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Resources

A family in need needs answers, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting trusted professionals over the years that can provide them!

From Educational Consultants that can help you pinpoint how your child learns, to College Consultants who can determine how best to leverage your educational dollars, the lists below are meant to jump start your search for a successful outcome!

In addition to resources for our students, we are also proud to link to local businesses that we know, have used, and highly recommend:

Academic Testing & Therapy Professionals

Maria Elena Lara, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist
Website: www.DrMELara.com
Phone: (425) 417-6232
Email: DrMELara (at) gmail.com

Do you feel distress about the direction in which your life is headed? Do you ever wonder why you can’t seem to enjoy life like others can? Are you worried about your child’s academic success and how anxiety, depression or ADD/ADHD may affect their future options? Dr. Lara offers a free initial phone consultation and can help you to understand not only why you feel debilitated and burdened, but how to overcome these challenges, and thus achieve greater balance in your life. Dr. Lara is a clinical psychologist offering individual, couple and family sessions from her Issaquah office. Additionally, she offers home visits, marathon sessions, and intensive daily therapy if desired or needed. She works with children, adolescents and adults in a variety of areas. Her orientation is eclectic, in that she uses the technique that is most pertinent to the issue at hand, but her training is primarily cognitive – behavioral, which has consistently been shown in years of research to be the most effective therapeutic modality for achieving long-lasting results.

Sally Madge, Ph.D., Neurodiagnostic Specialist
Phone: 425-557-3664
Email: s.madge (at) comcast.net

Dr. Madge both assesses learning challenges and provides classroom strategies who want to know more about how their child learns. After an initial intake interview, Dr. Madge conducts a comprehensive assessment (academic and cognitive). Her user friendly reports detail both the results of the testing, diagnosis and a feedback session with results and recommended strategies. Dr. Madge will also visit your child’s school to plan how results can be incorporated into your child’s overall educational program. With a background as a teacher, administrator, school psychologist and case worker for students with special needs, Dr. Madge understands and supports student learning through assessment and individualized strategies for each child.

Norma Jean Campbell, M. Ed., Educational Consultant * ABA Program Manager
Website: www.NormaJeanCampbell.com
Phone: 425-802-8662
Email: NormaJean (at) NormaJeanCampbell.com

You can read about Norma Jean on our Educational Consultants page, but she also provides assessment aimed at not only finding out how a child learns, but how those who serve those kids (teachers, parents, tutors) can best work with the child. Norma Jean provides one-to-one consulting, assessment and documentation analysis, and program design and implementation for children and adults. If your son or daughter is struggling to learn in school, Norma Jean will help your family fix the problem or learn to work around it. Of special value to Pacific Learning Academy students, Norma Jean is also able to then give recommendations that tutors can use to help your child succeed.

Educational Consultants

Larry Davis, MA Education, Educational Consultant & IEP/504 Advocacy
Website: www.specialeducationadvocacy.org
Phone: (206) 914-0975
Email: larrydavis (at) specialeducationadvocacy.org

Larry, a former school administrator, provides experienced and thoughtful IEP and 504-plan support (consultation and negotiation) to families who know that complex kids require a new school of thought. With 25-plus years experience, Larry feels that no one should have have to go it alone. Also offering school selection services and experienced with AD(H)D, Autism, adoption/foster-care issues, special education law, behavior & instructional planning.

Kelly Warner-King, Educational Consultant and Advocate
Website: www.synapselearningsolutions.com
Phone: (206) 920-2414
Email: kelly (at) synapselearningsolutions.com

Kelly Warner-King has devoted her career to advocating for children and their families.  Kelly respects the unique strengths of every child and works to create solutions that will inspire kids to grow and reach their potential. A former attorney, education policy analyst and program manager, Kelly is skilled at working across systems to empower families and connect children to the services they need.   Having served as one of the first Washington State Education Ombudsmen, Kelly has considerable experience educating parents and resolving disputes between families and schools.

Norma Jean Campbell, M. Ed., Educational Consultant * ABA Program Manager
Website: www.NormaJeanCampbell.com
Phone: 425-802-8662
Email: NormaJean (at) NormaJeanCampbell.com

Serving people that struggle to learn and their families, Norma Jean provides one-to-one consulting, assessment and documentation analysis, and program design and implementation for children and adults. If your son or daughter is struggling to learn in school, Norma Jean will help your family fix the problem or learn to work around it. Of special value to The Learning Curve’s students, Norma Jean is also able to then give recommendations that tutors can use to help your child succeed.

College Consulting

You’ve spent years playing a pivotal role in your child’s academics, supporting an environment of engaged learning and success.

Now what?

Kara Neary is a college consultant and career counselor. She believes in empowering parents with as much information as they need and want, allowing them to choose how much of the college-selection process they'd like to handle.

Pacific Learning Academy recommends Educated Choices, where owner Kara Neary provides targeted, tangible guidance on next steps, without the cost or obligations of an entire program. You get as much expert advice as you need/want and can come back for more guidance at any time. Kara Neary is a college consultant and career counselor. She believes in empowering parents with as much information as they need and want, allowing them to choose how much of the college-selection process they’d like to handle.

