On Monday, December 4th and Tuesday, December 5th, Radcliffe Creek School was visited by two Dyslexia Specialists from Bowman Educational Services.
In an effort to ensure we are successfully implementing Bowman’s Orton-Gillingham “Plus” reading remediation and meeting the needs of our diverse learners, Radcliffe Creek School invited members of Bowman Educational Services for a tour and visit of our campus. Stephanie Pratt and Diane Simms, both Certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialists from Bowman Educational Services, spent two days on campus visiting with teachers, observing classes, and modeling lessons for our teachers.
"We were both blown away by the vibrancy of this learning community," Pratt said. "It is a community full of life that is remarkably student-centered, and the kindness and respect from teacher to student and from student to teacher was impressive."
While eight of our other faculty are also OG trained, for this visit our five current OG teachers chose a lesson that they would like the Dyslexia Specialists to observe. Following the observation of the lesson, the Dyslexia Specialists met with the teacher to share their insights, observations and suggestions. Later, the Dyslexia Specialists reviewed data and helped modify treatment plans (if it was deemed necessary) for specific students. On Tuesday afternoon, the Dyslexia Specialists met with our current Orton-Gillingham teachers to review components of an Orton lesson, answer questions, and share new research and multi-sensory strategies.
"It is a happy community where you can tell the students feel a sense of belonging, and the teachers were so impressive in their eagerness to grow and learn, open to new ideas, and so welcoming to our modeling and new strategies," Pratt added. "We couldn't be happier with our visit. It was so invigorating for us as trainers."
The Orton-Gillingham method of reading instruction was developed by Dr. Samuel T. Orton and Anna Gillingham in the 1930s to help people struggling with reading. It teaches the connection between sounds and letters and simultaneously builds reading, writing and spelling skills. Instruction begins by focusing on the structure of language and gradually moves towards reading by providing students with immediate feedback and a predictable sequencing.
Since its inception in 1996, Radcliffe Creek School has adopted the Orton-Gillingham philosophy of teaching as a fundamental pillar in our unique approach to personalized learning. With thirteen of our sixteen teachers trained in the Orton-Gillingham methodology, the philosophies and principles it encompasses are used across all spectrums of our curriculum.
In July 2020, Radcliffe was the beneficiary of an anonymous donation of $40,000 to help endow the position of an Orton-Gillingham teacher and provide continued training for uncertified teachers. We are grateful for the support of this generous donor who so deeply understands the importance of this methodology to Radcliffe Creek School. As we strive to reach 100% of our teaching staff trained in the Orton-Gillingham methodology, we encourage you to join our anonymous donor in pledging to our Radcliffe Fund. Launched just this Monday, the Radcliffe Fund is the easiest way to help every child at Radcliffe Creek School.