Teacher Uses O-G to Reach New Heights with Students

Scott Fisher’s enthusiasm is contagious. "The thing I love most about teaching is that moment of discovery, when children make connections and their little brains explode," says Scott, who teaches kindergarten at Asheville’s Isaac Dixon Elementary. "You can see it in their faces.  It's priceless." Scott also believes the Orton-Gillingham (O-G) training he recently went through is priceless. "O-G training has had a huge impact on my understanding of both the English language and developmentally appropriate teaching practices for reading and writing."

On one hand, Scott uses it in the classroom in his small group work. "I’ve also been incorporating O-G principles and activities into my whole-class Fundations curriculum, which covers phonics and language development. I’ve got a much stronger grasp on the spelling patterns of our language, which makes me better prepared to answer students’ questions. O-G supplements make my lessons much more enjoyable for students."

He’s seen the O-G approach impact non-dyslexic students as well. "So far, the O-G additions I’ve made have really hit home with my high flyers who were sometimes bored with whole-class phonics instruction. I simply slip slightly more advanced rules and patterns to those students who are ready, while reinforcing basic phonetic instruction for the entire class."

All students seem to appreciate Scott’s daily warmup. "In our Fundations curriculum, we warm up daily with drill sounds, repeating the letter name and keyword and sound of many letters (it sounds like "K, kite, /k/!"),” he says. "Because O-G is a multisensory approach, our trainer and O-G Fellow Susie van der Vorst recommended I added a tactile element to the drill.  Now my children are all repeating the drills while simultaneously using two fingers to trace the letter on the carpet.  They are engaging their visual, auditory and kinesthetic/tactile senses, strengthening the pathway to the brain."

Incorporating the O-G approach in the primary grades is critical according to Scott. “Everything about a student’s career hinges on those first few years."

Scott is thankful to OpenDoors of Asheville for inviting him to participate in O-G training. "For people like me, with a huge curiosity and thirst for understanding, it’s been a very rewarding experience. In my mind, every teacher should be given the option to learn the O-G approach."

OpenDoors Uses O-G Approach as Tool to Help Children Rise Above Poverty

Jen Ramming had no idea that volunteering in a third grade classroom would change her life. “The dynamics fascinated me,” she recalls. “I asked the teacher what I could do to help. One day, she asked me to take three boys, who were disruptive, out of the classroom. We went to the library for books and curled up in the hallway where we took turns reading. Although I realized they were clearly bright and capable, not a single one of these young boys, whose lives had been touched by multi-generational poverty, knew more than five words by sight. One knew the alphabet, but not the sounds. They were learning to read while other kids were reading to learn.”

Before long, Jen had taken one of the boys under her wing, signing him up to play soccer on her son’s team. Knowing his family’s precarious situation, she made sure Jamer always had enough to eat, and went out of her way to pick him up for games. “The soccer team embraced this young man and his family, offering rides, taking him on family outings and even vacations. Essentially, we became extended family.

Other children followed suit. “Suddenly, there were nine boys and girls, each from a family dealing with the challenges of multi-generational poverty. We were opening doors and the kids were walking through. I felt like we had something going that was replicable for other children.”

From that germ of an idea, Jen helped create a board of directors with a group of concerned parents and professionals from varied fields. Together, they founded OpenDoors of Asheville  to help local children reach their potential through individualized networks of support and a host of educational and enrichment opportunities. These opportunities, which range from tutoring to summer camp, are designed to help children begin to invest in themselves and ultimately break the cycle of multi-generational poverty. Jen is proud to serve as the organization’s executive director.

Having spent time observing Jamer, Jen’s friend Dr. Marcy Sirkin, who owns Arden Reading Clinic North, had a gut feeling he was dyslexic. She then asked colleague Dr. Deirdre Christy to evaluate him. As suspected, Dr. Christy confirmed he was bright and profoundly dyslexic.

With that knowledge in hand, Jen began learning about Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and how to navigate the system and advocate for him. “It didn’t take me long to realize how overlooked and underserved this child had been.”

With Jamer already so far behind in reading, Jen knew a remediation plan had to be put in place. Based on research and conversations with Dr. Sirkin, she believed the most effective solution would be to access an experienced Orton-Gillingham (O-G) tutor.

Jen likes to say she became an O-G groupie when she saw Jamer’s progress. “In one year, he jumped two full grade levels in reading. By the time he was in 8^th grade, and being exclusively homeschooled in Orton, he was getting the equivalent of A’s and B’s. If you give children the tools, they become readers who want to learn.”

