MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio — Mt. Healthy City Schools are leading the way with a muti-sensory teaching method. The district is the only school in Ohio, Kentucky or Indiana to be accredited for a certain method to teach children how to read.
Jennifer Harry has been teaching first graders and kindergartners how to read for nearly a quarter century – she said this type of teaching has helped students pick up reading faster than ever before.
“Last year from August to December, I saw the most reading growth that I had ever seen in my 23-year career,” Harry said. “It’s just really exciting to see when kids take off like that.”
The district recently chose Harry to study and become a level four instructor for the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education’s Orton-Gillingham literacy model – which has students use their eyes, ears, mouth and hands to learn new words.
“They’re using all of those different learning pathways to get that into their brain and the more learning pathways we can use at once, the better the chance is that student is going to put that in their long-term memory,” Harry said.
The Mt. Health City School District is now one of one of only 10 educational institutions in the country that is an accredited partner for this style of teaching.
“I am very passionate about this,” executive director of teaching and learning at Mt. Healthy City School District Jana Wolfe said. “I believe that being able to read is the great equalizer for all kids.
Harry is now able to train other teachers to use this literacy model at Mt. Healthy – which will safe the district tens of thousands of dollars.
The district said this style of learning is good for students with dyslexia or other challenges but is already making a big difference for everyone.
“All students can benefit from structured phonics and a structured approach,” Harry said.
