ABOUT/homepage&founders: image
Literacy. Learning. You. It’s what drives us.
You have a chance to do what so few can, and we want to help make the most of it.
Over the past 15 years we’ve helped thousands of educators improve student literacy skills with literacy professional development that is based on sound research, best practice and delivered by expert teacher trainers.
The importance of literacy and its connection to learning is widely recognized, yet many teachers do not receive sufficient preparation in teaching comprehension, vocabulary and writing skills. That’s where we come in. With literacy expertise across all grade levels, we have the know-how and programs that can prepare teachers to teach literacy skills through instruction that is embedded in content.
Company Founders
Joan and Brad are joined by a shared mission, “to equip all teachers and administrators with the knowledge and strategies to improve student literacy skills”. An accomplished educator, author and literacy expert, Joan has developed the Keys to Literacy programs. In combination with Brad’s expertise in professional services, they have built an organization that is recognized as a leader in literacy professional development.
Joan Sedita
Joan Sedita is the founding partner of Keys to Literacy. She is an experienced educator, nationally recognized speaker and teacher trainer. She has worked for over 35 years in the literacy education field and has presented to thousands of teachers and related professionals at schools, colleges, clinics, and professional conferences. She received her Masters in Reading Education from Harvard University in 1980, and her B.A. from Boston College in 1975.
From 1974 until 1998 Joan worked at the Landmark School in Massachusetts, a pioneer school in the development of reading and writing intervention programs. At Landmark, she was a teacher, supervisor of tutorials, English language arts department chair, and high school principal. She was also the founder and director of the Landmark College Preparation Program and director of the Landmark Outreach Teacher Training Program. During that time period, Joan also conducted psycho-educational evaluations at Landmark and at Children’s Hospital in Boston.
From 1998 to 2007 Joan trained teachers and consulted with schools throughout the country and was involved with a number of literacy projects. She was one of three Lead Trainers in Massachusetts for the Reading First Initiative and consultant to the state’s Secondary Reading Initiative. Joan was a national LETRS author and trainer (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling), a member of the ETS Praxis National Reading Advisory Committee, and a member of the LD Worldwide Board of Directors. During this period, she developed the comprehension and vocabulary programs that were the basis for Keys to Literacy’s signature programs The Key Comprehension Routine and The Key Vocabulary Routine.
In 2007 she co-founded Keys to Literacy and currently oversees all academic aspects of the company. Joan continues to develop literacy professional development programs, oversees the hiring and supervision of Keys to Literacy trainers, presents at state and national conferences, and consults with state departments of education and districts throughout the country. She also continues as an adjunct instructor at Fitchburg State University and Endicott College.
Joan has authored a number of books including the Landmark Study Skills Guide (1st ed. 1989), Study Skills: A Teaching Guide (2nd ed. 2001), Active Learning and Study Strategies Using Kurzweil 3000 (2003), and Writing: the Road to Reading Comprehension Module 11 of the LETRS reading training series (2004). She has authored several book chapters and articles, including the Adolescent Literacy chapter in Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills (2011). She is the author of the Keys to Literacy professional development books, including The Key Comprehension Routine, The Key Comprehension Routine: Primary Grades, The Key Vocabulary Routine, The ANSWER Key Routine to Open Response, and The Key Writing Routine scheduled for publication in 2013.
Brad Neuenhaus
Brad comes to the field of literacy after spending 28 years as an executive and entrepreneur. As a father of four and the parent of a struggling reader, Brad has a first hand understanding of the literacy issues and challenges facing both educators and their students. His involvement in his child’s literacy struggles sparked an interest in education that led him to reconnect with Joan Sedita. Joan and Brad are high school friends from their hometown of Oakland, New Jersey.
Brad is committed to building on the excellent reputation Joan has established in the field of literacy training. His goal is to make Keys to Literacy an organization that provides the best available professional development for educators in the field of literacy. He believes that every teacher deserves the tools and training needed to unlock literacy barriers for students.
Brad’s business and education background make him ideally suited to ensure that Keys to Literacy achieves its mission. After working at MCI and Epsilon in general management for 15+ years, Brad founded a company called BeNOW, a database management firm. Forrester, a nationally recognized industry analyst, awarded BeNOW the #3 ranking in the nation for Strategy, Quality, and Customer Satisfaction. BeNOW earned this prestigious honor two years in a row while serving customers such as Four Seasons Hotels, Six Flags, Sirius Satellite Radio, Met Life, General Motors, and Border’s Books. Brad’s education background includes a B.A. from George Washington University and an M.B.A. from Boston University.