Racquel Ward
Founder + Director
Racquel brings over 20 years of clinical and school-based experience working with neurodivergent and complex learners, including students with dyslexia, executive functioning challenges, and twice-exceptional (2e) profiles.
She earned her Master’s in Special Education from Fordham University, is a Teach For America alum, and pursued advanced training in educational therapy through the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Racquel’s work is grounded in the belief that meaningful academic progress requires more than traditional tutoring. She specializes in identifying the underlying cognitive and executive functioning barriers that impact a student’s performance — and designing targeted, individualized interventions that address them directly.
As Founder and Director of The Learning Specialist, Racquel leads the instructional vision and trains her team to integrate research-based practices across disciplines, combining structured, science-based methods with thoughtful, individualized support.
She is currently developing a literacy curriculum grounded in a multi-sensory, integrative framework that engages visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning pathways — with the goal of advancing more effective, brain-based instruction for diverse learners.
Her work centers on helping bright but struggling students close the gap between their potential and their performance — building not only academic skills, but confidence and independence.