new Students now being accepted January, 2025

Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist

Contact Mrs. Bilbao–

Text: 650-518-2132

Email: nancyleebilbao@gmail.com

Start Learning Today

Contact Mrs. Bilbao–

Text: 650-518-2132

Email: nancyleebilbao@gmail.com

Start Learning Today

All about NANCY BILBAO, M. A.

"I love working with students!"

My 30+ years experience as a classroom teacher and reading specialist in the primary grades has provided me with tools and expertise to support all learners, including struggling readers and writers. I currently hold Elementary Education and CLAD credentials in the State of California and am also a certified Reading Recovery teacher.

The best part of my day is meeting my individual students and supporting their literacy journeys.

My Expertise

I specialize in working with individual learners, including those who might need extra support.

All lessons are conducted in my home office in San Jose or, occasionally, online.

Personalized Lessons

My instruction builds on the student's strengths and is designed towards success and significant, timely progress.

My book, published in 2024: A Parent's Guide to Navigating Your Child's Literacy Adventure.

About nancybilbaoreading.com

Empowering students through gradually releasing responsibility for learning to the student

Students learn and practice strategies needed to excel at their level.

Reading and Writing are taught concurrently.

Empowering students through gradually releasing responsibility for learning to the student

Writing in many genres prepares students for classroom instruction.

Instruction IS tailored to each student.

Empowering students through gradually releasing responsibility for learning to the student

Instruction IS tailored to each student.

Students are provided with many tools to assist them in creating excellent writing pieces.

Comments from parentS and CURRENT or recent students.....

Madhumit Mishra

Dublin, CA

August, 2024

Thank you so much Ms. Nancy!

Adwait has always loved your lessons and never wanted to miss a single one! We were so relieved and happy knowing that Adwait has been in good hands. We truly appreciate all your help and support to bringing Adwait to this level. He's now going to Middle School and we will keep in touch!

•••

Rick Talamantes

San Jose, CA.

May, 2022

Marc really enjoys his time with Mrs. B. and I’ve noticed a big difference in his word structure, and ability to write much longer paragraphs since he starting meeting with her once a week about four months ago. Marc (fifth grader) comments: “I learned a lot. It was fun! I learned how to write faster, how to use graphic organizers and write final and rough drafts. Now I know how to choose titles for stories and how to use paragraph transitions. I learned the parts of a sentence, like: subject, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. I now know to write different kinds of writing, like compare and contrast; problem and solution; persuasive writing; non-fiction summaries and opinion pieces. I want to come back in the Fall." (Marc is now thriving in middle school. nb)

August, 2024

Our son, Esteban, (Marc's brother), will continue the lessons he started last Fall, going into the Fall of 2024 He scored at the stop of his class during the State tests last spring.

•••

Adriana and Steve Tonelli

San Jose, CA

August, 2024

We can’t say enough positive things about Nancy. She honestly rescued our daughter and, as a parent, we will forever be grateful. At 7 years old, our daughter was diagnosed with a vision issue that required intensive vision therapy. While therapy addressed her vision issues, we quickly discovered her condition had led to her getting extremely behind in school. By the time we found Nancy we had a 2nd grader who wasn’t able to read and was coming home crying almost daily out of sheer frustration. After one meeting (the initial diagnostic testing) we knew Nancy was the right fit for our daughter. She was patient and compassionate and my daughter instantly loved her. She has made a tremendous difference in our daughter’s confidence and her attitude towards reading and school in general. I love that Nancy knows when to give encouragement but is also consistently challenging our daughter to push herself and stay focused. We have been astounded at the progress our daughter has made. (Guiliana is now thriving in middle school and is on the honor roll!. nb)

August 2024

We have been so pleased with Nancy and her ability to work with our daughter, we now have her working with our 9-year-old son. I know that working with Nancy will ensure he has the foundation for a lifetime love of reading!

Thanks Nancy!!

•••

Therese Morillo

San Jose, CA

June, 2023

It is impossible for me to properly express how grateful I am for the work that you did with my daughter. When I think of where she was in her reading and writing skills when she first started meeting with you, to where she is now, all I can say is "WOW!"

She has worked so hard under your guidance and has flourished. You were the single most influential and instrumental person in improving her reading and writing.

