Mary Oliver, Western NC mary@smarttesting.net 828-508-8976
Service Areas: Jackson, Macon, Swain, Haywood, Transylvania, Graham, Cherokee, Clay Counties in NC. (Sylva, Cullowhee, Franklin, Bryson City, Cherokee, Cashiers, Highlands, Whittier, Robbinsville, Murphy, Waynesville, Canton, Clyde, Enka, Candler). If you do not see an area listed please feel free to ask as Mary may be able to travel to your area.
Mary is A native to Western North Carolina, raised in Brevard, NC, Mary lives in Sylva, NC with her husband, George, and their 3 sons. Mary received a Bachelor of Arts in Special Education from Western Carolina University. While in college she worked with the North Carolina Autism Society, where she developed assessments, plans of action, and learning techniques for young adults with autism.
After graduation, Mary worked for Cherokee Elementary School as a special education teacher for 8 years. During her time teaching, she had the opportunity to work with children who had many different learning and behavioral needs. She also served as a lead teacher for the special education department and acted as a mentor to beginning teachers.
Mary is currently homeschooling her children and works to create a thriving learning atmosphere for her 3 sons. She currently organizes and leads a Homeschool Co-Op group in order to support several local homeschool families. Also, she leads the children’s ministry and Sunday School program at her home church.
Mary is dedicated to helping children reach their full educational potential. She has a passion for helping parents discover various learning and teaching methods to assist in their homeschooling journey. Mary has years of experience administering assessments to students both in groups and individually, then developing a plan of action for each student’s needs. She is excited about using the Woodcock Johnson IV Achievement test to help give parents a clear picture of each child’s strengths and weaknesses. Mary would be honored and to assist your family with their educational needs.
Service Areas: Jackson, Macon, Swain, Haywood, Transylvania, Graham, Cherokee, Clay Counties in NC. (Sylva, Cullowhee, Franklin, Bryson City, Cherokee, Cashiers, Highlands, Whittier, Robbinsville, Murphy, Waynesville, Canton, Clyde, Enka, Candler). If you do not see an area listed please feel free to ask as Mary may be able to travel to your area.
My husband and I wanted our granddaughter evaluated because of poor school performance. We were especially concerned about grade level proficiency and possible learning disability and/or processing difficulties. We were able to get an appointment the same week we called. Mary Oliver, our evaluator, put E. at ease right away, kept her motivated through hours of testing (with a break), kept her on task, and obtained high effort throughout.
Results were compiled during the testing process and were shared immediately after. E. was included in the brief conference, in which we were given test results, explanations, summaries, and suggestions for educational modifications. All of the information was then e-mailed to E.'s parents.
We were most impressed with Mary's professionalism, ability to relate to E, who strongly dislikes school, and her obvious mastery of the tests and their interpretations. My husband has a Master's degree in psychology and I am a retired teacher, so we both recognized that the administration, scoring, interpretation, and sharing of results by Mary Oliver of Smart Testing is valid and valuable to our family in helping our grandchild to experience school success. We recommend her without reservation. - Jackie S.
Mary, We really appreciate your time in working with N, as well as going over the results with us. We also really appreciate your thoroughness as well as the recommendations you provided that will help N with his more challenging areas. This provided much-needed peace of mind and clarity on where N is in his learning and academic journey. -Melissa D.
Mary, Thank you so much! She got in the car and said, "Can we come back here tomorrow?" She loved spending time with you. The information I received was very helpful. And thank you for the encouragement. I've passed the smarttesting info on to several of my friends, so hopefully, they will contact you soon. -Whitney W.
Mary, Thank you so much, for working with the kids last week. They both said it was "fun!" So amazing job there! I was not expecting that to be their feedback from the day! And I also really appreciate you taking the time to share the apps and programs that have been helpful in your own homeschooling experience. I am very grateful for your feedback, and for the fact that you made it such a nice day for the kids. See you next year if not before!
-Katie J.