Congratulations
Stride Academy, a charter school, won Innovation Of The Month from the Minnesota Association of Charter Schools for their amazing success with students who have dyslexia and bilingual students.
Two Dyslexia Specialists, who are also Certified Barton Tutors, run the school’s intervention program using the Barton Reading & Spelling System.
They educate parents and teachers about dyslexia, screen students who have 3 or more of the classic warning signs, provide tutoring, and ensure teachers provide classroom accommodations.
Students who struggled and failed at traditional schools are thriving at Stride Academy – academically and socially.
To learn more, watch this 4-minute video.
Brian Has Been Completely Remediated
This is why Susan Barton warns parents that if their child needs testing to prove dyslexia, do not wait until they have finished the Barton System.
I wanted to share some exciting news about my son, Brian, who is now 16.
He was diagnosed with severe dyslexia when he was 10.
He needed an updated educational evaluation for accommodations on the college entrance exams. He was evaluated by Dr. Varia, Ph.D. from Mindwell Psychology. She has a strong specialty in dyslexia.
After Dr. Varia tested him, she told me that she would not have known Brian has dyslexia had I not told her prior to the exam. Her testing did not pick it up. She said Brian has been completely remediated. I was stunned!
I knew your program was the best, but I had no idea that it could improve Brian’s reading and spelling skills to the point that his dyslexia became undetectable.
So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you so very much!
Amy Summers, parent
and Certified Barton Tutor at the Advanced Level
Oakton, VA
Parents and teachers call it a miracle
Susan Barton loves hearing from Barton tutors who monitor progress using normed standardized tests, as Karyl does:
I have been using the Barton Reading & Spelling System for 16 years. The growth in my students reading and spelling skills is amazing.
I use the Word Identification and Spelling Test (the WIST) to monitor progress.
Most of my students have scores in only the 1st to 5th percentile on their first day of tutoring.
I give the WIST again at the end of Level 4. Their reading and spelling scores then range from 45th to 55th percentile.
But I urge parents to continue the tutoring process because by the end of Level 8, their children’s reading and spelling scores jump to the 75th to 95th percentile — way above their peers.
Parents and teachers call it a miracle. But I know it is the Barton System that makes their success possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Karyl Rapport
Certified Barton Tutor at the Advanced Level
Los Angeles, CA
Diagnosed at 14
It is never too late to close the gap, as this homeschool parent shared:
We homeschooled our five children with ease — until we got to our fourth child. We knew Daniel was not learning like his siblings. By the time he was 8, his 6-year-old sister was reading circles around him.
When Daniel was 10, we sought professional help. But he was mistakenly identified as having an eye tracking disorder. The tracking exercises did nothing to improve his reading.
At 14, we finally had him tested by an educational psychologist who said Daniel was severely dyslexic, something we suspected, but did not comprehend. His reading score was at the 3rd grade level.
We immediately hired a tutor using the Barton System. Daniel made significant progress in a short time and grew in both his reading skills and his self-confidence.
At 16, he started his first college class and has since been dual enrolled, completing 30 college credits. With accommodations, including audio books and extended test time, he’s been very successful — averaging an A in the past 5 semesters of coursework!
At 17, he passed his written driver’s test at 85% without accommodations — a huge milestone for him!
We are so thankful for the Barton System, and we look forward to seeing his future accomplishments as he graduates high school and continues on to college.
Christine Torre
Homeschool Parent
Dawsonville, GA
Never in 30 years
I would like share how very impressed I am with the Barton System.
As a Special Education teacher with more than three decades of teaching experience, I have used many different reading programs over the years. But I have never before encountered anything as comprehensive as your system. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into developing a true quality product.
The difference it is making for my dyslexic students is really impressive. Their reading and spelling skills, plus general self-esteem, grow visibly with each tutoring session.
I love using your program!
Anne Parker
The Open Door Educational Services
Ottawa, Canada
It took until 5th grade . . .
