About Us
Mission
& Vision
But if it doesn't, we're here to help.
Our Journey
We started Direct Instruction Learning Solutions, LLC (DILS) in December of 2024 with a mission to support teachers in providing a quality, effective education for ALL children. We know all children can learn when educators are provided quality professional development and effective instructional strategies and tools.
The driving force behind all our services comes from two facts:
- The teacher is the single most important factor in the classroom affecting student learning, and the principal is the single most important factor in the school affecting teacher performance. With this in mind, professional development becomes one of the most critical factors in trying to close the achievement gap.
- We must have a teacher of quality in EVERY classroom! As we are now striving to teach ‘the science of reading’ to all our students, so, too, must we strive to provide professional development based on the science of learning.
Meet the Team
Janie Feinberg
Janie Feinberg began teaching in 1967 in Brooklyn, New York. The majority of her students had never been read to, did not speak in full sentences, were largely suffering from malnutrition, and had no concept of what it meant to have ‘learner behaviors.’
Her district was mandated to teach a Direct Instruction (DI) curriculum by Siegfried Engelmann from the University of Oregon, published by SRA (Science Research Associates) at the time. Janie taught this new program to the best of her ability. Shortly thereafter, her students were speaking in complete sentences and reading on level by the time they entered first grade. She was sold.
Two years later, Janie built a log home and moved to Vermont, where she began teaching 3rd grade in Bethel, VT. She took on a class where the majority of children had reading issues and brought DI to them. The gains of her Vermont students were as significant as those in New York.
Fast forward to 1988—Janie started her own private consulting firm dedicated to closing the achievement gap between children in poverty and those with economic advantages. JP Associates implemented Direct Instruction in 23 U.S. states and sixteen schools in Singapore with an extremely high degree of success, continuing through 2018.
Donna Gallant
Donna Gallant began teaching in 1998 in Stockbridge, VT, and has been dedicated to bringing exceptional learning, wellness, leadership, and arts opportunities to her students.
In addition to being a classroom teacher, librarian, and interventionist, Donna’s educational initiatives include:
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Whole group, individualized, and small group literacy instruction
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Year-round farm-to-school experiences
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Class and whole-school plays
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Team building and leadership development
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A summer adventure camp with weekly field trips
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An earth-based summer camp for children aged 5 to teens, hosted at a nature center she created
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Donna was tasked with teaching literacy to all the virtual 5th graders in her supervisory union. A quarter of them couldn’t read well enough to complete assignments, even with one-on-one support.
Donna reached out to Janie and began teaching DI to those virtual students under Janie’s coaching. By June 2021, they could all read. Many parents, who overheard the virtual lessons, commented on how significant it was for them to hear the DI instruction—they too had not learned to read.
This powerful experience changed the trajectory of what Donna needed to teach, as she witnessed the dramatic success students could achieve with DI instruction.