Success Stories

Reaching Grade Level

Suzy (not her real name) is repeating kindergarten—a blow to any child’s self-esteem—and her new friends are moving to first grade without her. She can’t learn to read. Her mother and teacher know that Suzy is struggling far behind her peers.

Her mother brought Suzy to Windy Row in 2010 where we found that she  had difficulty forming some English sounds and with connecting sounds to written symbols. Now, like all Windy Row  students, Suzy is tutored twice a week for an hour after school. She bounces in the door for each session! Her tutor understands her needs well, and uses numerous multisensory methods to teach her to read. For example, the tutor prints a 4-inch letter on a card, then Suzy covers it with a bead of glue and then with red and gold glitter. Each time her hand passes over the letter, she builds visual, kinesthetic and tactile memory to back up auditory memory—the sound of the letter.

Suzy is nearing grade level in her reading. With another year of tutoring, she should not only keep up with her peers, but eventually surpass them.

Most Improved Middle School Student

In the 2005-2006 academic year, a Windy Row student was named the most improved middle-school student in the Contoocook Valley school district for the year.  Also in that year, each of Windy Row’s 19 students attained at least one year’s academic growth in reading, approximately 50% of the students achieved two years’ academic growth, and one student attained five years’ growth.  These achievements are remarkable for severely reading-disabled children.

Substantially Above Proficient

At the end of the 2007-2008 academic year, we graduated a student who had been with us for two years. In addition to having dyslexia, he also had been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome. We formed a close working relationship with his teachers. In the standardized New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) test conducted in the fall of 2007, he attained the test’s highest scoring category in reading, “Substantially Above Proficient.”

Proficient Level

A middle-school students came to us in 2008.  Identified with a learning disability, he had been unable in public schools to secure the frequency and intensity of instruction that he so desperately needed.  His parents faced economic hardship, so hiring a private tutor was not possible.  After a year with us and a more effective collaboration with his school, the student read at the “Proficient” level (the third level of four) as measured by the NECAP.