We Transitioned to Zoom Without a Hitch!

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This is Something to Turn Cartwheels About! 

I was feeling so much pride in my students in February when they completed their mid-year assessments. Then in early March I suddenly had to stop tutoring in my home. The parents of my students expressed concern that their progress might falter; I was also concerned. In fact, I was filled with apprehension as I shifted to tutoring my full load of students online with Zoom.  

As the school year began to come to an end, I had questions about just how well my students had progressed because of these changes. It is difficult to maintain the same personal contact with a child through a computer screen. 

I was both nervous and eager to begin end of year assessments.  

Here’s what I found:

Even with the change of format and the stress within their young lives this last 3 months, they continued to make significant progress in reading, writing and spelling.  

With trepidation I began my assessments with two of my most profoundly dyslexic students. 

Truthfully, I was nervous. I was afraid they may have plateaued, or even worse, regressed. I didn’t think they had, but the assessments would show the truth. I was nervous. 

As my first student began to move through the assessments with clear confidence I began to relax. As he finished, my heart was singing. He had NOT plateaued, or regressed, he had made a solid gain from 6th grade level to 8th grade since the last assessment in February.  

I felt much more excited than nervous as I began the assessment with my other extremely dyslexic student. I shouldn’t have worried; she has also made solid gains since February. 

Both of these bright happy students are so confident, eager and proud of their progress. They both want to continue tutoring through the summer. They are ready for more success.   

My mind slides back to only 14 months ago to the young boy who had no clue about phonemic awareness and was struggling at a pre-primer level in reading as a third grader. Now he is reading at a beginning 8th grade level going into 5th grade! The young girl who is profoundly dyslexic also had no clue about phonemic awareness and was struggling at a pre-primer level in reading when she began tutoring with me. Now she is reading on a solid 3rd grade level going into 4th grade.  

This is something to turn cartwheels about. 

And I give the credit of their success to

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. 

Even with all the changes that we and our children have faced in the last few months, their progress in Silent Elephant “e” remained stable because the program is systemic, progressive, multi-sensory—it teaches the way they love learning. When they move through Silent Elephant “e”, their success is a given.  

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program that will fit your needs, feel free to contact us. We have answers for your concerns.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson