Before focusing exclusively on her private practices, she served as the Director of Intervention for the Chancellor’s Office of the New York City Department of Education. Maria began her teaching career as a highly accomplished Reading Specialist and Nationally Board Certified Teacher, serving public schools in New York City. She went on to become a mentor teacher and a curriculum developer working in both public and private schools. She then worked as a professor for over ten years, teaching graduate students utilizing clinically and scientifically-based reading methodologies. She also served as a school administrator in the New York City Public School System. She is the founder and direct­­­­or of learning centers, which specialize in developing the minds of children with Dyslexia and Language-Based Processing Disorders, Attention Deficit Disorders as well as Executive Functioning Difficulty.

She believes it is the skill of the teacher to unlock the power of the mind. Maria holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education, with advanced studies in English and Special Education and a Master of Science Degree in Education as a Reading Specialist, she is also credentialed as an NYS Certified School-Based Instructional Leader serving grades K-12. Her professional certifications are as a Reading Recovery Specialist from NYU and Curriculum Studies from Columbia University Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project. Additionally, she is a Certified Member of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, one of the highest Board Certifications one can achieve in the field of dyslexia, as well as a Certified Dyslexia Therapist of the International Dyslexia Association. She is the lead Instructional Specialist at her learning centers as well as a mentor teacher to those who are Orton-Gillingham practitioners.

Maria Casale is a founding Board of Trustees member of Bridge Preparatory Charter School. Bridge Preparatory Charter School is New York State’s first and only public school specifically designed to meet the needs of students with dyslexia and other language-based learning difficulties. She is currently seeking a Ph. D in Special Education.