NORTH CHESTERFIELD, Va. –– Riverside School, Virginia’s most trusted school for students with dyslexia in grades kindergarten through eighth grade, has announced that the school’s training and instructional programs have both been reaccredited for seven more years by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE).
Orton-Gillingham has been the gold standard approach for helping children with dyslexia for more than 70 years. The O-G Academy was established by its Founding Fellows to certify and accredit educators and schools, such as Riverside, to the highest requirements.
Highly committed, experienced and creative, Riverside’s faculty utilizes the principles of the Orton-Gillingham (O-G) Approach, a research validated approach to reading instruction, that is the cornerstone of the school’s teaching philosophy. All Riverside teachers are specially and extensively trained in the O-G Approach.
The O-G Approach serves as the foundation for the school’s programs and is fully integrated into classroom core subject instruction. Additionally, teachers have access to the latest research, best practices, and technological resources.
“Though this is a great honor and it was expected, Riverside continues to show that we have well-equipped, highly-trained teachers and staff who excel in serving the individualized needs of our students,” said Riverside Head of School Hal Waller. “I want to thank and credit our amazing teachers and staff for their dedication and efforts, including our triumvirate of academic leadership in (Director of Language Fundamentals) Suzie Eklund, (Director of Curriculum) Charice Myers and (Fellow, AOGPE and O-G Coordinator) Cynthia Davis.
Riverside’s hallmark one-on-one Language Fundamentals (LF) instruction entails one-on-one work with students who are dyslexic and uses the O-G Approach to build close teacher-student relationships. This process allows for continuous feedback and positive reinforcement, leading to a high success rates, increased self-confidence and a bright future for children.
The school’s mission is to provide remediation of language skills for students with dyslexia and similar language-based learning differences in grades K-8 so that children can return to mainstream education fully prepared to realize their highest potential. With a 10:1 student-teacher ratio, Riverside’s teaching approach is dedicated to providing small classes, individualized curriculum that is appropriately and academically challenging, as well as one-on-one instruction and a nurturing environment to enhance the learning experiences of children with dyslexia.
Although many schools and tutoring centers will employ teachers who use the O-G Approach, Riverside is one of just 14 fully-accredited schools in the world. The Academy sets a very high bar for a school to qualify as an accredited school, and Riverside has been meeting and exceeding this standard for decades.
Riverside is one of just 17 Academy Accredited Training Centers in the nation. In addition to training its own teachers, Riverside instructors train educators through our summer Riverside Course and additional outreach. Teachers come from all over the United States to be trained by Riverside teachers in the O-G Approach.
About Riverside School
An independent day school based in Richmond, Va., Riverside School’s mission is to provide remediation of language skills for students with dyslexia and similar language-based learning differences in grades K-8, so that they can return to mainstream education fully prepared to realize their highest potential. Riverside’s teaching approach is dedicated to providing small classes, individualized curriculum, one-on-one instruction and a nurturing environment to enhance the learning experiences of children with dyslexia.