Professional Excellence

By Phyllis C. Hutson, Fellow/ AOGPE

In 1995 the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators was incorporated by the Board of Regents under New York State Education Law through the University of the State of New York. The purposes of the Academy (also known as the Orton-Gillingham Academy) are to certify educators and to accredit exemplary schools and training programs that promote the highest ethical and instructional standards for Orton-Gillingham practitioners. The Academy is the only organization in the country that was established for these purposes.
The training programs are rigorous. We believe that high standards of training are necessary in order to assure mastery of this Approach with resulting consistent, excellent teaching for our dyslexic students.

There are several levels of membership in the Academy based upon academic degrees earned and Orton-Gillingham training completed successfully. To teach dyslexic individuals or groups independently, one must become a Certified member. One must have a Bachelor's Degree, have completed a minimum of 145 hours of classroom instruction in the Orton-Gillingham Approach and 300 hours of practicum with dyslexic children supervised by a Fellow of the Academy. In addition, the candidate must have completed extensive assigned readings in dyslexia with written reports on each.

All teachers at the Hutson School are required to earn Certification by the Academy. Each member of the staff is now either Certified or is working toward Certification under my supervision. This is a three-year program.

In order to be certified to train teachers and tutors, a practitioner must become a Fellow of the Academy. One must first attain Academy Certification, have a Master's Degree, complete an additional 90 hours of classroom Orton-Gillingham instruction and an additional 300 hours of supervised practicum, and finish further readings in dyslexia. This training is an additional three-year program, for a total of six years.

Several Certified staff members at the Hutson School are Fellows-in-Training under my supervision. They will be implementing the Hutson School Teacher Training Program beginning in the fall.

In addition, there are two introductory levels of membership in the Academy. Subscriber members have completed ten hours of introductory Orton-Gillingham classroom instruction. These members are not qualified to tutor. An Associate member has completed 45 hours of classroom Orton-Gillingham instruction, 100 hours of supervised practicum and assigned readings. These members may tutor individuals, but not groups, under direct supervision of a Fellow.

We can take pride in the high standards of excellence which have been a part of the Hutson School from the earliest stages of its planning. The results speak for themselves in terms of the success of the students and the lives changed.