Elementary Tutor
& Special
Needs Consultant
Hi there !
Welcome to Beyond The Bookcase Learning! My name is Monica Shay and I'm a licensed special education teacher in Birch Bay, WA . I have 10+ years of classroom experience including 6 years of resource support and 4 years of running my district's self-contained autism program. As the t-shirts say, "You can't scare me, I'm a SPED teacher. I've seen it, tracked it and written a goal for it!"
So why tutoring? One of the best parts of my work, the one that plays most to my strengths, is connecting with students and families, building them up and
persisting until we find a solution. Tutoring allows to me to focus on what matters
most - our kids and their limitless potential ♥
"Highly knowledgeable, incredibly patient... She creates a comfortable and supportive learning environment for all students regardless of abilities.... Organized and
empathetic, she can teach my kids anytime!"
Jennifer P.
"Connects well with students at their appropriate level, teaching them using kindness and consideration. She is very knowledgeable and inspires her kids to
"reach for the stars!"
Dawn O.
"Deep set of knowledge in the field of special education and the needs of individual learners, she delivers content tailored to allow each child to thrive and excel in their learning both socially & academically"
Sherri N.
Our Services
Accepting Every Challenge, Nurturing Every Heart
Here at Beyond The Bookcase Learning, we know that everyone can learn and reach new heights!
We partner with families to build success not only for their learners but their loved ones as well.
Whether your child is struggling with reading, making friends or getting to the bathroom on time,
please know that you're doing a great job and this stuff can be **really** tricky, so...
Let's figure it out together!
Academic Assessments
Concerned about your child's progress with reading, writing or math? We are a data-driven tutoring company where you can have your child's current skills assessed, go over the results, and talk through next steps with a kind, experienced educator.
All assessments are evidence-based and designed to find any gaps there might be in a child's understanding. This equips parents to target their child's specific areas of need with confidence!
1-on-1 or Small Group Tutoring
Learning is always fun around here! At Beyond The Bookcase, we believe that all kids can learn given the right guidance and support. We use methods that support neurodiverse learners such as science of reading-based literacy instruction and a hands-on constructivist method with numbers so "math makes sense.” Games are frequently used to practice necessary skills and building up the student’s stamina and excitement for learning is always our very top priority!
Homeschool Support
Blazing your own path in educating your child? That’s amazing! If there are parts of it that feel hard or it’s all just a bit overwhelming, I’d love to support your efforts and/help troubleshoot whatever's going on right now.
I teach all elementary subjects, including executive functioning & social skills and can create customized learning activities for each child based on their interests. I’m adept at tracking progress and making sure students are meeting / exceeding their goals. Want to hand off teaching a subject or two ? I’m your girl! I'm also open to teaching homeschool pods or setting up a tutor share between multiple families.
Orton-Gillingham for Dyslexia
The Orton-Gillingham (OG) method is a structured, multisensory, and explicit approach to teaching literacy, specifically designed to help students with dyslexia and reading struggles. It focuses on the connections between letters and sounds, using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic techniques to teach reading, writing, and spelling sequentially. I’ve completed multiple trainings on this through the Institute for Multisensory Education and it is the only Intervention that I’ve tried that worked with every kid I used it with and, believe me after 10 years in the business, that’s saying something!
Parent Coaching & IEP/504 Support
So as a special education teacher, esp. with the autism program, there was always a new challenge to figure out. 100s of hours spent prepping materials, learning the lingo and trying new things.
But, let's be honest, as parents, we just don't have that kind of time - enter "Parent Services" my catch-all section for trouble-shooting, getting materials together and figuring out why the heck our kid just did that. When you've got questions or even no idea where to start, come chat with me. Not only will you leave feeling better (everybody does!) but you'll have great, concrete ideas of where to start.
Exec. Functioning & Social Skills
So much of friendship and interacting with others relies on tiny cues our kids don't always get. Similarly self-regulation can be very tough, being expected to remember all of your supplies and not forget to take deep breaths when you’re mad is a lot to remember when you’re also learning to read for the first time!
Here at Beyond The Bookcase, we demystify those unspoken rules, increasing the student's awareness of others and practicing skills like sharing, mindfulness, conflict resolution and being a good sport through real world experience with adults & peers.
Learning Made Fun!
Monica demonstrates lots of energy enthusiasm and commitment to her work with students staff and parents. She is is a valued member of our team, exhibiting warmth, insight and compassionate character. Monica can always be relied upon regardless of the difficulty of the task or novelty of the challenge.
Dr. Roger Heinrich,
School Psychologist
