About | The Reading Specialist Directory

Why we exist

The problem we set out to solve

Thousands of skilled reading specialists — teachers, tutors, dyslexia specialists — work independently across the country. They're excellent at what they do. But families who need them often don't know they exist, and have no easy way to find them.

At the same time, independent specialists are often invisible online. They don't have the marketing budgets of large tutoring agencies. They rely on word of mouth — which works, but slowly.

The Reading Specialist Directory was built to close that gap. A simple, searchable, honest directory — free for families to use, affordable for specialists to join.

"This directory exists because I want every family to be able to find the right person to provide the kind of help that they've been looking for."

— Carrie Birmingham, Founder, The Reading Specialist Directory

What we believe

Our values

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Direct connection

Families should be able to talk directly to the person who will work with their child — no middleman, no scheduler, no agency.

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Transparency

We are honest about what we are — a directory, not a credentialing body. Listings are self-reported and families should do their due diligence.

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Accessibility

Finding a reading specialist should never cost a family money. Searching and contacting specialists is always free.

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Inclusivity

We welcome specialists at every stage of their career — new tutors and seasoned specialists alike have a place here.

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Independence

This directory is run independently — not by a tutoring agency, not by a staffing company. Our only interest is connecting families with specialists.

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Privacy

We never sell your data or share it with third parties. If we carry advertising, it will be sold directly to reading-relevant organizations and shown the same way to every visitor — no targeting, no tracking, no exceptions.

Who's behind this

Meet the founder

Carrie Birmingham

Founder, Reading Specialist Directory

I've been an educator for a long time — 6 years in K-12 classrooms and 27 years as a professor of teacher education. I hold a PhD in educational psychology from University of California Santa Barbara, which means I've been a student for a long time too. My experiences have taught me important things:

Play and exploration are fundamental for learning.
Every student comes at learning in their own way.
Teaching and learning are essentially human activities.

These are my educational values.

Building this directory has been something entirely new for me, something that will probably surprise most people who know me. I'm not a teacher in this role; I'm a learner. I am exploring what I can do with my computer, in my own way, to support reading specialists and families to make a human connection. My educational values are baked into this directory from the ground up.

Reading instruction has gone through a lot of changes since I learned to read with Dick and Jane. Now we know a lot more about what readers need in general and what out-of-the-ordinary readers need, too. I care deeply about young people, especially out-of-the-ordinary young people, the ones who need a specific kind of support, extra encouragement, plenty of human understanding, and professional-level knowledge and skills.

This directory exists because I want every family to be able to find the right person to provide the kind of help they've been looking for.

About the Directory