About Us

Welcome. We're here to help.

The Literacy Centre is a privately run small business that prides itself on personal service, enhancing your child's literacy skills.  Ensuring the welfare of your child's learning and development has always, and will continue to be, the reason that I remain so passionate about my work. I aim to provide accessible psycho-educational services of literacy assessment and remedial intervention that meet the needs of today's working parents. 

 

The Story Behind What We Do and Why We Do It

Literacy is essential to learning in school and has an impact on an individual's later ability to participate in society.  Literacy, therefore, plays a fundamental role in the success of an individual's career aspirations and quality of life.  The increasing demands of today's world mean that individuals need to have a certain level of proficiency in reading and writing in order to participate fully in society.  This need is what drives my commitment to developing a community of strong, accomplished readers.   

 

As a remedial educator, I have experienced the joy of helping young children become successful readers and learners. Throughout this time, however, I have also witnessed firsthand the daunting effects poor reading skills have on young learners. I have learned through my experience that by assessing developing literacy skills during the preschool years, children at risk for reading failure can be identified early, remediated quickly, and placed back on the track of learning with confidence before entering first grade. As a result, it is my mission to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of early literacy development and assessment so that the futures of our children can be built upon feelings of success and wellbeing. I aim to use my years of experience in Early Childhood Education and teaching to develop a community of successful, confident learners.  

 

 

Candice Rymal-Wood

Candice is a Certified Teacher in the province of Ontario and has specialized her studies in Early Childhood Education and Literacy.  She is a Reading Specialist and has worked in a variety of clinical and educational settings over the past 20 years, including the District School Board of Niagara and Pearson Canada Assessment. Candice has worked as an educational associate with Dr Stephen Barker, for the past 15 years. She has extensive experience working with children with various special needs and she brings to the field an extensive background in linguistic study having worked for many years as a Communicative Disorders Assistant.

 

 

Our Skilled Instructors

Our team of professionals consists of certified Early Childhood Educators and qualified teachers that are members of the Ontario  College of Teachers.  Each instructor has been chosen for his or her strong interpersonal skills, natural intuitive ability to sense what a child needs while instructing, and a genuine love for teaching young learners.

Maria Montessori

 

 

Dr. Stephen Barker

Dr. Stephen Barker has worked professionally with children and adolescents for over 45 years. He completed his Masters and Doctoral degrees at the University of Toronto (OISE) and since then has worked in a variety of settings providing assessments, treatment and consultation. His work experiences include a residential treatment center for children and adolescents, Family Court, the outpatient clinic of a Hospital, and a major school board where he was the Senior Psychologist. In addition to these positions Dr. Barker was a Course Director at York University (in Educational Theory) and has provided numerous in service training sessions for groups of Professionals. Dr. Barker has also been in full time private practice for over 18 years.

Dr. Barker is the consultant psychologist to the Literacy Centre. He has had a strong working relationship with its Director, Candice Rymal for over 15 years. Dr. Barker will maintain supervisory responsibility for the work conducted at the Center and is always available to parents to discuss any of their concerns. He also offers seminars on developing effective parenting skills for parents whose children are at the centre.

Early literacy development is crucial for children's school success and at the Centre we all strive to promote that crucial set of skills in your children.

Dr. Barker has a special interest in children's learning and he has developed a unique approach to assessing their learning needs. He offers comprehensive psychological assessments based on a model he has developed and written about. He is most concerned assessing children in order to develop solutions to their problems and promote their success in life.