Public Resources
BRAINS is proud to be affiliated with The EnCourage Institute for Teaching and Learning, offering services through BRAINS location.
EnCourage Institute's mission is to provide expert instruction to all students, helping them grow into successful life-long learners.
The EnCourage Institute provides a model of academic intervention that is specific to each student's unique learning strengths and needs. We design instructional interventions based on diagnostic assessments, and use strategic interventions that are the best research-based practices available. We are not bound by a franchised program, but are free to use whatever instruction will really match the learner.
Additionally, we are a resource center for parents, teachers, and administrators. We provide short-term and long-term consultation, teacher development opportunities, and private assessment and tutoring services.
Our methods are...
- Personalized - We develop and provide learning services for students, parents, teachers and administrators that are based on what the client knows, values, and needs.
- Collaborative - we build relationships between teachers, parents, students, and other stakeholders that strengthen the students' learning opportunities.
- Comprehensive - We work with all aspects of the learner: social, emotional, artistic, cognitive, affective, and strategic to encourage learning in academic and out-of-school contexts.
EnCourage Institute Director
Dr. Mary Rozendal (BA, Calvin College; MA, Michigan State University; PhD, Michigan State University) brings 22 years of teaching experience in early childhood, elementary, secondary, special education and university settings to the Institute. She specializes in assessing and remediating reading/writing difficulties and learning disabilities, inclusive education, and teacher development. She has worked in numerous schools as a consultant for inclusive education and literacy programs, and provided mentoring to novice and experienced teachers. She is an award-winning researcher and has published in professional journals. Dr. Rozendal is also on the Central Michigan University Graduate Faculty.
EnCourage Institute Tutors and Intervention Specialists
All tutors at EnCourage Institute are certified teachers. They implement the instructional plan developed by Dr. Rozendal and the student's parents during the Diagnostic Evaluation and consultations.