I hope you are able to continue your lessons with as many kids as possible! You have such a gift and everyone who is fortunate to work with you is very blessed.

•••

Ava L. (fifth grade student)

San Jose, CA

June, 2023

"You taught me so much during the time I saw you. I even saw my improvement. You helped me so much with projects and vocabulary. You always make me laugh.

Your class is not like any other classes because it is actually fun.

August, 2024

"I am looking forward to working with you next year, too."

•••

Jennifer Twist

San Jose, CA

December, 2022

I was very concerned about my second-grader's reading level and anxious for him to begin reading at grade level. After four short months (about 15 lessons) with Nancy, he made unbelievable progress. His classroom teacher has agreed and is continuing to work with him in a small group in her classroom. I am so grateful for Nancy's support. My son has so much more confidence now and is enjoying reading.

•••

Laura Nelson

San Jose, CA.

September, 2022

Nancy is a fantastic teacher, whom I would highly recommend. She worked for several months with our fourth (now fifth)-grade daughter. In that time, our daughter's confidence in her writing ability, as well as her writing skills, improved significantly. Our daughter always looked forward to her lessons with Nancy.

•••

Shawn Delong

San Jose, CA.

June, 2022

Thank you so much, Mrs. B. We had seen more progress in just a short amount of time Robert has been with you than anybody from school or any other institution that we can put Robert in.

August, 2024

Robert continues to make steady progress.

•••

Therese Kehl

Los Gatos, CA.

June, 2021

Nancy has been such a blessing for our family! Our kindergartener fell behind in school because of the pandemic so we hired Nancy to help him get up to speed with his class. Nancy was absolutely wonderful, patient and kind to our son. He looked forward to working with her twice a week and within a short time, he gained the confidence and knowledge he needed to be a better reader. We are so grateful for Nancy and how she worked with him. She quickly figured out he was a kinesthentic learner and used tactics to help him enjoy learning and reading! She gave him the boost of confidence he needed. His classroom teacher was amazed at how well he was participating and behaving in class! Thank you!

•••

L. H.

Menlo Park, CA

May, 2022

Our pre-kindergartener has been working with Mrs. B. once a week for about three months. Our daughter has solidified her letter recognition, learned about fifty sight words, and is reading at a beginning first grade level. Her letter formation has greatly improved and she is beginning to construct complete sentences.

Nancy checked in with the family for an Update: August 2024. Our daughter is now in third grade and reading above grade level.

•••

J.K. Menlo Park, CA

June, 2021

My kindergartener's confidence and reading ability increased considerably while working online with Nancy once a week over the summer. The website used in the program, Literacy Footprints, allows for my son to read independent and instructional level books with Nancy during lessons and he continues to practice during the week.

•••

Taji T. Brown

Dublin, CA

May, 2021

With Nany's help our boys continued to make reading progress during online instruction during the pandemic. Our older son's fluency improved and our younger son continued to move up in reading levels.

•••

Angie H., Santa Cruz

Friday, December 6, 2019

Nancy began working with my daughter in September '19. She has shown marked improvement and confidence in reading in just a few short months. I am profoundly thankful for Nancy's commitment, belief in my daughter and in the patience and flexibility that she's shown us. Nancy's lesson plans are personalized and very well organized. She takes time after each visit to summarize the session, go over expectations and answer any questions I may have. Her calm and encouraging demeanor are especially comforting for a child who is struggling in reading. I highly recommend Nancy to anyone who is looking to help their child overcome any reading challenge.

•••

Fuli Li, Half Moon Bay

Sat, Jan 4, 2019

My goal is keeping my son interested in reading and writing, as well as helping him to reach his full potential. When I googled, I found Nancy. It’s amazing that she keeps Lucas focused on class. She always has a lesson plan ready that give us a clear idea of what Lucas will be learning and what the assignments are. She is professional and expert on working with kids. Lucas improves rapidly with her help. I am very happy for the result. And I appreciate the flexible schedule.

•••

S. G., Sunnyvale, CA

March 2, 2020

Nancy worked with our kindergartener for approximately two months. He was very enthusiastic about his lessons. We noticed a change in his interest in reading, as well as his confidence. He made significant progress in a very short time and we are happy to recommend Nancy.

