracted. She picks a variety of reading topics that make the sessions so much fun and enjoyable that he looks forward for his reading session eagerly. As parents, we have learned a ton of valuable information from Ms.Lara. We are so grateful and cannot thank her enough for all the support. We would absolutely recommend her to any parent who are seeking to improve and enrich their kid’s reading and writing skills.

Sravanthi, Chantilly Parent

Lara has been working with my daughter since July 2018. I had suspected underlying struggles with reading which my daughter had been able to mask.  As a teacher in an FCPS school, I had reading specialists I could consult for recommendations on tutors for my 5th grader. The specialists recommended Lara.  Lara was able to immediately identify several fundamental areas of weakness in reading, which had gone unidentified for years.  Lara has been working with my daughter on a weekly basis targeting the areas in reading that she needs improvement in. Not only does she bring to the table her expertise as a classroom teacher and a reading teacher, but she is participating in professional development on Dyslexia.  Lara has utilized her expertise gained through this course to implement research-based intervention program for my 5th grader.  I am immensely grateful for Lara’s calm demeanor and flexibility in working with my daughter.  My 5th grader struggles with new situations and adults.  Lara has been patient in dealing with my daughter’s anxieties.  Her flexibility has allowed my 5th grader to consistently receive her reading intervention, resulting in improvements in reading and writing, and more importantly gaining self-confidence.

Nicole, Oakton Parent

Our son never loved reading, but we didn’t think much of it until he scored below average on his 1st grade DRA assessment.  We were lucky enough to be referred to Lara and she started working with our son on a weekly basis.  Lara is patient and supportive and has really helped our son build his confidence level.  Within months, our son was able to catch up with the rest of his class.  Not only is our son a stronger reader and writer, but he is also enjoying learning.  Now that our son is caught up to his peers, Lara is providing enrichment support to help him stay on track and even get ahead!

Connie, Centreville Parent

My boys had tried Kumon previously and were unhappy with that format. They dreaded doing the repetitive printed material and disliked going to the sessions. I found Lara from searching the FCPS website and her credentials were what drew me to her. Since she has been working with the boys, they are enjoying learning how to become better readers and writers. Lara is a very compassionate, thoughtful, and encouraging teacher. She is creative and incorporates different materials in order for my boys to have fun while learning. She genuinely cares that my boys are learning and enjoying their learning sessions. She is also generous with advice for how to help my boys outside the classroom. I am extremely happy with Lara and our family is thankful to her for all she’s done for our boys. We would recommend her to anyone and everyone!

Esther, Chantilly Parent

My son struggled with reading in kindergarten, leaving him feeling confused and frustrated at school. His teachers approached me about providing him additional help. I found Lara through a referral from Fairfax County, and he started seeing her once a week.  He has experienced dramatic improvements, and now he is thriving in first grade.  He is reading above level, and has become confident in his reading skills.  He is even excited to read to me at night!! I truly appreciate Lara’s collaborative approach, which provides me with guidance, insight, and materials to use at home. I’ve referred my friends to Lara, and I highly recommend her to other parents who want an expert to help develop and advance their child’s reading skills.

Anne, Fairfax Parent

My child, who excelled in school during early elementary classes, became sick one day, which left her disabled. She was homebound for few months. During the course of the school year her endurance was low and struggled to read. She stayed away from reading and cried when asked to. According to her class teacher, her reading was like night and day. Obviously her reading went below grade level and I knew she needed help outside of school. I believe in miracles, I was thinking of finding a tutor and that is when I chanced upon Ms. Lara’s profile. When I saw Ms. Lara’s credentials, I knew “she is the one”. When she agreed she would tutor even though her schedule was full, I felt as if she was godsend. Ms. Lara’s guidance helped build my child’s confidence level back, within few months into tutoring my child was reading at grade level and is continuing to grow. My child showed enthusiasm in exploring English language through the materials Lara provided. We are thankful to Ms. Lara for all the support and guidance she has given my child to be successful as a person and in school.

Sindhu, Fairfax Parent