ATHOL – After time spent traveling and working in education, Loren Parsons, a 1999 graduate of Athol High School, has returned home in hopes of teaching kids of all ages the joys of reading.

Parsons recently opened the Reading Refinery at 475 Main St. in Athol. She said she returned to the town “because my family is all still here. I was sort of the ‘lone wolf’ at that time, living in Jacksonville. I have two kids, so I just wanted to be back home with family. I do want to raise them in a small community – I kind of wanted them to experience what I experienced.”

Parsons earned a bachelors degree in science from Fitchburg State University before discovering an interest in public health, particularly from the fitness aspect. She went on to work at the Framingham YMCA, the Salem location of Boston HealthWorks, and then for the YMCA in San Diego, California.

During the Covid pandemic, Parsons wound up working on software for a virtual school in Florida.

“When I was doing the virtual school, I really started to get into the education aspect and became very fascinated in reading,” she said. “So, I went back to Jacksonville Community College, where I picked up a lot of education courses. I just kept going and went on to get my masters in education from Louisiana State University, which I completed online.”

She described her program as being open to everyone, with the goal of creating a place for the community to experience reading and literacy. She’s working on becoming a nonprofit, and once that is done, she plans to look at opportunities for grants and fundraising, in order to offer scholarships for those that need them.

Pointing to what she calls her “sound wall,” Parsons explained, “I teach the science of reading. I’m trained through the University of Florida Literacy Institute, and they really looked at all the latest study and documentation on the science of reading; how are we reading, how are kids understanding it, what is actually making sense?

“We’re not memorizing words anymore,” she continued. “We’re not just tying a letter to a sound, singularly. We’re looking at a bigger picture; what letter matches this sound, what are the variations of it, what am I looking at when I see print, and what can I do to recall those words? So, it’s a little deeper than what kids may find in a public setting.”

Parsons added that children have a range of needs, and it can be hard sometimes for a teacher to help those that may be struggling.

“That’s what I want to do; I want to get those kids who may be having a hard time,” she said.

Parsons said all of her classes will be “maxed out at five kids. That way I can really get in there and teach the child, but they’re also working together as partners and getting social skills at the same time.”

Right now, classes are set up based on the children’s grade level, she said. In the fall they will be set up more based on reading level. Some classes are for kids from kindergarten through fifth grade, and there is also a Mommy and Me, Math Masters and Teen Lit Lab offered, and these all range from children as young as 3, to sixth grade and up.

The cost is $100 for five hour-long sessions, $125 for five 90-minute sessions, and $75 for five sessions of Mommy & Me literacy time. Classes begin on June 30.

Parents and guardians can purchase a class package and choose the days the best fit their schedule. Parsons recommends that children attend classes for a full week at a time to get the best experience. However, given summer schedules, she said, families can “mix and match.”

To register or for more information visit https://www.thereadingrefinery.com. For questions, email info@thereadingrefinery.com.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.