Jamer’s progress clearly illustrated the benefits of O-G’s multi-sensory approach to teaching reading and writing. Knowing O-G would help OpenDoors children achieve significant gains, the organization began laying the groundwork to fund teacher training within the Asheville City School District that served her young clients.

Drawing on general operating funds, OpenDoors hired O-G Fellow and Camp Spring Creek Co-Founder Susie van der Vorst to train a hand-picked group of Asheville City Schools’ teachers, Since then, OpenDoors has shared the training expenses with Asheville City Schools in addition to securing grants such as the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina “People in Need” grant.

Asheville City Schools Teacher Scott Fisher is grateful to OpenDoors for helping him open a door of his own. “O-G training has had a huge impact on my understanding of the English language, and on developmentally appropriate practices for reading and writing. I now have a much stronger grasp on the spelling patterns of our language, and can accommodate more student inquiries than I was able to in the past. I am more capable of keeping my entire class engaged in our learning because I can slip slightly more advanced rules and patterns to those students who are ready, while still reinforcing basic phonetic instruction for the entire class.”

OpenDoors prioritizes training for kindergarten, first and second grade teachers. “Early intervention is critical, especially for children living in poverty,” Jen says. “Research has shown that teaching reading to children from multi-generational poverty is often like teaching them a second language because they’ve not had as many language enriched experiences as a child whose family has ample resources. They grasp so much more when the words are broken down using a multi-sensory approach.”

While OpenDoors is working to determine the best methods for capturing data to detail student and teachers success, of this they are certain – since incorporating O-G, there is a clear rise in reading levels, self-esteem, improved behavior and attendance among OpenDoors students.

“If you take away the financial barriers, parents throughout the country choose the O-G approach to help their children who struggle to read,” Jen says. “It’s one of the only research based  methods proven to meet children where they are and give them the tools they need to become confident readers and writers. It’s not just what children with financial means need; it’s what all children need.”

According to literacy experts like Dr. Sally Shaywitz, all children can learn to read. “We understand that 95% of our nation’s children can learn to read on grade level, and the other 5% can learn to be functionally literate with appropriate support,” Jen notes. “It’s important to set the bar at 100% literacy using proven strategies for teaching because illiteracy is akin to a life sentence.”

Yancey County Principal Believes Orton Gillingham Training Played Critical Role In School Turnaround

Sherry Robinson realized Bald Creek Elementary had some serious gaps in their literacy program. The Exceptional Children’s (EC) population was the highest in the county. Math scores were unacceptably low. The recently hired principal had been told the school was identified for needing improvement given poor test scores. The question she found herself asking  - what was the problem and more importantly, how could she address the challenges? Although she recognized the path toward academic success was going to be an arduous one, she was still shocked when her newest hire, 4^th grade reading teacher Lori McCourry, stepped into her office and told her 13 of her 27 students were reading at only a first grade level.

Prior to joining Bald Creek full-time, Lori let Sherry know she had committed to taking the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators Associate Level training with Susie van der Vorst. “I’d never heard of the organization or the training,” Sherry remembers. “Lori began explaining the Orton Gillingham (O-G) approach to me and let me know she was willing to pay for the training program herself given the expense.  I knew if she was willing to pay for it herself, it must be really good, but I could never have guessed the positive impact it would have on our school at that point. I let her know we weren’t going to let money keep us from having what our students needed.”

“At first, parents weren’t willing to admit something was wrong,” Lori says. “I was the new teacher, shaking things up.”

A little shaking up was exactly what the school needed. Lori began incorporating what she’d learned into her daily routine. “You can’t teach what you don’t know,” Lori says. “With the Orton-Gillingham training, I acquired greater knowledge of words and an understanding of how the brain has to work in order to read. I began breaking words into sounds and doing a lot of phonics with students. I found that I was much better at seeing where students struggled and had a greater knowledge of how to fix problems through targeted instruction.”

Having seen the immediate difference O-G made in Lori’s teaching, Sherry realized the school needed to have its kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade teachers trained as well. “In kindergarten, 1st and 2nd, you’re learning to read,” she says.  “In 3rd, 4th and 5th, you’re reading to learn.  Our 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders, for example, take math tests that contain only word problems. Students have to be able to comprehend what they’re reading in order to pass, which is why those first few years are so critical.”

Sherry is grateful to 1^st grade teacher Laura Davis who also jumped on board, became O-G trained, and took on the task of aligning O-G principles with the school’s newly implemented Letterland program. “It gave us a powerful phonics program.”  Over the years, each teacher who’s gone through the training has incorporated elements of the multisensory approach as they suit their classroom needs. “My goal is to have all Bald Creek teachers O-G trained," Sherry says.

