Kate Mitchell
Meadow Ridge Elementary Reading Interventionist
January 2024 Employee of the Month
Meadow Ridge is pleased to recommend Kate Mitchell, Reading Interventionist, for the January 2024 Wayzata Public Schools Employee of the Month. Kate is a proud Wayzata High School graduate who continues to impact this community as an exemplary Reading Interventionist. She is also currently working on her Doctorate in Reading from Texas Woman's University.
Kate started her career as a classroom teacher at Oakwood Elementary, and her love for teaching reading motivated her to be trained in Reading Recovery. She transitioned to that specialty area, and has taught countless students to read and become more confident in their ability. When Meadow Ridge was opening, she applied to transfer to the new school, wanting to make a difference at the new building.
Kate works tirelessly to monitor all readers at Meadow Ridge. She leads an exceptional reading intervention program by creating relationships with our most fragile readers. With this connection, students joyfully join her for their intense daily reading lesson, sometimes literally skipping down the hall. She encourages them to try difficult tasks, building their confidence as readers. This year, the district began a hybrid reading intervention program, allowing teachers the freedom to take the best from all intervention programs in order to best serve her students. She has embraced practices from the Orton-Gillingham method, using a true multi-sensory approach to teach reading. Watching Kate assess, diagnose, and provide instruction to struggling readers is simply amazing to watch. Her seamless transitions, constant data collection, explicit instruction. She takes pride in her successes, knowing that her intervention helped them to become the readers they now today.
In addition, she works side-by-side with teachers. One teacher writes, “Kate has guided me with many tasks in my classroom. Together we have made great progress with many children, especially those who have received intervention services directly from her. These students have been successful because of Kate’s help, dedication, and passion for teaching students to read.”
Finally, Kate is a positive member of the staff. Her sense of humor, great anecdotes, and willingness to be part of the
fun makes her one of the reasons why Meadow Ridge is such a great place to work.