If you are a Twin Cities-area school seeking funding to train your K-3 teachers in an Orton-Gillingham-based methodology for teaching reading, writing and spelling, we invite you to submit a proposal for a JSFF grant. The curriculum must include a supervised, clinical practicum. You will need to identify the teachers who are committed to participating in an established course, such as those offered by Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota at Groves Academy, The International Dyslexia Association-Upper Midwest Branch (IDA-UMB) and others. Or you have the option of bringing a professional development opportunity to your school, using trainers from Winsor Learning (The Sonday System), Project Read, Lindamood-Bell or others.

In addition, we offer funding to schools for the early identification of children at risk for reading problems; testing and assessment; and the implementation of appropriate intervention and instruction.

"About 10 million children have difficulties learning to read. From 10 to 15 percent eventually drop out of high school; only two percent complete a four-year college program. Surveys of adolescents and young adults with criminal records show that about half have reading difficulties. Similarly, about half of youths with a history of substance abuse have reading problems.

"NICHD studies have shown that in many cases, reading impairment can be related to deficiencies in the way that the brain processes letter sounds, a language-based task. If no steps are taken to compensate for this defect, reading disability will persist through life…. Fortunately, treatment is available."

Robert Bock, Why Children Succeed or Fail at Reading: Research from NICHD's Program in Learning Disabilities, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

JSFF is currently supporting:

Groves Academy in their outreach efforts at Yinghua Academy to improve English-language reading and writing skills among elementary students at this Chinese immersion charter public school in Minneapolis

In addition, JSFF has collaborated with:

Barton Open School, Minneapolis—to provide in-depth training and coaching to all K-3 classroom teachers; to support testing and intervention; and to fund the administration of their successful volunteer tutoring program
Nativity of Mary School, Bloomington—to aid the early detection of reading problems using DIBELS assessments; and to further the integration of Orton-Gillingham strategies and Project Read materials in all K-3 classrooms