Fast forward eight years. The majority of Bald Creek’s teachers have been O-G trained. Now that students are getting what they need, the school’s EC numbers are no longer the county’s highest. In fact, they have been cut in half. Lori, who’s now teaching 3^rd grade reading, says only one student of 31 is reading slightly below third grade level.  The school was honored in 2014/15 and 2015/16 as a Title 1 National Distinguished School Nominee.  They received $100,000 NC Title 1 Grant for sustaining the highest performance of school achievement over a number of years.

Sherry believes O-G training played a critical role in the turnaround. “Our teachers continually tell us they had no idea how much they didn’t know until they went through Susie’s training. The more they know; the better they teach and the better our students do. Today, the entire school takes great pride in being able to say we are an Orton school.”

 

For the Children by Rob Langston

Today's book rec comes from Susie, who suggests that the beginning of the school year is always a great time to review your goals to work as a team with you child's teachers, school administrators, or IEP team members. There can be many barriers, but there can also be many successes. Clear communication, goals, and expectataions along with a positive outlook are keys to success. After all, everyone has the same goal: to get your child the best educational opportunities possible. To that end Rob Langston's For the Children: Redefining Success in School and Success in Life is worth taking a look at. With so many messages from schools, from home, from media, and from research, and from society in general, sometimes it's hard to know "how to be." The author's Amazon page notes, "In this book I tell you about my struggles and accomplishments as a child and an adult with Dyslexia, with the hope that it will give you the strength and encouragement to help yourself or a loved one. I strongly urge you to read this book and apply it to your life. Don't ever give up on your dreams and always believe in yourself." Read more here.

In her Own Words: Melisa Cadell

“The biggest thing for Ben at camp was that he was surrounded by other children with dyslexia and so he found kids who look at the world in the same ways that he does. It was an amazing time where there was no stigma attached to him. Instead, the message was that you have to advocate for yourself and remember that the sky is the limit. It was amazing, as a mother, to watch him go through that. He came home and told me, ‘Now I don’t feel like I’m stupid.’ He’s had that thought since first grade, but now he doesn’t. There truly is a stigma with this kind of thing in the schools, but now, Ben knows that he learns differently and he knows he has strengths.” —Melisa Cadell, artist, parent of Camp Spring Creek camper Ben

(Read Ben’s full story in our front page feature right here.)

Video: Tutoring for Accuracy

Here's another in our series of videos on tutoring using Orton-Gillingham practices. For more lessons you can use at home or in the classroom, subscribe to our YouTube channel (link on right sidebar).

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIsVxeBQs74&feature=youtu.be[/embed]

Week 8 Photos, 2015

(Sorry these are posted late and out of order...our beloved camp photographer Nina was packing for college!

Two Books, Three Authors, Many Activities

Today we'd like to recommend two books that Susie finds helpful and often shares with others during her training programs. First, Creating Robust Vocabulary: Frequently Asked Questions & Extended Examples by Isabel L. Beck PhD, Margaret G. McKeown Phd, and Linda Kucan. Second, Bringing Words to Life, Second Edition: Robust Vocabulary Instruction by the same authors. Lead author Isabel Beck's bio reads impressively: "Isabel Beck, Ph.D., is a Professor of Education and Senior Scientist at the University of Pittsburgh, where she teaches reading education courses and conducts reading research. She has engaged in extensive research on decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension, and has published her work in over 100 articles and chapters as well as in several books. She is a recipient of the Oscar S. Causey Award for Outstanding research from the National Reading Conference and the International Reading Association’s William S. Gray Award for lifetime contributions to the field. She is also a recipient of the contributing researcher award from the American Federation of Teachers for "bridging the gap between research and practice.”

Beck is also the author of Text Talk, a multi-approach text-to-talk learning program for three different levels, sponsored by Scholastic. Enjoy these resources!

Week 7 Photos, 2015

Week 6 Photos, 2015

Week 5 Photos, 2015

In His Own Words: Conor Lennon

Today's blog is a guest post from first-time counselor at Camp Spring Creek, Conor. Thanks, Conor, for all your hard work and heartfelt reflections. We're so glad you're here!

So it’s been four weeks since camp officially started and this year’s crop of campers descended on Camp Spring Creek. I’ve now been in North Carolina a little over a month, and can honestly say it has been the quickest five weeks I have ever experienced. At the same time--and I’m aware of how contradictory this sounds--when I think back over everything that has happened since I touched down in Charlotte, it feels like I must have been here for months. Maybe even years. Since I arrived, I have acquired an American Red Cross qualification in lifeguarding and CPR (thanks to our very patient and understanding instructor), attended a genuine sidewalk street dance in Bakersville, experienced 4^th of July as the Americans celebrate it and, as well as countless others, met the most amazing group of people (campers, counselors and tutors) I’ve ever encountered.

