Pine Cobble Summer Academy

The Pine Cobble Summer Academy is an excellent way for students to build their academic skills and confidence during the summer months. Students work 1:1 with tutors in specified areas of expertise. Families purchase a package of Five or Ten one-to-one 50-minute tutoring sessions and coordinate the timing of those directly with the tutor. All sessions take place on the Pine Cobble School campus.

Orton-Gillingham Reading Instruction: When students struggle with reading, Pine Cobble faculty view it as a signal to adjust instruction and intensify support, recognizing that every child comes to school wanting to succeed. Orton-Gillingam instruction centers on explicit, systematic instruction that builds foundational reading skills sequentially and ensures mastery before progression. Instruction is diagnostic and prescriptive, allowing lessons to respond directly to individual student needs.

Math Instruction and Support: Math tutoring combines research-based practices from Math Recovery and Stanford University’s YouCubed initiative with hands-on, multisensory learning experiences to build fluency and deep conceptual understanding. Ashley Amsden emphasizes flexible thinking, sense-making, and positive math mindset practices that help students see mistakes and struggle as essential to learning. Ashley personalizes each session to align with students’ current strengths and challenges while guiding them toward meaningful growth and higher-level mathematical thinking.

Registration and Fees

Save with a Package Purchase:
5 Individual 50-minute sessions for $450
10 Individual 50-minute Sessions for $900
Additional Sessions: $100

Meet our Talented Faculty

Kristine McGrath,
Reading Specialist k.mcgrath@pinecobble.org

Kristine McGrath is a trained and certified Orton-Gillingham practitioner. She provides structured, multisensory reading instruction that targets phonological awareness, decoding, encoding, fluency, and spelling. Instruction is diagnostic and prescriptive, allowing lessons to respond directly to individual student needs.
Kristine McGrath serves as a reading specialist and literacy tutor at the Pine Cobble School, where she applies her 26 years of classroom experience and Orton-Gillingham training to help students build strong, lasting reading skills. Whether delivering explicit phonics instruction or partnering closely with families, she brings expertise, intention, and compassion to every aspect of her work.

Contact Kristine for additional information:  k.mcgrath@pinecobble.org

 

Ashley Amsden is a dynamic educator with 15 years of experience working with students from Kindergarten through adulthood in a variety of settings. She currently serves as the Grades 1–8 Math Specialist and an Upper School Math Teacher at Pine Cobble School and has offered private summer math tutoring for the past five years. Ashley is certified in Math Recovery and is passionate about helping students build confidence, curiosity, and strong mathematical foundations. Outside of school, she co-runs Square Roots Farm with her husband and Pine Cobble alumnus Michael Gallagher, and enjoys spending time outdoors with their two children, who also attend Pine Cobble.

contact Ashley for additional information: a.amsden@pinecobble.org

 

Ashley Amsden
Math Speciliast a.amsden@pinecobble.org

For more information, please contact our Director of Auxiliary Programs, Megan Davenport, at summers@pinecobble.org or 413-458-4680.