It should not take this long but sadly, it often does, as this parent shared:
We started our journey in first grade, when our daughter’s teacher shared that she was not grasping reading concepts as fast as she should. I was shocked because I had read to her since she was a baby, and books were a big part of our home.
For the rest of that school year, we spent many long, tearful evenings trying to teach her the sight words. We would go over and over and over them, but she could not retain them.
We also spent at least two hours every night doing homework, and practicing her reading.
Despite that, at the beginning of third grade, she was only reading 27 words per minute – which was at the bottom of her class.
She also struggled with spelling. I got her list several days early, so we would have extra time to learn the words. It did not help.
Over the years, the teachers said, “It will click one of these days,” or “She is young for her grade,” and “You are doing all the right things at home.” Yet year after year, she spent many long, tearful nights doing homework.
When I asked if she might have a learning disability, the answer was always, “No.”
In fifth grade, we hit a wall. That year, she spent four to five hours a week studying her spelling words – just to get a D.
She also got a D in Social Studies, even though I read the textbook out loud to her, because her vocabulary was way behind.
She began to have problems with her peers, partly due to her very low self-esteem.
At the end of some of our homework battles, she began to say she should be dead because she was useless. She stayed up late every night due to anxiety, and she developed depression. We knew we had to do something, but we did not know the cause of her academic struggles.
Then a friend at a party suggested she might have dyslexia. Our life changed that very day.
We decided to homeschool, which our daughter had been begging us to do since first grade, and we began using the Barton System as our language arts curriculum.
I have watched her grow into an amazing person.
I will never forget the day she started reading road signs out loud.
When she finished Level 6, I shared she could now start reading textbooks on her own. For her social studies assignment, there was a five page story to read, then an outline to complete, and comprehension questions to answer. She proudly completed all of it by herself. That was a HUGE self-esteem boost, and it has shown up in all areas of her life.
She now reads books for fun, and she is finally understanding how to spell words.
Homeschool is getting less time consuming as her vocabulary grows because we don’t have to explain as many words before we move forward. She is also better able to recall terms and ideas.
Only a year and a half ago, she was labeled “functionally illiterate.”
I can not thank you enough, Susan Barton, for saving my daughter and bringing my family such peace and happiness!
Please feel free to share our story to bring hope to other families who are still struggling.
Teresa Danelski
Sturgeon Lake, MN
Why I Homeschool
Dear Susan,
Words cannot express my gratitude for all you do for children with dyslexia.
I contacted you last fall when I was having difficulties with my two children in school. Your patience, gentleness and compassion gave me the hope that my children would be OK, and you gave me the courage to take their education into my own hands.
I read everything I could on your website, all of your links, your newsletters, and everything everyone posted. I came to realize that my children would not reach their full potential in a traditional school environment until after they completed the Barton System.
So my husband and I purchased a 20’ x 12’ shed with a loft. We turned it into a one room school house, where I spend every day educating 2 of my 4 children. We use the same curriculum that the school they previously attended uses, plus 45 minutes of individual Barton tutoring, 5 days a week.
The day we brought our children home, we made this video for our own personal benefit. I had watched and loved “Sophia’s Fight Song,” and I wanted my children to have a video like that of their own.
The progress they have made in just 7 months is truly astonishing! So today, we made a second video. If you watch them both, the progress they’ve made is undeniable.
I have NO regrets on taking your advice to do it myself at home. I have NO regrets for deciding to home school, and I have NO regrets that a 20’ x 12’ shed is sitting in my backyard instead of the built-in pool we had been saving for.
We have time again to laugh, play, and have fun! We had lost that for a little while to tears, arguments, and the frustration of (not) learning while trying to complete endless worksheets that did not make sense.
My husband and I thank you, my children thank you, and I know we are just one of many families who have been blessed by you.
