Tutoring with Cassi Riggs

🌞 Summer camps are officially open for enrollment!

I’m excited to offer small-group academic camps this summer designed to help students build confidence, strengthen skills, and head into the new school year feeling ready.

These groups are intentionally small so each child gets meaningful support and attention.

If your child could use a boost in reading, math, or overall academic confidence, I’d love to work with them this summer.

See flyer for details and feel free to message me with questions or to talk through the best fit for your child. 💛

Camps are held at my home in Bend Oregon.

https://forms.gle/owpwJ5SBz9DeDDyt9

Another Black History/Disabled History Moment--Did you know that Brown v Board of Education paved the way for IDEA?

And another, "this isn't ancient history!"

Ruby Bridges is alive, well, and speaking at a library about 12 miles down the road from me tonight. I had tickets to go, but B has a game. I wanted to go thank her for what she did--and if she can endure what she endured at age 6, we can endure current times.

Ruby Bridges was just six years old when she became the first Black child to integrate an all-white elementary school. But her story isn't just about a historic court case—it’s about the unimaginable strength and courage she showed in the face of cruelty that no child should ever endure.

In 1960, Ruby walked into William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, escorted by federal marshals, because the white community made it very clear they did not want her there. White parents pulled their children out of school. Teachers refused to teach her. Angry mobs lined up outside the school, screaming slurs and threats at her every single day. One woman held up a tiny coffin with a Black doll inside to terrorize her. And through it all, Ruby—this little six-year-old—kept walking, kept learning, kept showing up.

What most people don’t talk about is that inside the school, things weren’t much better. She spent an entire year in a classroom completely alone because no white children were allowed to sit with her. Only one teacher, Barbara Henry, agreed to teach her. When she ate lunch, she had to bring her own food because a woman had threatened to poison her.

Ruby’s story isn’t just about her personal bravery. It’s about what her experience paved the way for. The same Supreme Court case that forced the integration of schools—Brown v. Board of Education—also helped lay the foundation for special education laws. It established that separate is not equal. That case, along with subsequent rulings, helped lead to the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which protects students with disabilities and guarantees them the right to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). It's all intertwined.

Ruby faced mobs of people who wanted to break her spirit, but she refused to be broken. But if a six-year-old could stand up to hate with nothing but courage and determination, we can stand up, too.

This fight is worth it. And history proves that change is possible. Keep going.

I spend a lot of time trying to convince the kids I work with that their dyslexia is a superpower and will take them so far !!

A Different Perspective

Dyslexia is often seen as a disability. But what if we took a different perspective? What if people with dyslexia were encouraged to embrace it rather than feel embarrassed or ashamed?

Yes--reading, writing, and spelling can be challenging for people with dyslexia. However, dyslexia also comes with unique gifts—artistic skill, athletic ability, keen intuition, an ability to connect ideas in unexpected ways, and resilience built from overcoming obstacles.

These strengths remind us that intelligence and talent can’t always be measured by standardized tests or traditional methods.

From entrepreneurs and inventors to artists and athletes, countless people with dyslexia have reshaped industries and inspired the world with their determination and brilliance.

With the right support and mindset, dyslexia can become a driving force for success.

They are our future!

Investing in our children pays the best dividends.

Dyslexia results from a neurological difference; that is, a brain difference.

People with dyslexia have a larger right hemisphere in their brains than those of normal readers.

That may be one reason people with dyslexia often have significant strengths in areas controlled by the right side of the brain, such as:

creative problem-solving skills
artistic, athletic, and mechanical gifts
3-D visualization ability
musical talent
and intuitive people skills

Many people with dyslexia, who experienced feelings of failure in school, have gone on to achieve remarkable success in their chosen careers.

Kelly Clarkson Reveals Daughter River Is Bullied for Her Dyslexia as Henry Winkler Offers Advice Kelly Clarkson, 40, talked to Henry Winkler, 77, about how her daughter, River Rose, 8½, is impacted by dyslexia, which the actor also lives with.

I am over the moon excited about this!

Thank you, Georgia Ryan - Dyslexic Warrior, for this great graphic.

It is critical that your child knows that while dyslexia makes reading, writing, and spelling hard, it is also why your child is so talented in other areas.

To watch my 8 minute video chat on how to find your child's gifted areas, go to:
bit.ly/GiftedAreas

When given the choice between being right and kind, choose kind! -Wonder

Slow reading does NOT mean slow thinking! Most people with dyslexia are extremely intelligent!