By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Pam Frankforther believes reading is a superpower. Her dream is to help local children who might struggle with reading, to master the skills and let their reading superpowers shine.
Frankforther, an educator for almost 20 years, plans to step away from her beloved role as a special education teacher to start the Pioneer Reading Center.
At the Pioneer Reading Center, she will offer a microschool and tutoring services. The microschool, which will start in September 2025, is designed as an educational option for homeschooled students in first through sixth grades.
“In Ohio, parents are allowed to outsource parts or all of their child’s education, which is how my business comes in,” she explained about the Limited Liability Company (LLC) she created. “Anyone that is interested can have a full week’s education, six hours a day Monday through Friday.”
The difference will be a major emphasis on intervention and working on students’ Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals for reading and math in the morning, as well as additional work in core subjects. The afternoon instruction will focus on individual and group project-based learning to help students gain skills in interpersonal communication, problem-solving and critical thinking.
Where it began
The idea started a couple of years ago when she was tutoring some students outside of the classroom. “I had a parent come to me in tears saying my second grader can’t read, and we need help,” Frankforther recalled.
And many parents’ messages were the same: the current system wasn’t working for their children.
“That began my journey into helping parents find the right way to teach their kids how to read,” she said.
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in reading, Frankforther initially taught her students using a balanced literacy curriculum.
The curriculum was based on the idea that “if you give kids enough to read and teach them to love reading, they’ll eventually learn it,” she said. “We were taught to help kids look at the first letter of a word and then see what makes sense in the text.”
But the more she taught that the more she realized it didn’t work for everyone and maybe wasn’t the best system to learn to read. After intense research, Frankforther discovered that brains learn best with explicit, systematic instruction. Backed by decades of research, the system is now known as the science of reading.
For example, she introduces the letter A and one of its sounds—“ah,” then offers words with that sound, practices those words and builds from there.
“It’s very scientific and all laid out,” she said. “Some people think you’re just teaching the rules of the language and not teaching kids to love reading. I say you can do both.”
Microschool and tutoring plans required a leap of faith
Currently, Frankforther tutors eight students after school. Some of them have Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). She will continue to offer tutoring, depending on the enrollment at the microschool.
The microschool when it opens in September will give preference to neurodivergent students who have identified, reading-based deficits.
“I realize there is a need for alternative education for these students. Despite having fantastic teachers and great staff in our public schools, we don’t have the time and resources we need, so I decided to go out on my own,” she said.
She called the decision to leave the public school space “a leap of faith to do everything possible for the students that need it most.”
With that student population as a focus, Pioneer Reading Center has become a Jon Peterson Scholarship Provider.
“I want the microschool and my business to be economically feasible for me and my family, and in turn to be affordable for parents,” she explained.
The scholarship, based in the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, is geared at students identified as having special needs using funds already allocated for the student. Students must be homeschooled or in a non-public school to be eligible.
She hopes to enroll 10 full-time students, but if that doesn’t work out, she will accept homeschooled and private school students for tutoring.
Frankforther will accept private-pay clients, but she will provide preference to students who have already identified needs, “because that’s where I think I can help the most.”
She also plans to offer two one-week summer camps in June and July.
IEP and Jon Peterson Scholarship assistance
Another area that Frankforther is passionate about is helping families navigate the IEP process and application for Jon Peterson Scholarships.
Going through the IEP process can be terrifying for parents.
“Parents sit down at a table full of 12 other people and listen to all the deficits that their child has and then look at this document. … I want to help parents navigate that and advocate for them,” Frankforther said. “They should be the most important person at the table and often I feel like they are not.”
She also wants to help families understand the process to apply for the Jon Peterson Scholarship, receive the funds, and find a provider.
Open houses to learn more
Frankforther has three open houses scheduled to introduce the concept to families who are interested in educational alternatives and explain the process for enrolling. She will cap enrollment at 10 students for the school’s inaugural class.
The Pioneer Reading Center’s open houses at the Mt. Zion Church, 7481 Bays Road, will be held from 6 to 7:30 on Tuesday (Jan. 28), Feb. 20 and March 13. Because space is limited, Frankforther asks attendees to sign up online.
