From the start of her own career journey, Michelle knew she was called to share the joy of reading with students. Earning degrees from Texas A&M University and Southern Methodist University in Education, Michelle’s interests in teaching soon combined with a passion for helping students who struggled to keep up with the fast pace often expected of students in schools. This new passion led her to become a Licensed Dyslexia Therapist (LDT), Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT), and K-12 Reading Specialist. Michelle’s heart for the underserved and overlooked students led her to leave the formal classroom behind and start her own place of learning, a place where students of any skill level felt empowered and celebrated. Thus, I Heart Learning Academy originating in Dallas, TX was founded in 2016 and it became the haven in which Michelle and her team would teach hundreds of students the joy of reading. Shortly thereafter Michelle began to form a vision of a curriculum that would simplify the lives of teachers while providing a structured, engaging, and effective approach to instruction—one that is grounded in evidence-based practices yet required minimal preparation.