About Us
What works in reading? We adhere to the science of reading which clearly points to providing struggling readers explicit, systematic and sequential instruction.
Our History
KAS Corporation Ltd. was established in 1987 by Doug Heckbert, BA, MA. The name comes from the essential elements of training and education: Knowledge, Attitude and Skills. Doug’s career involved working in criminal justice and for many years, KAS provided educational services related to criminal justice. In 2018, Doug decided to concentrate on writing a book about some of the people he encountered as a probation officer. The book, “Go Ahead and Shoot Me! and Other True Cases about Ordinary Criminals” was published in October, 2020.
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​In 2015, Joanne Heckbert, BA, MEd became co-owner of KAS, bringing her many years of experience in education as a teacher, field experience associate at the University of Alberta, consultant, course writer and workshop facilitator. She is a reading specialist, with a passion to help teachers and parents with their struggling readers. For seven years, she was the “face” of the Right to Read Program as the coordinator with the Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta. For eight years, she offered a summer workshop for teachers dealing with struggling readers. As well, for fourteen years, Joanne worked in schools in Edmonton as a private vendor helping teachers to deal with their struggling readers. Joanne has created sound-spelling cards and produced colour-coded tile boards to help struggling readers learn to decode and encode words. The tile boards are sold to interested teachers and parents.
Meet Joanne
Joanne Heckbert, M.Ed. is a reading specialist with extensive experience in assessment and working with students with reading difficulties and their parents. She has taught in the regular classroom and in highly specialized environments and regularly consults to school boards, providing expert support on assessment and programming for students who struggle with reading and writing.
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She coordinated the Right to Read Program for the Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta for many years.
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She instructed the Struggling Readers in-person course in various areas of Edmonton during the school year and the summer for eight years. She was excited to offer this as an online course, starting in 2021.