about lara riley

Lara Riley has been working with children for over a decade. Along the way, teaching students of many different ages in a variety of school settings, Lara has come to the belief that children are distinctly empowered by the ability and desire to read.

Lara has taught fifth grade, first grade Reading Recovery, second grade remedial reading, and most recently worked as a Title 1 reading teacher and Literacy Specialist in Freeport and Westbrook, Maine. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, a Master’s Degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University, and has completed the Master’s Degree in Literacy coursework at the University of Southern Maine. As a certified teacher and certified literacy specialist, Lara has served as a supervisor to other USM literacy graduate students, and has also co-authored a published article in the New England Reading Association Journal.

With her years of working successfully with young readers, and particularly with reluctant and struggling readers, Lara founded Reading Earth LLC. She also currently serves as the new Literacy Specialist and Educational Consultant for Curious City in Portland, Maine. Working alongside Curious City’s founder Kirsten Cappy, Lara provides reading workshops for teachers and parents in connection to children’s literature.

Lara’s goal is to build children’s confidence and motivation to read. When kids are motivated to read, and when they feel good about their reading, then their reading skills often improve dramatically, and they become lifelong readers.