Contributor

Karen Ritch is beginning her 29th year as an educator in the Texas public school system.  She was a classroom teacher for 12 years, having taught first, second and third grade in the Austin Independent School District. For the last 17 years she has been serving as a Literacy Instructional Coach and Specialist at McBee Elementary in Austin ISD. 

In her role as a Literacy Coach, Karen has experience and training with state-funded grant programs such as the Texas Reading First Initiative and Texas State Literacy Plan (Texas Literacy Initiative). She has given a variety of presentations and workshops at the campus and district levels to parents, teachers, literacy coaches, and administrators. Most recently, Karen co-presented a session titled From Passages to Pleasure: Building a Campus Culture of Reading at the 2020 Texas Association for Literacy Education Conference. She loves sharing her joy of reading and her passion for lifelong learning with students, parents, and teachers. 

Karen earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education from the University of Texas at Austin. She holds certifications in English as a Second Language, Master Reading Teacher, and Reading Specialist (K-12). In 2017, Karen added a new title to her credentials by completing a rigorous two-year training program with the Dyslexia Center of Austin to become a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT) providing intervention to students with dyslexia. 

She keeps up with the latest trends, news, and research in education by being a member of the International Literacy Association (ILA), Texas Association for Literacy Education (TALE), International Dyslexia Association (IDA), and the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA).  Karen is an active participant of Trinity Elite Education & Co. Book Club and is thrilled to be a part of the L.E.A.P. & S.O.R. Community Literacy Project. 

Her professional areas of interest include dyslexia, reading intervention, children's literature, the read-aloud experience, teacher professional development, and educational technology.