Kara advises families on the development of their child’s high school “resume,” which includes transcript enhancement, extra-curriculars and volunteer experiences, standardized testing and more. Her knowledge of colleges, their requirements, and ways to best help your child select and be selected by the college of their choice make her an invaluable addition to any family’s academic team.

Kara is a long-time Sammamish resident and graduate of the University of Washington. Her background in training, development and motivational speaking uniquely complements her expertise in the college selection and application process. In addition to her work as a college consultant and former PLA Academic Coordinator, Kara has worked extensively as a volunteer in the Issaquah School District (PTSA president, Boosters, fund-raising). She has two daughters that graduated from Skyline High School and a son who graduated from Issaquah High School.

To set up your initial consultation, email Kara!

Kara Neary, Educated Choices

 

Educated Choices is not directly affiliated with Pacific Learning Academy, but we have known Kara and her work for 10+ years. As always, Pacific Learning Academy wants the best fit for you, your child, and your family. We enjoy positive relationships with many local college consultants and will happily refer one of them if your needs change. Kara herself enjoys positive relationships with other area college consultants and will happily refer  you to one of them if you have needs that are better suited to their expertise. 

We feel parents deserve to know the “insider secrets” from the very beginning so that they can choose their level of involvement. Kara shares that philosophy. While PLA does not provide in-house colleges consulting, we do provide tutoring support for the application process, including essay writing.

Community Business Services

Pia Larson
Fingerprint Marketing
www.fingerprintmarketing.com
(425) 283-2943

Fingerprint Marketing is a full-service, award-winning Design and Marketing Agency. They design a unique fingerprint for your business through branding, graphic and web design, online marketing and strategy.

Fingerprint Marketing is the creative team behind our branding, our website design and our print collateral.

Christina Marie Kimball
Artful Thinking
www.artfulthinking.net
(206) 718-5103

Local business and parenting coach that can step in and create a format for clear thinking and strategy.

Debbie Rosemont
Simply Placed
itssimplyplaced.com
206-579-5743

Provides clients with systems that support their success and help bring balance into their home and work lives. Great for the businesses, and the whole family (home office, teenage study space, etc).

Greg Sommers-Herivel
Flying Gecko Productions
www.flyingecko.com
(206) 412-4363

An award-winning local (Greater Seattle) video production company known for training videos, testimonials for your website, and unique ways to reach your customers through video production.

Kevin and Melinda Berg
CompuPane, LLC
www.compupane.net
253-234-4357

This is the one and only computer tech that Pacific Learning Academy uses, and for good reason! Kevin and his team have near-instantaneous call-backs, can fix problems remotely (and overnight), and have helped PLA staff find ways to help our students no matter where we are via remote log-ins. We can’t recommend CompuPane highly enough and know you’ll do the same once you’ve worked with them.

Michele Pearson
The Pearson Law Firm P.S.
pearsonlawfirm.com
(425) 831-3100

Civil law professionals specializing in justice for insurance disputes and personal injury claims. A wealth of knowledge for local families and a network of strong, ongoing relationships with other attorneys and associations if you need a referral to other specialties.

Health Services

Below are professionals that we have worked with directly and not only share similar philosophies with the Academy, but also have the ethical standards that not only want us to recommend them, but shout their names from the rooftops. From Sports physicals to general wellness, nutrition to hormone issues, these three providers have our vote.

Carleton Magus
Alpine Acupuncture
www.alpineacupuncture.com
(425) 391-7777

The finest health care possible using Modern Acupuncture. Our goal is to empower our patients to experience their best health possible.

Dr. Bizzy Riley
The Naturopathic Clinic of Issaquah
www.issaquahhealth.com
(425) 391-1080

Providing Primary Care Natural Medicine in order to help patients achieve and maintain wellness on all levels.
Also provides sports physicals for the school year.

Mindy Garrett
Mind + Body Elite
mindandbodyelite.com
(425) 898-4593

Mind + Body Elite provides health and fitness coaching and personal training services exclusively to the Snoqualmie Ridge, Issaquah and Sammamish areas. Mindy works with all ages but specializes in teens and busy parents. With a background in nutrition as well as fitness, Mindy combines the best of both worlds to help beginners to seasoned athletes reach their goals.

Other Resources for Families

 Mike Nakamura
Mike Nakamura Photography
www.MikeNakamuraPhotography.com
425-996-8793

Weddings, Senior Portraits, Family Memories

Useful Links

Special Education

  • The Special Education Parent Liaison at OSPI provides support to families and educators of students with disabilities, including help understanding state and federal laws, rules, regulations, and providing access to training and support, technical information services, and mediation services, as appropriate.
  • Washington State Special Education Coalition – A parent and professional organization established to share information and advocate for all children www.wssec.org

Math

  • Discovering Algebra ONLINE TEXT (2nd ed)
  • Discovering Geometry ONLINE TEXT (4th ed)
  • Discovery Advanced Algebra ONLINE TEXT (2nd ed)
  • Purple Math — Clear Algebra explanations and step-by-step help
  • The Math Page — Lessons in everything from Basic Arithmetic to Trigonometry to Calculus
  • Khan Academy — A library of over 2,600 videos covering arithmetic to physics, finance to history.

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