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Welcome to The Orton-Gillingham Podcast! This is where our hosts, Cara and Esther, chat about all things multisensory education, dyslexia, and ultimately, how we can bring literacy to everyone! Have a question for the podcast? Send it to podcast@brainspring.com! Make sure to check out our website at www.brainspring.com.
Episodes
6 days ago
6 days ago
Today, we’re joined by special guest Dr. David Kilpatrick, a certified school psychologist, professor emeritus of psychology for the State University of New York College at Cortland, an avid researcher of learning disabilities, and author of several works on literacy. His seminal book, Equipped for Reading Success, has become an essential component of literacy curricula in programs across the country, and has helped thousands of students learn to read.
Monday Mar 04, 2024
"Never Lose Heart": A Push to Improve Literacy in Kentucky
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Today, we’ll speak with Micki Ray, Chief Academic Officer of the Kentucky Department of Education, about how her experience as a high school English teacher inspired her professional passion to help struggling readers. Then, we’ll hear about what the KDE is currently doing to improve literacy rates in Kentucky.
Monday Feb 19, 2024
A Need for Decodable Stories
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Monday Feb 19, 2024
Today, we’ll hear from Carolee Dean, a speech-language pathologist, certified academic language therapist, and children’s author whose experiences working with dyslexic students led to a new career as an author of decodable books and educational resources.
Check out Carolee's blog here: https://caroleedeanbooks.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Self-Esteem, Anxiety, and Dyslexia
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Next from the IDA Conference, we'll hear from Nicki Winter, a dyslexia therapist and the creator of Brilliant Strengths, a strengths-based program designed to raise self-esteem and lower anxiety in students with dyslexia. Then, we'll introduce our Student of the Month for January 2024.
Check out Brilliant Strengths here: https://www.brilliantstrengths.com/
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Voices from the IDA - A Conversation with Trevor Thomas
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Thursday Dec 21, 2023
Today, we’ll hear from special guest Trevor Thomas, Superintendent for Heath City Schools in Heath, Ohio and the Superintendent Representative on the Ohio Dyslexia Committee, about how he and his team have worked to advance student literacy at all levels. Then, we’ll introduce our Student of the Month for December 2023.
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Voices from the IDA - A Conversation with Marilyn Zecher
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Today, we’ll hear from special guest Marilyn Zecher, a Certified Academic Language Therapist, dyslexia specialist, and the creator of two graduate-level methods courses in Multisensory Mathematics.
Thursday Nov 02, 2023
Voices from the IDA - A Conversation with Allison Peck
Thursday Nov 02, 2023
Thursday Nov 02, 2023
Today, we'll hear from special guest Allison Peck, Chief Academic Officer at Neuhaus Education Center, about how advocating for her son led to a fulfilling career in education. Then, we'll introduce our very first Student of the Month.
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
How Can You Advocate for Your Child?
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Hello and welcome back! This week, Katie and Esther discussed how parents can advocate for their children when they notice that they are having reading difficulties.
But first, we wanted to talk about a current hot topic in educational news. According to an article written by Emily Peck for Axios, the wage gap between teachers and other professionals is the widest it has been since 1960. What are your thoughts on this? To access this article, refer to the link below and make sure to tell us what you think!
Now to get into today’s topic; How can you advocate for your child? First it is good to recognize the signs that your child may be struggling in school. Some of these signs can include:
- Your child looking nervous at the mention of school
- Your child cries when school is mentioned
- Your child doesn’t want to eat
- Your child breaks down when it is time to do homework
- Your child expresses they don’t want to go to school, saying this such as:
- “I don’t feel well.”
- “I don’t have any friends at school.”
- “I feel stupid at school.”
- “What if I go to school and I start to feel sick?”
- “I never know what’s going on at school.”
- “I am afraid of someone at school.”
Noticing these signs can help you recognize that your child needs help.
Now that you have noticed the signs, what do you do next?
- Be prepared!
- Write down all your concerns before talking to your child’s teacher
- Don’t be afraid to ask for special services
- Don’t be embarrassed to cry!
