What People Say About Us
Kate has helped the Goldring Family Foundation learn about the educational needs of children in the New Orleans area. This helps as we are making grants in the community.
Kate Novak is a highly effective and intuitive educational therapist. She uses very appropriate research-based programs and intervention strategies. Her business acumen is stellar! Her model and the tools she uses should be showcased for all who are developing a private practice. Outstanding!
She has garnered the attention of a foundation (and funding) which allows her to support a very underserved population of youth in New Orleans. Much of our time was spent developing her approach for serving that population and in honing her assessment skills so she could document those students' needs (and subsequent progress).
I am very proud to know that AET has gained such a forward thinking and exemplary professional member.
Marion Marshall, BCET
We initially sought help from Todd and Kate two years ago when our family relocated to New Orleans after living abroad. Over the course of many years and move our daughter changed schools three times. As we settled into a permanent school situation in New Orleans, we realized that we needed support to identify gaps in her learning from the various school changes. Todd and Kate immediately knew how to help her. Using school assignments and independent tools, Todd quickly identified areas in which to improve and helped her build on her skills that were already well established and solid. Nearly immediately, my daughter’s confidence in her ability to succeed in her new school blossomed. Meeting weekly, they tackled regular school assignments, longer reading and writing projects and more. While in lower school, Todd communicated with her teachers as needed to make sure the entire team was working together and helping her grow academically and emotionally.
My daughter has now moved into Middle School and she continues to meet weekly with Todd. She looks forward to her sessions with him where she can talk through assignments, work together on grammar quizzes and develop strategies for working through some more challenging reading assignments. She particularly enjoys telling him about her great grades she’s receiving in English. She understands how much she’s succeeding working with him on a regular basis. I foresee us continuing working with him as her love of English and writing and reading continues.
Todd continues to check in with me and my husband regularly to make sure we are supporting her as a team. To say it is a pleasure to work with Todd and Kate is an understatement. Todd brings a wonderful balance in his teaching style — he is calm and supportive yet insightful and clear with direction. Our daughter really enjoys working through projects with him. As parents and educators, they have personally and professionally overseen this middle school life stage; we feel so fortunate to have them as partners.
Catherine Gorman Kuuskraa
I have seen first hand Kate Novak's drive, determination and success personally and professionally. She is one of those very empathetic people who truly puts others needs ahead of her own. I have been very impressed watching her found and grow NOLA Learning Support. I admire her commitment to providing her services at reduced or no charge to clients who cannot afford her advertised rate.
Kate has been a godsent to our family but specifically to our 7-year-old son, Wit. I noticed Wit could not read over Christmas break First grade and realized he needed more support at school and out of school. I researched local tutoring services and found Kate from all of her reviews but also was drawn to her approach. Wit has been meeting with Kate twice a week and she has been a constant thread in our school's communication and advocacy for Wit. Kate keeps Wit's teachers informed of their work together so the school can reenforce his in school learning and out of school learning. Wit is now reading at grade level and has been given so many educational tools that I did not learn till much later in life. Wit's confidence has soared, and he often refers to himself as a leader. We are grateful for the tools, education and time Kate has given our son, Wit. - Katie Witry
My daughter is dyslexic and has been working with Kate for over 7 months now and we’ve seen unprecedented progress in her reading and writing. Previous to working with Kate, my child was receiving help from teachers in school as well as outside specialists. Even with all that intervention, we saw little improvement and progress was extremely slow. As time went by, she wasn’t just struggling with reading and writing anymore, she had low self esteem and little confidence in herself. She disliked going to school and was extremely frustrated.Working with Kate has changed all of that. Kate understands how a struggling reader feels and gives them the emotional support needed. As for the educational support, Kate is highly trained and uses a variety of programs that have been created to help specific learning differences. The educational support is multi-faceted and has helped my daughter to advance when she was grade levels behind in school. Working with Kate has been life changing for my daughter. She is happy and confident about attending school and works hard with Kate to continue to progress in reading and writing at grade level. I highly recommend Kate Novak as an educational therapist and the services at NOLA Learning Support.
My daughter is dyslexic and has been receiving services from NOLA Learning Support since March 2020. She has made tremendous progress in her reading and writing. NOLA Learning Support offers educational support using a variety of programs that have been created to help specific learning differences. The educational support is multi-faceted and has helped my daughter to advance when she was grade levels behind in school. Receiving this type of support has helped my daughter to become more confident in her reading and writing and is now able to keep up with her current grade level studies and daily classes. Over the past two years my daughter has transitioned from learning to read, to now reading to learn and could have never gotten there without the help from NOLA Learning Support.
I was referred to Kate and Todd Novak by the admissions director of an independent school based in New Orleans, La. My son learns differently and is need of a more individualized learning program catered to his specific needs. Unfortunately, the local schools in my community are limited regarding these specific individualized services. I was encouraged to approach his needs with an open mind and explore opportunities outside of New Orleans. This is when I was introduced to Kate and Todd Novak.Kate and Todd both attended boarding schools and can speak from personal experiences to the specific benefits. The boarding school universe is totally outside my area of understanding as neither myself nor anyone I grew up with attended boarding schools. Kate was very welcoming and informative as she took time to meet my son, understand his strengths and opportunities and review his evaluation. Kate took valuable time to speak and educate both my wife and myself in great detail regarding boarding schools. Additionally, she met with my son and discussed how boarding schools can have a very positive impact on his overall learning experience and extra curricular activities. The ability of Kate and Todd to relate to my son based on their personal experiences was critical to this process. He trusted and could relate to them as they previously walked in his shoes. Kate recommended a total of five schools for us to visit/evaluate and provided assistance as needed throughout the process. We could not have proceeded through this process without the guidance of Kate and Todd. Their empathy and hands on approach was truly a guiding light. Not only did they provide solid guidance and direction but they truly care and stay invested until the final outcome. I would highly recommend Kate and Todd Novak if you have a child with learning differences and have limited or no experience regarding boarding schools! Their guidance, assistance and direction was excellent!
Todd is amazing! I was so surprised that he was able to connect with my son over zoom - and within the first week. My son looks forward to his sessions with Todd. Todd has also connected with my son’s teachers and helps him with his homework and keeping track of assignments. If your child needs a tutor Todd is the best!
We found Todd at a desperate time in my son's academic life. My son was having a hard time staying organized, and I was struggling to help him do so. Todd helped my son with his work, but more importantly helped him prioritize his homework and prepare ahead for tests and other assignments. The best part of all this was that I was taken out of the picture so I could return to being a Mom.
It has been a tremendous comfort working with Todd and Kate for the past 10 months. My daughter (5th grade) changed schools and academic curriculums this year and we knew that she needed a consistent guide to support her as we identified gaps in her language, writing, reading and comprehension skills. Meeting with Todd regularly has become something she looks forward to each week. Todd provides a unique balance of encouragement and direction to her. He helps her feel confident as they identify areas in which to improve and build off skills that are already well established. They use school assignments and his independent tools to work through those areas. Todd communicates with her school teachers as needed to make sure that the entire team is working together on helping her grow academically and emotionally. Todd connects with me and my husband regularly to ensure that we are all supporting her in the best way possible. Kate and Todd are a pleasure to work with and we feel fortunate to have them as part of our team.
