A former Katy ISD teacher is putting her many years of experience to work, starting a new company which aims to help parents help their children with their academic performance.

Beyond Words Learning (beyondwordslearning.com) was founded in February 2026 by Anne Scott after three months in development.

“The primary goal is to help parents of middle-school age kids help their own children in grammar, writing, and reading comprehension,” Anne Scott told the Katy Times in an email interview. “Our lessons and practices are geared towards students in grades five through nine, though older students can also use them as remediation or review.”

Anne Scott, an honor graduate of the University of Texas and state certified teacher in English, reading, math, ESL and GT, recently retired after teaching English in public school for 28 years. “During that time, I, and many parents as well, came to feel that the educational establishment has de-emphasized the mastery of basic literacy skills, especially writing skills,” she said. “Even in my younger years of teaching, I was considered a fairly ‘old-school’ type of teacher because I directly taught grammar and writing skills to my students and then expected them to use these skills. I also searched hard for books and stories that were both interesting and appropriate for students to read that would build reading comprehension and pleasure in reading. As a result, I made many of my own lessons through the years. I also taught advanced gifted-and-talented students during some of my teaching years, and I devised advanced lessons to them to advance their skills even further.”

Since her retirement, Anne Scott has tweaked many of those lessons to make them easy for a parent or homeschool teacher to use with an individual student or a small group.

The products are designed for parents who homeschool their children, or parents who want to support and help their children who are enrolled in public, private or charter school, Anne Scott said. The middle school academic years of grades 5-9 are the target for her products. “The full range of ELA skills from grammar, usage, writing, and the study of targeted novels, stories, and passage to improve reading comprehension skills are the primary focus of instruction,” she said.

“There are close to 200 lessons as single subject lessons, but many of these are bundled together as several lessons for a low price. In writing, the lessons cover basic grammar and usage skills, composition and essay-writing, and tips on how to succeed on standardized tests,” Anne Scott said. “The reading lessons include basic reading comprehension lessons and a number of vocabulary lessons that teach students how to figure out unknown words on their own. There are also lessons geared to more than 20 novels and short stories that are appropriate for middle-school students. Generally, the individual lessons range between $2-$7 while the bundled lessons range from about $5-$15. In some bundles,

there are six to eight or more individual lessons. All the lessons are ones that I and others have used successfully both in the classroom and for individual tutoring.”

Beyond Words Learning also offers diagnostic tools to help parents assess their child’s individual needs, so that parents can know if their children are on pace for success in high school and beyond.

“Parents may not be sure if their children are really at grade-level, or if there are serious deficiencies,” Anne Scott said. “We also offer a diagnostic assessment so parents can really understand the skills of their children. We give parents the information help they need to help their children in the privacy of their home. Further, we can collaborate privately on academic issues and challenges their children face.”

“The good news is that once mastered, these skills are mastered forever,” Anne Scott said.

Anne’s husband George, a former KISD school board member and a former publisher of the Katy Times, is working with Anne as the company’s research director. “Our webmaster, coupled with our own marketing backgrounds, will become a team to find the most effective ways to spread the news about our service and products.”