It’s that time of the year that a lot of schools are having conferences. This is a great opportunity to have all your concerns written down and ready to discuss with your child’s teacher to start the process of getting your child help!
Are you a teacher getting ready for conferences? One helpful tip to prepare yourself and parents for conferences is to send a general agenda to parents ahead of time so parents know what to expect. An example of this could be:
- Something positive
- An area of concern/opportunity for improvement
- Review grades
Do you have any tips that work for you when it’s time for conferences? Make sure to let us know and spread the knowledge!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Brainspring is going to be at the IDA 2023 Annual Reading, Literacy, and Learning Conference this weekend October 12-14, 2023, at the Hyatt Regency Columbus in Columbus, OH. If you’re going, make sure to visit us at booth 207.
Thank you and talk to you next time!
This One Chart Explains the Teacher Shortage by Emily Peck: https://www.axios.com/2023/10/02/teacher-pay-salary-low-gap-chart-graph
IDA 2023 Annual Reading, Literacy, and Learning Conference Info: https://dyslexiacon.org/
Podcast Feedback Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OGpodcastfeedbacksurvey
Email: podcast@brainspring.com
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Hosts: Katie Hodgkins, Esther Moreau
Production Manager: Michael Flees
Multimedia Specialist: Brendan Kelly
Podcast Production/Marketing Specialist: Morgan MacKew
Marketing Intern: Elena Martin
Vice President: Brigitte Crawford
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Monday Aug 07, 2023
Hello and welcome back! This week we are continuing our series called, “What’s YOUR Superpower? Superheroes with Dyslexia”.
This week we have a very special guest. He is the Superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) and has an impressive educational background despite having to deal with dyslexia himself. Please help us welcome, Dr. Nikolai Vitti!
Dr. Nikolai Vitti is a native Metro Detroiter from an immigrant family who went on to pursue education first as a student, and later as an educator himself. From being a college athlete at Wake Forest University while earning his bachelor's and master's degrees to earning his doctorate degree at Harvard University, Dr. Vitti has an extraordinary educational background. But that doesn’t mean that education always came easy to him.
Like a lot of students, Dr. Vitti had difficulties reading when he was younger and did not have the resources available to him to help with his reading comprehension and decoding. Because of this, he faced a lot of struggles in school such as teasing from other kids, which lead to a lack of confidence. It wasn’t until he found his niche in athletics that he was able to build the confidence in himself to become a leader in education. And of course, having supportive educators in his own life inspired him to be a voice and an advocate for future students who struggled like himself.
Attending college opened many doors for Dr. Vitti, especially when it came to learning about himself and his struggles with dyslexia. Thanks to one college professor, the idea that he was possibly dealing with dyslexia was planted into his head. From this point on, Dr. Vitti went on a self-discovering process, learning as much as he could about dyslexia and how he could provide his own assistance. These efforts would prove to be fruitful, as he was able to implement these measures as he continued his career as a leader in education advocating for those with dyslexia and other learning differences.
Since then, Dr. Nikolai Vitti has been a strong force in the field of education. With the help of his wife, Rachel Vitti, he was able to create GRASP Academy: A School for Children with Dyslexia in Jacksonville, Florida, which utilizes Orton-Gillingham based programs to help their struggling students learn how to read.
Since coming back home to Detroit, Dr. Vitti has become the Superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District for almost 7 years now and continues to be a driving force to make sure the students in his school district are getting the education and opportunities they need and deserve. Although he faces a lot of hurdles, which include funding, politics, and resources, he continues to work hard for his students. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about the students and what he can do to help them achieve their dreams.
Dr. Nikolai Vitti has no plans of slowing down. Since getting the school district back on track after the COVID-19 pandemic, plans are in place to start helping accelerate students within the Detroit Public Schools Community District with resources for them and their parents, including the Parent Academy available on the detroitk12.org website. He believes that it is the responsibility of the school district to meet parents where they are so they can best help their children succeed. And we couldn’t agree more!
We finish up this episode with a fun lightening round of “This or That: Michigan Style” and see how Dr. Vitti feels about our Detroit sports teams, which Coney Island is his favorite, and more! Do you agree with his answers? Make sure to comment and let us know!
