Our History
As a child, Donna Siegle, Executive Coordinator of SOAR, struggled with school. It wasn’t until years later when she was diagnosed with dyslexia that she understood why. Now, on the other side of it, she’s helping other children who struggle just like she did. Her heart and understanding for these students fuels her passion to tutor and help each student achieve academic success at their own pace, in their own ways.
It started from the back of her car. After school each day she would pack up her car and travel to tutor students who needed her help. She “trunk-tutored” for years as she was training and working toward her certification with the Orton Gillingham Approach.
In 2015, Mary Beth joined Donna in this journey with her passion to expand SOAR to the community and provide other educational opportunities for children and support for their families has fueled the organization for years.
SOAR is a non-profit corporation with the purpose of establishing and operating support services for individualized, multi-sensory instruction for children who learn differently and who require a tailored learning environment not available in mainstream educational atmospheres. This unique environment allows students to maximize their academic, social and emotional growth. SOAR staff are actively in the process with the IRS to receive the company’s full 501(3)c tax exempt status.
Since the beginning, SOAR’s mission has been to reach as many struggling students as possible with the 12 principles of the Orton Gillingham’s multi-sensory approach.
Through Donna and Mary Beth’s tireless efforts, SOAR is now able to offer four facets for a strong whole-child approach; Advocacy, Tutoring, Educational Support, and Community/Family Resources.
At SOAR, the staff works to identify the academic strengths and needs of each student, establish a prescriptive individualized learning plan that targets specific gaps in learning and foundational skills, and teaches multi-sensory strategies that can be utilized in the classroom, at home and within the community. Additionally, all staff instruct based upon each student’s learning style and take a whole-child approach to achieve true academic and functional potential.
At the end of the day, SOAR strives to give back to the community through advocating, educating, supporting and providing resources for students and families in the community.