Meet Pauline Novak
Pauline Novak is a licensed Dyslexia Therapist and a Certified Academic Language Therapist, C.A.L.T., certified in Sequential English Education at the therapy level for the remediation of language disorders. She holds a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and a Masters of Art in Teaching (MAT) and is the President of the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA), Virginia Chapter.
She has spent the past 30 years as a Montessorian, and specializes in addressing the needs of students with learning differences. She is an American Montessori Society, AMS, certified teacher at both the Early Childhood and Elementary levels.
She was most recently the Montessori Learning Specialist at the Montessori School of Northern Virginia (MSNV) and a former board member of the American Montessori Society.
Pauline is an International Montessori Early Childhood trainer and also served as the Co-Director of Shelton Montessori Training Center for four years, training and coordinating the educational progress of aspiring new Montessori teachers in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
While at the June Shelton School, the largest independent school worldwide for intelligent students with learning differences, she was also a presenter for Montessori as Applied to Children at Risk, MACAR, presenting to Montessori schools around the nation. The goal of these workshops was to understand the specific needs of children diagnosed with Learning Differences and provide specific strategies for matching the Montessori educational method to those needs. She has also led workshop presentations on a variety of other Montessori topics.
At a Glance
Experience
30 Year Montessorian
Past AMS Board Member
Formerly Montessori Learning Specialist at MSNV
Previously Co-Director of Shelton Montessori Training
Education & Certifications
M.Ed. in Educational Leadership
Master of Arts in Teaching
AMS Certified
Early Childhood
Elementary I
Licensed Dyslexia Therapist
Certified Academic Language Therapist (C.A.L.T.)
Certified in Sequential English Education
Certified in Shelton Academic Language Approach
As a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT), Pauline is:
Clinically Diagnostic and Prescriptive
Certified Academic Language Therapists (CALT) review comprehensive evaluation reports and academic samples, then administer academic skills assessments for baseline documentation. Throughout Multisensory Structured Language therapy sessions, student performance informs diagnostic and prescriptive intervention to create a high level of accuracy, fluency, and understanding for independence in written language skills.
Skilled in Multisensory Structured Language
Certified Academic Language Therapists integrate visual, auditory, and motor processing with explicit understanding of the structure of the English language, which provides a solid foundation in written language skills.
Intensive
Certified Academic Language Therapists provide expert, skilled one-to-one or small-group intervention, with high frequency over a sustained period of time, which links explicit understanding, repeated practice and performance to develop accurate and fluent reading with comprehension.
Results Driven
Certified Academic Language Therapists enable explicit understanding and application of the structure of the English language (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and orthography), to create the foundation for age-appropriate oral and written language, including reading accuracy, fluency and comprehension, spelling, and written expression.
Children in a Montessori pre-school program who indicate delays in coordination, language, attention and/or perception are at risk for learning disabilities. Students in the elementary program or beyond who have difficulties with reading, decoding, spelling and written expression are showing the characteristics of dyslexia. Those who demonstrate challenges in comprehension, math, attention, social skills, and oral and written languages are indicating the characteristics of a related disorder.
Definition of a Language Learning Difference:
A language-learning different child shall be defined as a child with average or above-average intelligence, with adequate vision and hearing, without primary emotional disturbance who has failed or is at high risk to fail when exposed to school experiences using conventional educational techniques. Language- learning differences include, but not exclusively, (1) dyslexia, (2) attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity, (3) dysgraphia and (4) dysphasia or a combination of these differences.
What are Learning Differences?
More parents with at risk children seek out the individualization of the Montessori school, so Montessori schools need to be prepared to best assist LD children. Knowing the characteristics and special needs helps educators match the Montessori lessons to the specific abilities and learning differences of the student.
Why understand LD?
Montessori Coaching for Learning Differences, MCLD, was created to give specialized assistance and support to children, parents, family members, teachers, and caregivers of children with learning differences. This includes providing insight into the child with learning differences, and offering specific tools that empower both teachers and students alike.