•••

Comments from student teacher candidates Nancy mentored

in her role as Adjunct Professor at the Lurie College of Education at San Jose State California

2018 - 2022

• Nancy is extremely supportive and considerate. • She is very friendly and showed up when expected for observations. • Nancy is always accessible and supportive of her students. • She wants to support them in any way that she can and when you communicate with her she will work with you to get you to a place that is more manageable. • Nancy is very helpful and willing to suggest what she thinks is her best advice.

•• Nancy always provides useful and constructive feedback. She is approachable for questions and advice. • The use of the scheduler on Google sheets is helpful to keep everything organized. I also appreciated that she would ask for feedback after seminars and adjust based on our interests/needs. • Insures we are on task, and that expectations are being met. Very responsive to questions and available to discuss concepts we are experiencing in our classrooms further if needed. Is very good about sharing resources and showing us where resources are.

Sister and brother students

Did your child fall behind during the pandemic? You're not alone.

The Tonellis, Blake and Giuliana.

Did your child fall behind during the pandemic? You're not alone.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/covids-education-crisis-a-lost-generation/

Flexible scheduling, pricing

In-person lessons are typically once or twice a week.

Students enjoy the learning process. No two lessons are alike!

With individualized instruction, students progress quickly.

All materials are provided by instructor. Take-home followup activities are also provided.

With individualized instruction, students progress quickly.

Students enjoy the learning process. No two lessons are alike!

With individualized instruction, students progress quickly.

Individual students can make significant progress in a very short time!

Students enjoy the learning process. No two lessons are alike!

Each lesson is unique and based on immediate prior learning, so that students are working at a level and pace that inspires confidence and signals growth.

Individual assessements

A written assessment will be emailed to parents.

ASSESSMENT

For beginning readers, The Observation Survey assessment includes six literacy tasks, all of which are necessary for describing a young child’s emerging reading and writing behaviors.

For elementary-aged students who are already reading, Elements of the Observation Survey, Supplemented from Literacy Footprints or Words Their Way are used.

Lesson series based on assessment results

Assessment report includes:

• instructional and independent reading text level;

• oral language development;

• phonetic and phonemic awareness;

• sight words known within text;

• written spelling word knowledge;

• known and unknown reading strategies used, writing strategies.

Assessment fee waived if student begins individualized program.

Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist's Private Tutoring Services

What is the science of Reading?

The Science of Reading

December 2024

A reading curriculum that emphasizes phonics instruction is the Science of Reading. This system is taking the nation by storm, which is another way of saying it’s quite popular at the moment.

It is even being reported on the national news! Here is a link to an August 27, 2024 CBS Evening news report, “Eyes on America” with Nora O’Donnel, anchor. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/schools-try-new-approach-to-teach-students-to-read/ Here is the youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPOvYI0ZnaA

Ms. O’Donnel states, “according to one estimate, only one-third of students are reading at grade level.”

CBS news editor, Brook Wilva-Braga, reported on this story. He describes The Science of Reading, as “isn’t so much a curriculum, but rather a grassroots movement, powered by parents, best known for the argument that phonics, the relationship between letters and their sounds, is key to learning to read.”

“Thirty-nine states, including the District of Columbia, have passed new laws requiring schools to follow the Science of Reading approach.”

Jason Borges, who is overseeing New York City’s rollout of the program stated that “what we were doing wasn’t working for half of our children. Some old approaches, such as looking at pictures for cueing, are being pushed to the past. Students are being taught to ignore the pictures and focus on the letter groups.’

“The class spends hours focusing on the letter groups,” Mr. Wilva-Waga, a teacher interviewed for the report, demonstrates a lesson.

Mr. Wilva-Waga continues his report: “Research has shown that Science of Reading does help, but somewhat modestly. A recent study at Stanford University has shown that two years of the approach was getting an extra quarter year of learning.”

When asked if there is a possibility that “the pendulum is swinging too far” (in other words, only emphasizing phonics, while not using other strategies), Mr. Borges shared these thoughts: “It is a concern, particularly for me. It’s not just about phonics. Right? There is so much more to teaching reading. I worry that things will be too reductive, not just phonics, but also that, you know, that things are taken a bit too far.”

