Leah Foell

Trained Orton-Gillingham Online Tutor

Rate: $30-$50 Available For: Private Tutoring, Online

Rochester, Minnesota

I am an Orton-Gillingham Tutor, trained to tutor online in reading and spelling with elementary students with dyslexia. I have been trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach once in 1998 and again in 2021. Between those times, I raised my family, while working as a parent advocate with the Minnesota Association of Children's Mental Health (MACMH). I have tutored students for 6 years, both online and in-person. I was trained by fellows in the Orton-Gillingham Academy.
Orton-Gillingham is an educational approach, not a boxed curriculum. Your student will be taught as an individual. Each lesson is built on what has been learned and on what has been missed in the previous lesson. Each student has their own learning style. A multisensory approach will use sight, hearing, touch, and movement to teach reading and spelling.
The Orton-Gillingham Approach teaches sound-symbol relationships (phonics). Through drill and practice, students learn those associations. They are taught to blend letters into words, and then to read sentences, paragraphs, and books. Learning generalizations in the English language makes reading and spelling easier.
I give my students the respect they deserve and a chance to learn to read! Building a tutor-student relationship and make learning engaging are important. I am a kind and encouraging tutor. When a student sees their own success in small steps, they will be encouraged to go further along their way to becoming a good reader. Here is part of what one parent wrote in a reference letter: "I am deeply grateful for the positive impact Mrs. Foell has had on my daughter’s education and confidence. She is an outstanding educator who brings both skill and heart to her work. I highly recommend her to any family seeking a dedicated, knowledgeable, and caring reading tutor."

Experience :

• Taught in Holmen, WI, Learning Disabilities at both elementary and high school levels: 3 years
• Tutoring Experience: 6 years, grades 1-6.

Education :

• Luther College in Decorah, IA, B.A. in Elementary Special Education
• Winona State University in Winona, MN, Graduate studies in Learning Disabilities Instruction
• St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN, Orton-Gillingham Course

Orton-Gillingham Training Information :

• Basic Orton-Gillingham course, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN, 1998
• Basic Orton-Gillingham course, The Reading Center in Rochester, MN, 2021