Orton-Gillingham Tutoring
Who is it for?
We offer private Orton-Gillingham tutoring for struggling readers in Grades K-2. While we only accept new students up to 2nd Grade, we are committed to working with your child for as long as they need. Most of the students we serve have a dyslexia diagnosis, but this is not a requirement. We also serve many students who do not have a dyslexia diagnosis or identified learning disability, but are struggling or behind in reading.
Our tutors are equipped to work with a wide range of learning profiles and commonly work with struggling readers who also have other learning differences, ADHD, anxiety, and/or are twice-exceptional.
Students who benefit most from Orton-Gillingham tutoring often show some of these characteristics:
Kindergarten - 1st Grade
+ Difficulty learning and remembering letter names and sounds
+ Difficulty learning and recognizing "sight words"
+ Difficulty reading or spelling simple words
+ May guess at words instead of decoding them
+ Does not quickly recognize words they have seen many times before and must sound them out every time
+ Dislikes and avoids reading and writing activities
2nd Grade +
+ Reads a year or more below grade level
+ Oral reading is slow, labored, and often inaccurate
+ Difficulty reading unfamiliar words; may make wild guesses
+ May say things like, "I don't know that word" or "I haven't learned that word" instead of attempting to decode it
+ Has poor reading comprehension
+ Has poor spelling
What is Orton-Gillingham?
Orton-Gillingham is a highly structured approach to teaching reading and spelling that engages multiple pathways in the brain. It has long been considered the gold standard of reading instruction for students with dyslexia and more recently has been recognized as a best practice for teaching all children to read. Learn more about the Orton Gillingham Approach.
Our tutors are trained by Orton Gillingham Academy accredited training programs and practice according to the following Orton Gillingham Academy Principles of the Orton-Gillingham Approach:
- Diagnostic and Prescriptive
- Individualized
- Language-Based and Alphabetic/Phonetic
- Simultaneous Multisensory
- Direct and Explicit
- Structured, Sequential, and Cumulative, but Flexible
- Synthetic and Analytic
- Cognitive
- Emotionally Sound
Learn more about these principles and what they mean.
What is the time commitment?
Tutoring sessions are 50 minutes, twice a week. Students are typically scheduled for sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. We require a semester-long commitment, but most of our students stay with their tutor for 1-2 years.
What is the cost?
Tuition for the 2024-2025 school year is $580/month for twice-weekly tutoring.
How will I know if my child is making progress?
Tutoring requires a significant time and financial commitment, so it's important to know that it is working. Your tutor will provide you with a detailed progress report each quarter, sharing what your child has been working on, what new concepts and skills they have mastered, and highlighting any new developments for you to be aware of. You will be able to clearly see how your child is progressing through the scope and sequence designed for them. Where you are likely to really see your child's progress, however, is in their behavior and attitude towards reading and spelling, and in the feedback and test scores you receive from school.
How is Log House Literacy's instruction different from what my child is receiving at school?
Until very recently, most schools in our area were using a "Balanced Literacy" approach, with programs such as Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading, Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI), Reading Recovery, and Lucy Calkins Reader's Workshop. Phonics and decoding instruction were minimal or haphazard at best, there was a major emphasis on memorizing long lists of sight words, and students were taught to read words they didn't know by making guesses using clues such as the first letter, picture, and context. While this approach worked for some students, it failed the majority. Listen to the podcast series, "Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong," to learn more.
The good news is that more and more schools are shifting away from a "Balanced Literacy" approach and adopting evidence-based Structured Literacy programs aligned with the Science of Reading. Fulton County Schools now uses the 95 Phonics Core Program and Heggerty Phonemic Awareness, two highly effective Structured Literacy programs, and teachers and administrators are being trained in LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling). Likewise, more Cobb County Schools are providing training for their teachers in Structured Literacy and the Orton Gillingham Approach.
For many students, these evidence-based approaches are enough and they will learn to read without much difficulty. However, for a large proportion of students, and students with dyslexia in particular, the instruction moves too quickly and does not allow sufficient opportunities to practice, review, and master the concepts and skills being taught. These students unfortunately get left behind while the rest of the class continues progressing through the curriculum. These students are sometimes identified to receive extra support through EIP or RTI interventions, but the instruction provided through those programs varies and often is insufficient to remediate their difficulties.
With 1:1 Orton-Gillingham Tutoring, we are able to provide students who have not found success learning to read at school with the expert, individualized, and cumulative instruction they need to become successful readers.
Can you tutor my child who reads well, but needs help with comprehension?
We do not offer tutoring lessons exclusively focused on reading comprehension. We do incorporate reading comprehension in every lesson, but our lessons target all areas of reading and spelling. If your child does not also need help with decoding, accuracy, or fluency, then our tutoring services will not be the best fit.
