PINE STATE LEARNING
ABOUT US
We think teaching children how to read, write, and do math is the. best. job.
That moment it clicks for our students never gets old!
OUR WHY
There's a moment that never gets old. It is when a parent calls to say their kid read a street sign on their own for the first time. Or did mental math without counting on their fingers. Or picked up a book on their own, did their writing homework without drama, or ran into the school without any hesitation. We still get goosebumps.
The point is to make that moment happen for kids who haven't gotten there yet but should have.
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WHO WE ARE
LISA MURPHY M.Ed.
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Lisa has a background in philosophy and came to reading instruction through a genuine curiosity about how people learn.
She built and ran the Intensive Reading Program at the Aucocisco School in Cape Elizabeth before starting Pine State Learning.
Over the years she's worked with hundreds of students and trained the team that runs Pine State today. Parents often say talking to her is the first time anyone has actually explained what's going on with their child — not in jargon, just clearly.
She still oversees all instruction at Pine State and takes students herself. She started this practice because she thought there was a better way to do this work. There was.
ELIZABETH RICHARDS
ADMISSIONS & TUTORING
Elizabeth is often the first person families talk to at Pine State. She has worked with children from infancy through school age and is good at making kids feel comfortable early on, which matters a lot in the first few sessions.
KATHRYN CALLAHAN
TUTORING, HR & ACCOUNTS
Kathryn has been with Pine State for almost five years and handles tutoring, HR, and accounts payable, which tells you everything about her range. She has a gift for finding connection and fun with the students who resist it most.
SOPHIE HUBBERT-SEVERENCE
INSTRUCTIONAL SUPERVISION
& DIRECT INSTRUCTION
Sophie oversees instruction across the whole practice and is trained in multiple structured literacy methods, including Seeing Stars. She also reads prolifically, climbs rocks, and tends a garden. Her cat is named Rue.
HAYLS MANESS
READING AND MATH TUTOR
Hayls brings creativity into everything she does — she makes art, spends time outdoors, and has a particular talent for reaching students who haven't responded to more conventional approaches.
KIERSTON FOLEY
MATH SUPERVISOR & READING TUTOR
Kier loves working directly with kids! She specializes in both math and reading, and when a student finally breaks through something, she is the one jumping around the room!
LALLA CAROTHERS
TUTOR
Lalla has taught English to adults, high schoolers, and everyone in between. She's genuinely skilled at meeting people where they are, which might be the single most important thing in this work.
ERIKA MAZUZAN
TUTOR
Erika brings a calm, steady presence to her sessions that students who've struggled in other settings tend to respond to quickly. She lives in Cumberland with her family and their dog, Tinsel.
DANIELLE CLARK, M.ED.
SUMMER CENTER SUPERVISOR & TUTOR
Danielle has worked alongside Lisa for 10 years, going back to the Aucocisco days. She's also a 7th grade language arts teacher in Windham, holds a Master's in Education, and once played basketball professionally in Europe. She has a rescue dog named Jack.
SUZANNE MCCORMACK, M.ED.
TUTOR
Suzanne has been with us at Pine State Learning for almost two years. As a classroom teacher, she has taught students in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten as well as grades four and five. She loves spending time with her adult daughters, Maeve and Grace, walking their dogs and enjoying all the wonderful outdoor adventures Maine has to offer.
FAQS
Q: What are Lisa Murphy's qualifications? A: Lisa holds a Master's in Education and Curriculum Design and spent years running the Intensive Reading Program at the Aucocisco School in Cape Elizabeth before founding Pine State Learning. She's trained in multiple structured literacy methods including Lindamood-Bell Seeing Stars, LiPS, On Cloud Nine, Visualizing and Verbalizing, and Orton-Gillingam. She has assessed and taught hundreds of students with learning differences, and still takes students herself. She designed the approach the entire PSL team uses. Q: What training do PSL tutors have? A: Every PSL tutor is trained in structured literacy principles and at least one research-validated intervention program — including Orton-Gillingham, Lindamood-Bell LIPS, Seeing Stars, Morningside fluency methods, and On Cloud Nine for math. Tutors don't just complete a certification and stop — they train alongside Lisa and the instructional supervisors and receive ongoing coaching. Q: How do you match a child with a tutor? A: Before any tutoring begins, we build a picture of your child — their skill profile, their personality, what shuts them down and what lights them up. We match based on both. A tutor who is technically excellent but can't make a resistant 10-year-old laugh is the wrong tutor for that child. We take the relationship part as seriously as the credentials. Q: Do you work with children who have been unsuccessful with other tutors? A: That's actually most of our students. Families usually find us after trying something else that didn't work — a tutor who wasn't trained for learning differences, a program that didn't fit, or a year of sessions that produced modest gains but didn't close the gap. We're not for every child, but we're specifically built for kids who haven't made real progress anywhere else. Q: What does a typical PSL tutoring session look like? A: Sessions are structured, fast-paced, and built around what that child needs that week — not a script. A session might include phonological work, orthographic pattern practice, fluency exercises, and applied reading or spelling — but the ratio and focus shift based on what's happening with the student. And yes, we try to make it fun. A kid who dreads sessions doesn't learn well. That's not an opinion — that's the research.