About the Authors

Gajan Retnasaba, an entrepreneur with a law degree from Harvard University, created the Developing Sound Sense online phonological awareness curriculum. After attending a workshop on phonological awareness to support his young daughter’s reading development, he approached Betsy Primm and Donna House, experienced educators, to develop a free online curriculum for parents and teachers worldwide.

Both Betsy Primm and Donna House hold Ed.S. degrees in education, and each has over three decades of teaching and administrative experience, specializing in learning disabilities and reading instruction. They have taught at various public and private educational institutions, trained thousands of general education, special education, and pre-school teachers, and provided private tutoring to both advanced and struggling children. Their passion lies in helping children succeed in reading.

Collaborating with Margo Edwards, the online program director, the team spent two years developing the curriculum. Betsy Primm and Donna House provided the content, while Margo Edwards created the engaging games, videos, printables, and clear instructions for the 110 lessons. The curriculum was integrated into Mr. Retnasaba’s website, Sightwords.com, in 2016 and has since been accessed by millions of people worldwide. In 2023, the curriculum was updated and expanded.  The goal of the curriculum and the website is to provide free, high quality, engaging instructional material for use by anyone, any time, anywhere.