LearnUp Speaker Series: Julia Shayto from Phonics and Stuff

On February 4th, 2026, LearnUp Centers welcomed Julia Shayto, founder of Phonics and Stuff, as a guest speaker. Julia Shayto is the creator of Phonics and Stuff, an online resource for teaching reading through phonics and morphology. Currently a reading and math interventionist in a public elementary school, she works directly with beginning and struggling readers. Drawing on a diverse background as a Montessori teacher and homeschool parent, Julia began the site as a passion project to build the tools she needed. Today, she shares these free, customizable resources with educators worldwide. LearnUp is a nonprofit literacy center based in San Francisco on a mission to change how we teach all levels and types of learners to read. LearnUp teaches struggling readers, with or without a diagnosis of dyslexia, to read at grade level and beyond. More effectively and efficiently—in about half the time—than most other major reading programs.