Prepping for Barton - time?

[Suze]

I'm going to be talking with my daughter's principal about bringing Barton to her school. It's a small, wonderful private school that really focuses on helping children be successful. They don't have reading specialists and I think Barton may be a way to meet the needs of quite a few children - including my daughter :)

 

I've done lots of reading about Barton and feel prepared to talk about why It would be a good fit for the school, but I don't have any idea how much time the tutor would need to prep for each lesson. I'm sure it varies per lesson, but what might we expect?

 

Other ideas for me? Thanks!

[Julie of KY]

Do you mean teacher prep before doing a lesson?

 

The teacher prep includes watching dvds for teacher training (maybe 6 hours) per LEVEL. From there it is very straightforward for each lesson. (There are 5 lessons in levels 1 and 2 and then usually 10-14 lessons per level.) Someone tutoring multiple kids would need to keep track of where each child is on each lesson.

 

Some additional prep time might be required if adding in supplemental games, etc.

[Suze]

That's exactly what I meant Julie. Thanks!

[OneStepAtATime]

I think it is a great idea that the school is willing to consider this, but I take it from your message that you have never used this system?  There are some other things to consider:  

 

1. Whoever is doing the tutoring would have to give themselves the Barton tutor screening test to determine if they can hear ALL the sounds clearly enough to tutor with this system.  Are they hiring someone or asking for a parent volunteer or is one of the teachers taking on this duty?  If the person cannot pass that tutor screening test, they cannot use this system to tutor students.

 

2.  Also, whoever is doing the tutoring would need to administer the little three part pre-test on the Barton site for each student they plan to use this system with to determine if there are any other issues that would prevent a student from using this system successfully.  My son had an undiagnosed auditory processing issue.  After giving him the Barton pre-test, we discovered this issue and started him on Linda Moodbell's LiPS program as Susan Barton recommends.  Once he completed a large part of that program, we were able to move him to Barton.  If a child were to fail that test, would the school be willing to provide LiPS tutoring until the child could do Barton? 

 

3. Another thing to consider is that Susan Barton herself strongly recommends that this system replace ALL other language arts curriculum until you have gotten the child up a few levels.  Is the school willing to do that? Or could modifications be put in place, such as children who are using this system only use spelling lists based on whatever level and lesson they have completed in Barton?  The Barton site can provide these lists, so the teacher wouldn't have to create their own, but it might make for some logistical issues with administering different tests to different students.  And would these children be provided controlled readers based on Barton's levels until they reach more advanced levels?  Trying to slog through words in a reader that you haven't been taught how to read yet is strongly discouraged with this system since it slows down the tutoring process and encourages the child to develop bad reading habits, such as guessing the word based on the first couple of letters.

 

I don't mean to sound really down on this idea. Honestly, I think it would be TERRIFIC to have a trained tutor working one on one using this system in a school.  I am excited that your daughter's school may be open to this.  So many early issues with spelling and reading would probably be eliminated.   I read a study of a school in California that implemented this system with struggling middle schoolers who were at least 2-3 years behind in reading level.  All but two advanced at least 2 grade levels in reading within the year and after two years with the program, all but one in the group were reading at grade level or beyond. The pilot program was so successful that they started implementing at the elementary level, too, also with much success.

 

 I love Barton.  It has really helped us and i wish with all my heart we hadn't waited so long to start it, or even better I wish that it had been implemented at my kids' school in 4k or Kinder.  Tutoring them myself in late elementary/early middle school (now that we are homeschooling) has been great because I can immediately modify and I KNOW where issues are and can address them quickly, but if they had had this instruction early on it would have saved them a lot of tears, stress and frustration while they were still in a brick and mortar school.  

 

That being said, it takes some time to get used to tutoring, no matter what system you use.  I don't think you would want a rookie who has never used this system suddenly having to tutor not just one child but several children, each individually, and be able to track what each child is doing and be flexible enough and knowledgeable enough to modify the system as needed for each individual child if they have never tutored with this system before.  Some kids need a lot of repetition of the rules while others may fly through.  You really need someone who has at least taken one or two children (or hopefully more) through this system up through Level 3 or higher to be confident they can handle the job.  

 

Have you administered the little pre-test to your daughter?  It doesn't take much time.  You need to take the tutor test first to make certain you can administer the pre-test, but it may be very informative.  Watch the student pre-test all the way through privately before you go back and administer the test to your child.  It will flow much smoother that way.

 

Good luck!  Please let us know what happens.

[Suze]

Jamie, these are great,  succinct points.  My proposal is going to be that I will buy the program and they will then be able to keep it and use it.  It would mean that someone who was just learning to tutor would be working with my daughter, but she would likely be the only one as they pilot it, and because of the success that lots of parents have had with it, I have thought  that a new tutor could have success (please correct me if this is naïve!) 

 

My daughter went through LiPS this summer (she, too,  really needed it) and she passed the student test (yay!).  My dilemma as a single working mom is finding a way to get high quality instruction,  and to have it come to her - ideally at a cost I can afford :).  I love your points about the language arts curriculum; I didn't know that, but fortunately that's something I am sure the school would do.    I know the principal would love to have the ability to support dyslexic children, and ensure that they are identifying and helping kids in the best way.  Now the question is, if they don't have any out of pocket costs, can they manage the staffing equation to have a teacher prepare and deliver the material? 

 

If this doesn't work, the next solution will be to find a tutor who will come to the school.  They have already told me they would support that and would  like to build that into my daughter's school day as opposed to adding it on top of a full day of school or having her work on it all summer again.  Unfortunately it would be more expensive for me and wouldn't build any new capabilities for the school.

