Compassionate Care, Professional Expertise
Meet our Founder
Mary Kaeser-Miller
Founder & Reading Specialist,
The Literacy Link Reading Center
Mary Kaeser-Miller brings over 30 years of experience in education and a lifelong passion for helping children learn to read. Her professional journey includes more than a decade of teaching kindergarten and first grade, and leadership roles such as Co-Owner, Lead Literacy Coach, Mentor, and Curriculum Director at Dyslexia St. Louis.
Today, Mary is the Owner of The Literacy Link Reading Center, where she is Curriculum Director, Professional Development Coordinator and Lead Literacy Coach.
As a certified Barton Reading and Spelling System reading instructor, Mary is committed to staying current and grounded in the most effective, evidence-based practices in reading science.
Mary specializes in working with struggling readers providing one-on-one instruction in vocabulary, comprehension, decoding, fluency, and spelling. She is deeply dedicated to helping students recognize their strengths, build confidence, and rediscover the joy of learning. Her warm, student-centered approach reflects a strong belief in the power of relationships and individualized support.
An outspoken advocate for the dyslexic community, Mary founded the Dyslexia St. Louis Parent and Professional Support Facebook group to connect families and educators with vital resources. She has served on the board of the International Dyslexia Association’s Kansas-Missouri branch and currently serves as Vice President of The Reading League Missouri, working to further the mission that “all children deserve to learn to read, and all teachers can learn to teach them.”
Mary’s work is inspired by her own family’s journey with dyslexia, particularly the challenges her son faced. That personal experience gave her firsthand insight into the emotional impact dyslexia can have on a child and their family. In response, she founded The Literacy Link Reading Center to provide compassionate, personalized, evidence-based reading instruction—and to ensure that no child or parent feels alone in the journey.
Meet Bernie, The Literacy Link Therapy Dog
Bernie is a young Aussiedoodle who belongs to Miss Kaye. He visits The Literacy Link Reading Center to help students feel calm, supported, and loved as they work hard on their reading and spelling. The students are some of Bernie’s favorite people! He continues to train weekly and is currently working toward earning his Canine Good Citizen Certification. Word around town is that Bernie is one of the reasons kids look forward to coming to the center!
Meet Some of Our Proud Students
Here are just a few of our amazing students who have completed a level of the Barton Reading and Spelling System.
This achievement represents a proud milestone for them, as it reflects their dedication, hard work, and commitment. To celebrate their success, we take their photos and proudly display them on our Center’s walls. Our students are at the heart of everything we do, and fostering their sense of self-worth is one of our highest priorities.
Meet Our Literacy Coaches
Our skilled reading instructors make a meaningful impact on students’ lives.
Get to know our team of dedicated literacy guides.
Leslie is a certified reading specialist with over 20 years of teaching experience. For the past 11 years, she has taught reading for grades K – 2 in a local school district. Leslie is in her sixth year as a Reading Coach, and she loves seeing her students thrive as they progress through the Barton levels. Leslie is an avid walker and loves to traverse her neighborhood with her yellow lab, Maisie.
Andrea is a certified reading specialist with over 35 years of teaching experience. She has worked for two area school districts as both a classroom teacher and a reading specialist, supporting students in grades K-6. Andrea is grateful to be a part of such a knowledgeable and caring team of reading coaches at Dyslexia St. Louis. She enjoys working with students and being able to support them as they become more confident readers and writers. Andrea has two grown daughters who live and work in the St. Louis area. She has a 14 year old Dachshund named Daisy who keeps her active. Andrea also enjoys spending time with family and friends, volunteering, walking and reading.
I am in my 30th year of teaching and all but 4 have been focused on middle school readers! I have also taught elementary school and ESL students.
As a middle school teacher I was becoming more and more curious about how students are taught to read when they are younger. Working at The Literacy Link combines my passions: building relationships with kids and helping them learn reading skills in the way that they learn best to form lifetime skills.
With over 30 years of classroom experience, Kaye Rueschhoff has devoted her career to helping students become confident, capable readers. After retiring from the Lindbergh School District, where she served as both a classroom teacher and reading specialist, she earned her Dyslexia Certification and joined The Literacy Link Reading Center. There, she provides targeted reading support and helps students build the skills—and confidence—they need to thrive. Kaye also mentors fellow Literacy Coaches, sharing her knowledge and passion to strengthen literacy instruction across the center.
Outside of her work, Kaye enjoys life with her husband Jeff and their dog Bernie. She stays connected with her two adult children and finds joy in reading, live music, movies, Blues Hockey, and Cardinals Baseball.
