Shop Talk: Kate & Todd Novak

What is NOLA Learning Support?  NOLA Learning Support is a private educational therapy practice on Oak Street. We provide academic support and remediation for students from kindergarten through college, and our specialty is working with students who have dyslexia and other mild to moderate learning differences. With myself (Kate) being the only educational therapist in Louisiana, we’ve found that there’s a great need for students who don’t necessarily qualify for special education services in their schools. Our dyslexia support is Orton-Gillingham based.

What are your responsibilities with NOLA Learning Support?  As a husband-and-wife team, we’re the principals of our business and have recently hired two former teachers to help us with providing support for students.

What services does NOLA Learning Support provide?  We partner with our students’ parents, teachers and specialists to develop confidence and skills. I (Kate) have graduate-level training in academic assessment and remediation for monitoring student progress in the areas of reading, writing and spelling, while my husband has 18 years of experience as a high school English teacher and administrator. We develop remediation plans – from assessments and observations to learning support appointments – six days a week. For older students in middle school and above, we provide remediation within the work that they’ve been assigned at school.

How have you adapted your education services to remote learning?  Since March, we have held our consultations, assessments and appointments on Zoom. It has been an easy transition and we’re equipped with all of our materials to work online with students.

Is there anything else you’d like us to know about yourselves or NOLA Learning Support?  My husband Todd and I have two dyslexic children who now attend Tulane University. We are very passionate about helping families through some of the same challenges we faced with our own children. Having met when we were 16 years old in prep school, our children followed in our footsteps, both attending New England prep schools. This year we’ll be adding a new consultation service for families interested in boarding school. For more information on educational therapy, please visit the Association of Educational Therapists, AETOnline.org.

NOLA Learning Support, 8131 Oak St., No. 100, 919-1833, NolaLearningSupport.com

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