That’s what really sets this camp above its larger counterparts. Hidden up in the mountains, with no television, Internet or cell phone connection, camp becomes its own little secluded community. As I write this, we consist of approximately fifty-two people; thirty campers, eight counselors, seven tutors, assorted members of staff, and the van der Vorst family.

Before we continue, I would like to apologize for the frequent references to the passing of time in this post--how many weeks camp has been up and running, how long it has been since I arrived, the length of time until camp wraps up, etc. The reason I mention it so often is because I truly cannot believe both how fast time is passing and how much is being achieved in that time. It’s almost as if, in our little dyslexia-orientated enclave in the Blue Ridge Mountains, time is passing differently than in the rest of the world. Having such a small, intimate camp means that during the course of the last four weeks (I did warn you) I’ve really gotten to know all of the campers personally, as well as forging extremely tight bonds with my fellow counselors and colleagues. Though it can be difficult at times, I couldn’t have asked for a better or more diverse group of kids for which to be responsible.

All the children have very different personalities and skill-sets and it’s enthralling to watch as these traits slowly become apparent as camp goes on and the campers grow in confidence. As cliché as it sounds, I have probably learned more from this bunch of 6 to 15 year olds than they have from me. It can be extremely humbling to become engrossed in a debate about education, history, or even philosophy, only to realize part-way through that you are having this very mature discussion with a twelve-year-old (and even more humbling when said twelve-year-old reveals they are at least as knowledgeable, or even more knowledgeable, about the subject than you are!).

Despite only meeting them three weeks ago, the thought that many of these kids will be leaving this [last] week is a source of genuine distress to my fellow counselors and I, which is a testament to both the campers and Camp Spring Creek as a whole. Though we’re not even halfway through our stay at camp, several of the counsellors (including myself) have already decided that we would like to return again next year, provided Susie and Steve will take us back, of course!

Before I arrived in North Carolina I was, quite frankly, at a loss as to what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and where I wanted to go. Already, I can say that choosing to become a counselor at Camp Spring Creek is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I’ve learned an awful lot about myself that I never would have known if I’d stayed at home and it has given me some real direction as to what I want to do after the summer. I remember reading a previous entry on this blog prior to my arrival at camp that described a summer at Camp Spring Creek as "the hardest fun I’ve ever had," pretty much summing up my last few weeks in six words.

And I wouldn’t change a thing.

Week 4 Photos, 2015

Week 3 Photos, 2015

Week 2 Photos, 2015

Week 1 Photos, 2015

Backcountry Basics Video Clips

Fresh from camp, these clips were shot this afternoon when Katey met with the senior campers for their first introduction to backcountry basics. They rotated through stations to practice cooking a meal, packing and fitting a pack, pumping and purifying water, and digging cat holes for a backcountry latrine. They'll spend an additional hour each day this week practicing these skills, as well as time sorting and packing food and gear as they get ready to hit the trails this Friday! At the end of our afternoon, each camper shared "Hopes & Hesitations" by writing down one thing they hope for on the trip and one thing they feel hesitant about. We shared the hopes and hesitations anonymously and debriefed, getting pumped up for the trip.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbEUVxC0aV0&w=560&h=315]

Summer 2015 Stats

The campers arrived this weekend! We're thrilled to welcome them and wish everyone safe travels back across the globe as you make your way from Bakersville, North Carolina to home. Here's a little breakdown of info about some of this year's campers: 

Opening Day Snapshots, 2015

Thanks to our camp photographer, Nina van der Vorst, for these opening day snapshots. We're having a blast so far!

When the School Says No, How to Get the Yes! by Vaughn K Lauer

We're so excited about this new book rec find! From the Amazon book page: "When planning a child's Individualized Education Program (IEP), it is vital that parents and educators are involved in collaborative decision making. This book offers parents of children with autism and other disabilities a unique way of approaching and tackling the problems that can arise relating to the provision of special education services. Taking a structured, cooperative approach to IEPs, the easily applicable six question process enables parents to determine the needs of their child and obtain the services required by asking key questions during IEP meetings. Explaining the approach through real life scenarios and issues, this book demonstrates how to achieve effective collaboration with school personnel, ensuring the child receives the appropriate and necessary educational program and services. Providing a practical, structured approach to IEP planning for parents and offering insight into the parental perspective for educators, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone involved in IEP meetings."