For a small percentage of students, reading falls into place quickly and easily. Whether they learn with Phonics, Whole Language, or a balanced literacy approach, these are the students who will have no difficulty cracking the code. On the flip side, there is a percentage of children for whom cracking the code proves more elusive. In first grade they may appear to be progressing, but at a slower rate. In second grade, the student may begin developing negative feelings about school, specifically about reading. The student may be receiving additional reading support in school but never quite seem to achieve grade level. By upper elementary school, homework has become a source of contention. Many children who struggle with reading will take an inordinate amount of time on homework tasks – hours and hours. A compassionate teacher may advise parents to only do evens or odds or set a timer, but all the while this student continues to fall behind his or her peers. The child may still be receiving support in school and possibly outside school as well. The student is making slow progress despite enormous effort.

Tragically nearly 40% of our students are not reading on grade level in 4th grade. Students are graduating from high school functionally illiterate. The COVID shutdowns greatly impacted literacy but this was an issue long before the pandemic. The Philadelphia Inquirer recently published a detailed article on how teacher education programs are failing to prepare its future teachers to teach reading. Teachers are left to piece together curricula, often paying for their own training and resources. Even worse, many districts are still using materials that are not aligned with current literacy research and failing children. Publishing houses, politics and money get the in way of implementing the highest quality curriculum with proper teacher training and follow through. Schools are rightfully overwhelmed with the numbers of students who need reading support, and in many districts only the most severe qualify for special education services.

Emily Hanford’s podcast Sold a Story brought national attention to the literacy crisis prompting more schools to institute research-based reading programs. You may have read or heard the terms Structured Literacy or Science of Reading. Schools are bringing back programs that rely heavily on phonics. The problem is back in the 1970 and 1980s when Phonics Instruction was the norm, a high percentage of learners (around 30%) were still not meeting literacy goals. This piqued my interest. Why can’t we figure out how to teach everyone how to read?

But, we can. And there are schools getting a very high percentage of their children reading fluently. These schools use high-quality programs, stick with these programs (not just until when there is a new administration), and take a dogged attitude toward remediation. This remediation is intended to be intensive, targeted and efficient. Get kids reading on grade level and fast! Time is precious. 

And, that’s what led me to Linguistic Phonics. Struggling readers don’t have the luxury of time. As they lose ground, avoid reading, their classmates are picking up books, increasing fluency, vocabulary and racing ahead. The gap widens. I have a background in Orton Gillingham and am so grateful for that training. It opened the door to further Linguistics and Structured Word Inquiry studies. It also brought me to the Linguistic Phonics or Speech to Print approach. Stay tuned for a Part II where I detail what Linguistic Phonics is. 

Thank you for reading! This is a space for parents, and beyond this two-part introduction, will be a place where you can find ideas for how to best reinforce best literacy practices at home, a glimpse into what your child is working on in our sessions and book recommendations for students of all ages. I will also share some of the research behind what I incorporate into your child’s sessions.