Maria Pena, MS

Maria Pena is an educator with seven years of classroom teaching experience and a passion for helping young learners develop strong literacy foundations. She has worked primarily with early childhood and elementary-aged students, specializing in reading and writing instruction. Her expertise includes assessing student strengths, developing individualized learning goals, and creating targeted pathways that support academic growth and confidence. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Master's degree in Early Learning. She also earned her AMI Montessori Diploma, where she studied child development and language acquisition in depth. In addition to her educational background, she is trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach, which supports diverse learners through research-based multi-sensory instruction. Maria is deeply passionate about teaching early reading skills, accelerating literacy growth, and helping students develop meaningful, positive relationships with reading that foster lifelong learning successes.