Sarah E. Dennis, Ph.D.

"I would highly recommend Sarah Dennis for a professional development workshop for early childhood practitioners.  She has great energy that keeps you focused, is knowledgeable about many domains, and has useful techniques that can be applied when working with infants through 5 year olds!  Her passion for childhood development was infectious!”  

Director,  Kids Work Chicago (Oct 2016)

"I have known Sarah since our doctoral work at NYU (2004), and have worked with her since then. I can confirm that Sarah Dennis is the best of the best!"

Sarah Llanes,  Adjunct Faculty at Loyola University Chicago, Nov 2016

"Thank you Sarah! Your work with us has been truly transformative for us and our school! You will be sorely missed!"

Kiri Soares, High School Principal, Urban Assembly Institute of Math and Science for Young Women, Brooklyn, NY (June 2015)

"Sarah Dennis, Ph.D., served as my literacy coach and mentor from 2010-2013. The professional development she provided has been the best of my career, even surpassing what I learned through the National Board Certification process. Through her listening, patient guidance and wealth of knowledge on the latest literacy research, my kindergarten students are reading and writing with more enjoyment, skill and comprehension than my previous class of 1st graders."

Megan Domanski, NBCT, Early Childhood Educator, Audubon Elementary School (June 2015)

"Dr. Sarah Dennis gave me so much knowledge and has made me a more knowledgeable teacher. I learned new, effective, and creative ways to teach literacy to my preschoolers including high-quality read aloud techniques, asking open-ended questions and using sophisticated vocabulary to support language development, dictation techniques and a most of all how to prepare and lead workshops for my students' parents. Through the workshops the parents were able to gain knowledge about best practices in early literacy. Dr. Dennis was extremely supportive and very patient with me as I was learning about the program. She was very knowledgeable, extremely competent, efficient, and incredibly skilled and professional at teaching the material.

Dr. Dennis coached me from the Winter 2002 to Spring 2005. I still use literacy practices and the parent involvement activities that I learned in my classroom almost nine years later.... She opened me up to new and unique ways to teach literacy. Dr. Dennis has been such an inspiration to me when it comes to the world of literacy."

Trena M., early childhood teacher, Bronx, NY (2014)

"Sarah is able to transform her expertise in early literacy and best practices into inspiration for the teachers she works with. She builds trusting and supportive relationships with teachers and directors and it is through this foundation that she guides schools to build a more meaningful learning experience for young children. While working with Sarah, teachers and directors become active learners and reflective practitioners. The valuable tools early childhood educators gain while collaborating with Sarah will stay with them throughout their teaching careers. "

Rebecca Light, Ph.D., former Literacy Coach at NYU's Child & Family Policy Center (2008)

"I feel fortunate that Sarah Dennis was the literacy coach at my Center.  I enjoyed working with Sarah because of her knowledge of early childhood and the importance of integrating literacy in the classroom. Sarah is easy to work with because she understands what early childhood teachers have to deal with on a daily basis.  She is a hard worker, flexible and works well with all staff.  As a teacher, I have always enjoyed involving the children in literacy activities.  Sarah has enabled me to further enhance my knowledge in this area.  My Center still follows the program that she introduced (nearly 10 years after project completion).  The parents are very pleased with the progress of their children.  The program has helped prepare them for kindergarten.

I feel strongly that Sarah Dennis would be a benefit to any program fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with her.  She is very supportive of all teachers, no matter their level of experience.  Her goal is to improve the quality of education, and she does so in encouraging and sensitive ways.  I highly recommend her.  She would be a valuable addition to any organization.  You will find that she is highly professional, and works well with all teachers/staff."

Emily, former Education Coordinator/current PreK classroom teacher, Bronx, NY (2008)

"I found Sarah very easy to work with, ultra organized, and in tune to the needs of those of us on the project. Sarah is extremely knowledgeable about early literacy research and best practices.  She has a very positive approach to her work and has presented in-services with goals that include her participants being familiar with open ended questions, Tier 2 vocabulary usage, and the ability to conduct engaging read-alouds that support language development and comprehension. Sarah taught me that no challenge is too difficult and that coaching the struggling teacher in turning her classroom into a strong Literacy Environment is like "the dance".  You take the lead and guide the teacher down the path of literacy and language development. "

Debbie, former teacher and assistant principal, consultant with CPS (2009)