We would like to thank Dr. Nikolai Vitti for joining us today and sharing his story with us of overcoming his own struggles with dyslexia and being an inspiration for all of us in the field of education.
For more information about GRASP Academy: A School for Children with Dyslexia, check out the link here: GRASP Academy / Homepage (duvalschools.org)
If you would like to explore the Parent Academy, check out the link here: Parent Toolbox / Parent Academy (detroitk12.org)
Detroit Public School Community District website: Detroit Public Schools Community District / Homepage (detroitk12.org)
Thank you and see you next time!
Email: podcast@brainspring.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrtonGillinghamTraining
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainspringortongillingham/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrainspringOG
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcwtIFnom15wnpE2Rlkmoiyg0tgDXqQNE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brainspring/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/brainspringortongillingham
Website: https://brainspring.com
Hosts: Katie Hodgkins, Esther Moreau
Production Manager: Michael Flees
Multimedia Specialist: Brendan Kelly
Podcast Production/Marketing: Morgan MacKew
Marketing Intern: Elena Martin
Monday Jun 26, 2023
What’s YOUR Superpower? Superheroes with Dyslexia Featuring Nancy Winar
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Monday Jun 26, 2023
Hello and welcome back! Unfortunately, Katie couldn’t join us today due to being sick, but we are sending her well wishes and hoping she gets better soon!
For today, we are excited to announce a new series we are launching called, What’s YOUR Superpower? Superheroes with Dyslexia.
In this series, we will be highlighting people who have dyslexia or reading differences and asking them how it has shaped them into the people they are today and how it helped define their careers.
Our superhero guest today is our very own Director of Publications at Brainspring, Nancy Winar!
Nancy shares withs us her experience discovering she had difficulties reading at a young age, dealing with dyslexia, and how she did not let this stop her and was able to turn dyslexia into her own superpower!
Nancy has an impressive variety of careers she explored, including being a dog groomer, assembly-line worker, video specialist, theatrical makeup artist, shop manager, costume designer, and so much more! Even more impressively, Nancy set a record as the youngest intern hired at the Juilliard School of Performing Arts, which allowed her to rub elbows with celebrities and soon-to-be celebrities that she now watches on the big and little screens (don’t worry, we asked her about the celebrities she worked with!).
Of course, her career path did not come without difficulties. Working in so many different fields, it’s impossible not to encounter all sorts of different people. Unfortunately, not all people are patient with those who have dyslexia or any learning difficulty. Nancy shares with us those particularly difficult situations she encountered and how she overcame them, becoming an advocate for her work and herself.
After exploring all her different interests and passions, Nancy explains to us how she ended up at Brainspring, working in graphic design and becoming our Director of Publications.
When asked for advice, Nancy says, “Find what works for you. If you have interests, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do them. Experiences are out there for you, don’t wait for them! And most importantly, ASK FOR HELP!”
The Orton-Gillingham podcast would like to thank Nancy Winar for joining us today and sharing her experiences with having dyslexia and how she was able to turn it into her very own superpower!
Don’t forget to check us out on our social media platforms to stay up to date on all Brainspring news.
Have any questions or comments you would like to share? Make sure to reach out to us using the email below or send us a voicemail to be addressed in a future episode!
If you would like to look at some of Nancy’s art, visit the links below!
Thank you and see you next time!
To view Nancy Winar’s art: Creative Work by Nancy Winar
Voicemail: www.speakpipe.com/ortongillinghampodcastvoicemail
Email: podcast@brainspring.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrtonGillinghamTraining
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainspringortongillingham/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrainspringOG
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcwtIFnom15wnpE2Rlkmoiyg0tgDXqQNE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brainspring/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/brainspringortongillingham
Website: https://brainspring.com
Hosts: Katie Hodgkins, Esther Moreau
Production Manager: Michael Flees
Multimedia Specialist: Brendan Kelly
Podcast Production/Marketing: Morgan MacKew
Marketing Intern: Elena Martin