Learning Support Teacher Katie Barnett loves breaking units of language down into their smallest components, examining them for the information they can yield.  Then, with the heart of a devoted teacher, she shares her fascination with students, giving them tools for greater success with encoding (spelling), decoding (reading the words on a page), and fluency.  She says, “Mastering these skills helps all students dive more into understanding text and into considering its deeper meaning. It is particularly helpful to students with learning differences,” she explains, because it enables them to participate unencumbered in the full range of language arts subject matter. 

Before coming to Green Hedges, Mrs. Barnett has held positions as Reading Teacher, Lead Teacher, and Special Education Department Chair in public and private schools in Virginia and California.  She earned a B.A in Speech Communication from Miami University, Ohio, an M. Ed. Degree in Special Education from George Mason University, and has received postgraduate licensing and certification in several aspects of education.  She credits her extensive training and certification from the Orton-Gillingham Academy for many of the techniques and linguistic strategies that she shares with students.

Mrs. Barnett and her family value Green Hedges as a school that combines academic rigor with, she says, “embracing the whole child, celebrating the different strengths of each one.”  Her daughter is a Green Hedges student.  In her free time, Mrs. Barnett loves to play card and board games, read, cook, and attend her children’s sports events. Moxie and Maggie, the dogs, keep the family entertained with their antics.