Joy has 21 years of classroom teaching experience. I taught 6th grade my first year, then 3rd grade for 5 years before I found my forever home in kindergarten! I have been a kindergarten teacher for 15 years! First and foremost, I enjoy helping children grow their reading skills to be successful at school and beyond! I love being a part of the Literacy Link because I am a part of a group of talented educators! The Literacy Link staff support me in my professional growth mindset and provide me the most effective professional learning to advance my teaching skills. Andrea A. I was a teacher for 39 years in public education. The first nine years, I taught as an elementary classroom teacher and for the next thirty years, I taught as a reading specialist. After retirement in 2023, I wanted to continue to help children, learn and enjoy the important foundational skills of reading. I was thrilled to find The Literacy Link Reading Center teachers who share my passion to help children learn to read. I’m grateful to be a part of their team.
Kathy began her teaching career as a classroom teacher and eventually started and designed the curriculum for a Junior Kindergarten at her church preschool. She has always loved teaching, but found her passion in working with children with dyslexia. This passion led her to become a Certified Barton Tutor. She’s seen firsthand the life-changing impact that explicit reading instruction has with her dyslexic son, and absolutely loves seeing the same amazing progress with her students. When she’s not tutoring, Kathy enjoys spending time with her family, reading and running.
I am currently a middle school resource teacher in my 8th year of teaching. I taught elementary (primarily 3-5) for 3 years and have been a middle school resource teacher for 5 years. I have my certification in both elementary education and special education. I have my Master’s Degree in Special Education and I am finishing my Master’s in Reading this December. I have my Dyslexia Certificate, and I am working through Volume 2 of LETRS training. I am familiar with a number of writing and reading interventions at both the elementary and middle school level. I particularly enjoy helping students find their confidence with reading and providing them with strategies they can use in all settings to feel successful.
In my free time, I like to spend time with my husband and my dog, Jenni.
Jennifer is retired from public education after 30 years of teaching. I have 20 years of experience teaching first grade, 7 years in second grade, 3 in kindergarten and pre-k. I also spent several years as a literacy coach. I came to The Literacy Link because it has the perfect balance for me! I am able to continue to work with children and literacy. Both of these are my passion and have been for over 30 years! I love being able to stay connected to such meaningful work with awesome kids!
As a career middle school teacher, I have enjoyed working with my students on ways to use reading, writing, and speaking skills to explore a wide variety of nonfiction topics, from U.S. history to community service projects. Communication in its many forms is vital to being a strong, successful citizen.
Kathi is an experienced educator, having taught first grade for 29 years at House Springs Elementary. She retired from the Northwest R-1 School District in 2023. She holds a BS in Elementary Education from the university of Missouri St. Louis. In addition she holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Webster University. Kathi has always had a strong passion for teaching her first graders how to read. Kathi joined The Literacy Link in 2024 She loves being a Literacy Coach and seeing the amazing progress her kids make here at the Center. In her spare time, Kathi loves spending time with her family and traveling.
Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science in English from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a Master’s degree in Elementary and Early childhood Education from Missouri Baptist University. She brings 20 years of classroom experience and currently teaches kindergarten. Melissa is passsionate about early childhood education and finds joy in helping young learners grow both academically and emotionally. She is especially committed to supporting students as they overcome challenges and build confidence. Outside of teaching, Melissa enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, practicing yoga and reading.
I am currently a middle school resource teacher in my 8th year of teaching. I taught elementary (primarily 3-5) for 3 years and have been a middle school resource teacher for 5 years. I have my certification in both elementary education and special education. I have my Master’s Degree in Special Education and I am finishing my Master’s in Reading this December. I have my Dyslexia Certificate, and I am working through Volume 2 of LETRS training. I am familiar with a number of writing and reading interventions at both the elementary and middle school level. I particularly enjoy helping students find their confidence with reading and providing them with strategies they can use in all settings to feel successful.
In my free time, I like to spend time with my husband and my dog, Jenni.
I have been an educator for over twenty years teaching English Language Arts and American history to 7th and 8th graders. A few of my colleagues work at the center, so I too joined The Literacy Link team in 2024. After hearing about the wonderful program, services, and people involved at The Literacy Link, I knew it would quickly become a passion of mine as well. My commitment is to teach the skills and the strategies to help readers develop the love of reading. My hobbies are gardening, reading, writing, and traveling.
My name is Pam. My husband and I have 2 wonderful children, and one adorable puppy. I have been teaching for 26 years and couldn’t imagine a different job! I work with 4th and 5th graders, and love this age and curriculum we work through. I joined the Literacy Link as a reading coach last year because I wanted to see the progress I could make working with kids in a one on one setting. It has been so fulfilling seeing the growth my students have made with the Barton reading program! I love to read, and hope to share my love of reading with all of my students and making genuine connections!
