Bio:   I am the founder of Firm Foundations Academy located in Ephrata, PA. Firm Foundations is a classical hybrid k-12 school that works with homeschool families to structure their at home education. I am currently serving as the Director of Special Education.

Bio:   Betty Jo Russell is a dedicated and highly qualified educational therapist and board certified cognitive specialist. As a mother of two children who learn differently, she understands the challenges families face. Driven by her commitment to find the best resources for her kids, she earned her master’s in education. She continued her training, becoming a Professional Certified Educational Therapist (PCET), a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist (SLDS), and a Board Certified Cognitive Specialist with extensive training in the Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment (FIE) program. She is passionate about equipping parents with tailored strategies to support their children’s cognitive development and literacy, fostering a love for learning in every child.

Bio:   Ruth has been involved in education throughout her career. As a parent, Ruth searched for educational support services that provided a holistic approach. She searched for interventions to empower her children to become lifelong, competent, and confident learners. This left her empty-handed and discouraged, unable to find services and supports that were research-based and reliable. Then she discovered the National Institute of Learning Development’s (NILD) Educational Therapy. With a desire to provide what her children needed and seeing the unmet needs of other students, she pursued licensure to assist struggling individuals with research-based best practices, with maximum impact to overcome learning challenges. Her desire to assist her children in their learning transformed into a skill set that many students need. Often, students with learning difficulties and disabilities have to learn to cope with their learning problems for the rest of their lives. However, research now proves that the brain can be retrained, and in many cases, learning difficulties and disabilities can be overcome. Ruth’s greatest desire is for her students to have the opportunity to learn how to learn, to learn without labels or limits, and to empower them through proven and powerful techniques that increase their ability to think and reason, not just in the classroom but in life. She desires that her students not define themselves by what they cannot do but see themselves as individuals with Limitless Learning abilities. Ruth has a Bachelor’s of Education, Health, and Human Sciences from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee. Ruth completed her licensure as an Educational Therapist through the National Institute for Learning Development (NILD). The International Dyslexia Association accredits NILD. Throughout her academic career, she pursued education with a focus on counseling, mental health, psychology, case management, and reading education, with advanced study in the areas of Human Behavior, Social Work Research, Evaluation Research, and Advanced Research Methods and Techniques.