Does Log House Literacy offer Handwriting Tutoring?
We do not offer tutoring lessons exclusively focused on handwriting. However, our tutors are trained in Handwriting without Tears and do incorporate handwriting instruction in every lesson. We feel it is important that our students learn and use correct letter formation and neat handwriting, not only for legibility, but also for efficiency. When students can write quickly and neatly without having to think about it, it frees up more mental space for them to focus on spelling, mechanics, and content.
When can my child begin tutoring?
We encourage you to get in touch now to join our waitlist, so that we can offer you a spot as soon a possible. Openings become available most often at the start of a new semester, but we occasionally have spots open up mid-semester.
What are other parents saying?
Our daughter had struggled in Kindergarten with reading and had not progressed in her guided reading levels at all through the entire first semester. She started at Level A and was still at Level A in December. We saw an increase in frustration when working on her reading and even more anxiety when going to school. What started as excitement and desire to read during the first month of Kindergarten, quickly turned into tears and lack of interest by Thanksgiving. I reached out to several friends for names of reading tutors and Jenna came highly recommended. In first communicating with her, I was blown away by her experience and knowledge. She had a waitlist at the time and I waited 3.5 months for a spot to open up. Our daughter's reading skills have improved beyond what I would have ever expected in the 9 months that she’s been working with Jenna. She has improved NINE guided reading levels in 9 months. Her confidence is back and she loves going to school again. She now has a desire to practice reading and seeks out books that challenge her. When she works through reading a challenging book, she doesn’t get frustrated and give up the way she used to. She constantly asks if she can read to us, as she is so proud of this skill she has developed.
Parent of 1st Grader at Hillside Elementary
My daughter worked with Jenna in first and second grade as she was not progressing in reading at the same pace her classmates were. Pretty quickly my daughter began to reference tools and techniques that she was learning with Jenna that were clearly helping her. As a parent, it was frustrating to try to communicate with the school and access the support we needed. Jenna was more than willing to help me understand the inner-workings of the school system, the support that is available, and how to access them. I am grateful that she bridged this gap for us as a family. She was happy to work directly with my daughter's teachers and she sent regular progress reports that were easy for me to understand. My daughter always enjoyed her time with Jenna and greatly benefited from her time with her. I am most grateful for Jenna's experience, skills, and natural ability to work with elementary aged children.
Parent of 2nd Grader at Timber Ridge Elementary
Our son was really struggling with learning to read and falling behind his peers. We tried to be patient as he participated in the EIP program at school and in Kumon after school, but we saw little to no progress. What he needed was new strategies on how to read, not repetition. When he started working with Jenna at the end of 1st Grade, we could see the progress immediately. In a few short months, I knew we had found what we needed. Not only has he made tremendous reading progress, but his confidence has improved and he loves reading and learning new things.
Parent of 3rd Grader at Hillside Elementary
I recently found out my son has dyslexia. We were lucky enough to hire Jenna, a private dyslexia tutor. His iReady scores have gone up an entire grade level within 7-8 weeks. A few nights ago he fell asleep with a book in his hands! I felt like I won the lottery. I would without hesitation recommend Jenna.
Parent of 4th Grader at Hillside Elementary
Jenna tutored both my kids with OG. The results were quick and obvious. My daughter went from being behind and testing low in reading to being on grade level and above after just one summer. My son struggled with spelling and after a few months with her he was writing and spelling so much better. I am so grateful to her. We had tried other tutors before and didn’t see the kind of results we wanted to see. My kids loved her too.
Parent of 3rd & 5th Grader at Atlanta Academy
We had the BEST experience with Jenna! She made tutoring fun and interactive for my son - he truly enjoyed working with her. He made tremendous progress during his time with Jenna and is now excelling in reading. She personalized games based on his interests which helped him stay engaged and develop a love for reading. Highly recommend!
Parent of 1st Grader at Sweet Apple Elementary
I sought out tutoring for my children because my son was falling a bit behind due to the pandemic and the bouts of virtual school, and I wanted my daughter to have a jump on 1st grade. We started working with Jenna over the summer, and we continued during the school year. She has been phenomenal, and both of my children are excelling in school this year!! My son is in 3rd grade, and last year he struggled, but now he is getting straight A’s!! Both of my children have gained confidence with their reading, and they both enjoy it so much more than they did prior to working with Jenna!!
Parent of 1st & 3rd Grader at Mountain Park Elementary
Are you ready to help your child become
a skilled and confident reader?
Get in Touch
Located near downtown Roswell & East Cobb, GA;
address disclosed upon booking