In conclusion, Mr. Brook Wilva-Braga states, “The nation’s largest school system is now attempting that balance. The test results will be eagerly awaited.”

What exactly is the theory of Science of Reading?

Emily Hamford, an opponent of the Science of Reading, explains the theory behind the Science of Reading in an article published on the website reallygreatreading.com.

Here is the link:

https://www.reallygreatreading.com/what-is-the-science-of-reading-and-phonics?-virtual-workshop.

Here is a link to the YouTube copy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPOvYI0ZnaA

“One of the key elements in successful reading instruction identified in reading research is the role that phonics instruction plays in learning to read. The scientific consensus is that teaching phonics systematically, explicitly, and cumulatively is key to successful reading instruction.

“Efficient foundational literacy skills begin with the building blocks of words—phonemes. A key step in developing fluent reading skills is helping children with phonemic awareness—the idea that phonemes (sounds) correspond to graphemes (letter sequences that signify sounds).

“The goal in Grades K - 1 is to teach students phonemic awareness so they can independently start to decode unfamiliar words using the automatic skills they have developed through the application of direct phonics instruction.

“By the end of second grade, students will recall 1,000 - 7,5000 words. It’s impossible to have students memorize every word or every pattern of phonemes or graphemes. Teaching foundational literacy skills in a specific way gives students the skills they need to teach themselves. This is commonly called the “self-teaching” model.

“Based on science, the three elements you need for effective phonics instruction are:

A hands-on approach
Moving from presentation to practice
Showing the direct application to reading and spelling—

“The three practices support effective decoding, and decoding is among the most fundamental skills for students to master when learning to read.

(Hamford, 2019)

As a reading specialist, with many years of experience, I appreciate and support the concepts of phonemic awareness and the importance of phonics playing a role in reading instruction. I am not a proponent of teaching a “phonics only” approach. And, like Mr. Jason Borges, who leads New York City’s rollout of the Science of Reading, I am concerned that it can be taken too far, ignoring other proven and important strategies used in reading instruction. A balance has to be found by every teacher. A balanced approach to reading instruction has proven to best support readers. Pictures can be useful scaffolds for students when reading, especially for those with limited socialization or English learners.

Schedule Now

All about NANCY BILBAO, M. A.

"I love working with students!"

My Expertise

Personalized Lessons

My book, published in 2024: A Parent's Guide to Navigating Your Child's Literacy Adventure.

About nancybilbaoreading.com

Empowering students through gradually releasing responsibility for learning to the student

Empowering students through gradually releasing responsibility for learning to the student

Empowering students through gradually releasing responsibility for learning to the student

Reading and Writing are taught concurrently.

Empowering students through gradually releasing responsibility for learning to the student

Empowering students through gradually releasing responsibility for learning to the student

Instruction IS tailored to each student.

Empowering students through gradually releasing responsibility for learning to the student

Instruction IS tailored to each student.

Lessons are generally after school or on Saturday mornings.

Comments from parentS and CURRENT or recent students.....

Sister and brother students

Did your child fall behind during the pandemic? You're not alone.

Did your child fall behind during the pandemic? You're not alone.

Did your child fall behind during the pandemic? You're not alone.

Did your child fall behind during the pandemic? You're not alone.

Did your child fall behind during the pandemic? You're not alone.

Did your child fall behind during the pandemic? You're not alone.

Flexible scheduling, pricing

In-person lessons are typically once or twice a week.

Students enjoy the learning process. No two lessons are alike!

With individualized instruction, students progress quickly.

With individualized instruction, students progress quickly.

Students enjoy the learning process. No two lessons are alike!

With individualized instruction, students progress quickly.

Students enjoy the learning process. No two lessons are alike!

Students enjoy the learning process. No two lessons are alike!

Students enjoy the learning process. No two lessons are alike!

Individual assessements

ASSESSMENT

Lesson series based on assessment results

Payments - Coming soon

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Checks, Zelle, Paypal accepted

Nancy Bilbao Reading and Writing Specialist's Private Tutoring Services

What is the science of Reading?

READING INTERVENTION FOR BEGINNING READERS

Reading Recovery Information for Parents

U. S. Department of Education Report on Reading Recovery

Every child can learn to read