Kimm Pasmore, Homeschool Parent
Spring Hill, FL
P.S. I never intended to show these videos to anyone outside of family. But so many friends have asked about my children and their progress, and I felt like they did not believe me when I told them how far my kids have come. So now I show them these two videos, and they can see it for themselves.
Support Our Dyslexia Bill
Andrew has profound dyslexia.
He first wrote his letter of support for California’s dyslexia bill, AB1369, by hand. Then he dictated it into the computer.
Not only is his letter touching, but it proves why technology tools are just as important as tutoring. Here is his dictated letter.
Dear Assembly Member Shannon Grove,
Hi! This is Andrew and I have Dyslexia and Dysgraphia and I am in 5th grade. I am 11 years old.
Dyslexia is a one in five have it. Dyslexia makes it really hard for kids to read and write very well. Dyslexia is not recognized in the public schools and kids are feeling stupid and not very smart or happy.
I know how they feel because I am going through it now. My mom and dad took me to a therapist who said I have dyslexia and dysgraphia. Dyslexia happens in families. My uncle and dad never knew that they had it.
There are times in life when I feel I’m not the smartest kid in my class because I can’t read like the other kids. It is like, I am two grades behind. Sometimes I give up and cry but my family, teachers, and Barton tutor help me keep going.
Mrs. Grove, you can help kids like me learn to read and write by voting yes on AB1369. AB1369 can give kids like me in California the chance to do great things in their classrooms and in life.
Please vote yes on AB1369. We need your help to make this happen!
From
Andrew
The photo in this article is his handwritten version.
I married two of them
Wives know how talented their dyslexic husbands are – as well as how often their dyslexia has held them back in their careers, as this wife shares:
After attending your presentation, I am sure my ex-husband is dyslexic. He is an exceptionally good mechanic and handyman, gardener, and farmer. And he has the ability to visualize things that I cannot. But he also did very poorly in school.
When I shared parts of your presentation with my current husband (yes, I married another dyslexic), he opened up and shared more about his struggles. He is a classic example of the adult who did not advance in his career because of his dyslexia.
He is a social worker. He abbreviates his clinical notes so that he does not have to use big words that he cannot spell.
He never learned to keyboard, so he uses the “hunt and peck” method, which greatly slows him down.
He has to re-read technical reports numerous times to comprehend them. He cannot sound out unknown words.
Yet he has superb people skills. He has been Employee Of The Year more than once, and he is highly respected.
He would make an excellent supervisor, but he refuses to apply for that position because of his reading, spelling, and writing difficulties.
He tries to hide his difficulties. He never offers to read Scripture in our Sunday School class, and he tries to avoid being called on.
He constantly mispronounces multi-syllable words.
He appreciates that I am patient when he asks how to spell a word he must write on a check when paying the bills, or when he asks for help when he tries to read the newspaper.
Trying to make a difference
Special Ed teachers are so frustrated with the school system that they often leave and become private tutors, as this one shared in a recent email:
Susan, I have a real passion for the students who don’t catch on to reading and spelling when taught using regular curriculum.
In fact, that’s why I switched from being a regular ed teacher to a special ed teacher. I attended several Orton-Gillingham workshops and seminars, and I bought the first few Barton levels with my own money to use with my LD students.
For the past 2 years, I taught Barton as best I could within the special ed system – and got some fabulous results. My principal was amazed at the increased reading levels of my students.
But with all the “red tape” and political stuff we have to deal with, the special ed system does not allow me to do what I am I really passionate about: meeting each student’s individualized needs.
I am not allowed to spend enough time, with the correct resources, in a small enough group to help my students become the best they can be.
Sadly, I know I cannot change the special ed system. So I have decided to leave and start offering one-on-one Barton tutoring.
I know not every parent will be able to afford to hire me. But I would rather serve a few children well, so they reach their potential, then continue to serve many students poorly.
Wish me luck. This is a big leap of faith, and quite a change for me. But it’s the only way I can do what I’m passionate about: helping these bright kids the right way.