 

I really appreciate your wisdom and discussing potential obstacles.  My first priority is to my daughter and getting her good help, and then I would really like to support the school in developing a new in-house ability.   I have never seen a school so focused on building kids up so they have the emotional strength to learn.  Partnering that with a great curriculum for struggling readers would be amazing.  My daughter's teachers have hated feeling that they are failing her.  Her current teacher stays late 3 nights a week just to support my daughter as she does her homework during study hall.

 

So, we shall see.   I believe that if she can figure out a way to make it work, she will.  If she can't with her staffing levels, then we'll go to the next best choice.  But, I'm hopeful and have on my best influencing cap!

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

I think this is a great idea, if both parties can make it work.  I have  a few more points and questions I am going to toss out, just at random, but feel free to ignore me, too. :)

 

1.  Do you intend to purchase ALL the Levels, or just Level 1 for the school to get a feel for the program?  There may be some issues with this.  First, whoever purchases the program has access to help from the Barton site.  If the school isn't the purchaser, that might be an issue.  Perhaps you could make a donation, but the school could buy the Levels.

 

2.  If you are hoping that the school will like Level 1 then decide to purchase the other Levels themselves, you need to be aware that Level 1 doesn't look terribly impressive and doesn't take very long to complete (2 weeks, maybe less, maybe more depending on amount of tutoring each week and the individual child).  Level 1 is actually pretty crucial for a lot of kids (like mine) and very helpful for getting the tutor familiar with the system, but it really doesn't look like much until you have worked through everything.  The school may not feel like this kind of cost is worth what they are getting.  Warn them that actually the first two Levels are fairly short, but very, very necessary.

 

3.  If you plan to cover the cost of the program yourself, as I said, Level 1 goes VERY quickly in the grand scheme of things, and while Level 2 is longer, it should also go pretty quickly compared to the other levels.  Level 3 is really meaty, and a child will take much longer to complete this Level, but may still go relatively quickly through this (a few months), depending... That means the first year of using Barton you might have the expense of 3, possibly 4 Levels, although I don't think a child could move through ALL of Levell 1,2,3, AND 4 in one year since Level 4 is really, really long and intense.

 

4.  The tutor will need to be willing to work slowly through the higher levels.  Many people make the mistake of rushing through, thinking that since the child has grasped the concept, they have mastered it.  It takes quite a bit of time with some children for the concept to internalize.  With my daughter, once we hit Level 3 Lesson 5, I started taking 2 weeks to complete each lesson, then reviewed extensively all previous concepts before moving to another lesson.  Without that, she was not retaining the info long-term.

 

5.  A tutor just starting out with this system will need to be willing to follow the script, including studying at the back of the book the suggestions for what to do if the student does not grasp a concept or is resistant to something in the program.  Those suggestions are there for a reason, even though they may seem tedious or annoying or confusing to someone who has not used the system.  Once the tutor is more familiar with the system, they won't have to rely on those things as much, but if they start modifying the program right from the start, they may drastically change its effectiveness.

 

6.  As for scheduling of the sessions, I realize the school will have to work that out within their own system.  I wanted to mention that when I started my kids on this program we started with 2 1 hour sessions a week.  They hated it and resisted tutoring vehemently.  When I cut the sessions down to a manageable 20 - 30 minutes a day, every morning, and reviewed material more often, they stopped griping and actually now find the lessons interesting. 

 

7.  Another issue for you and other parents of students doing this program through a school system is that many who use this program have found if they step away from Barton for a few months after their child has completed a level, the child may forget a lot since they are no longer using it.  Dyslexics, especially, tend to be really weak in this area.  Children will need to review concepts on their own with practice pages until they return to school.   The tutor will need to provide those practice pages (they can get them off the Barton site I believe) and send them home with the child, but parents will need an explanation of those sheets and how crucial it will be for their child to periodically do those sheets.

 

8.  You might consider contacting Susan Barton to ask her about implementing this system in a school.  I know it has been done and she has helped advise schools on how to do it.  She was incredibly nice to me when I had to contact her company recently.  She might be an invaluable resource.  Just get on her site and send an e-mail.  You should get a response from either her or her assistant within a day.

 

9.  We now have the tile app for the IPad for the Barton system and it actually works pretty well.  There are also games for Barton and controlled readers for Barton.  These extras are not necessary, but as a child advances in the levels, they may be of benefit to lots of students if the school were willing to cover the cost.  The materials can be used with multiple students (just laminate the cards for the games).

 

10. At my kids' old school there are some parents of dyslexics that are working to have the school hire a retired dyslexia tutor as part of the staff.  She would act as the reading specialist for all grade levels and the school would cover her salary.  Students in need of these services would have tutoring built into their schedule.  Negotiations are still on-going.

 

Have I driven you nuts yet?  Anyway, I really, really wish you the best.  Let us know how it goes.

 

.  

[Suze]

Jamie, wow!! thank you for all your thoughts.   I talked with the principal and we'll see if they have the staff resources to support - at the same time I'm calling local tutors and seeing how able/willing they are to travel to my daughter's school.  The one thing I know right now is the school will definitely let a tutor come there if they don't have a resource and they will work with us to make it part of the school day as opposed to extra work on top of what she is already doing.  Your coaching earlier this week helped me have the right conversation about that :)

 

Either way I'm optomistic.  I talked with a tutor today who sounds like she knows how to manage the balance between enough challenge - and not so much that the child burns out.  My daughter's summer program was very helpful but she (literally) ended up under a table one day - she had just reached a point of exhaustion.  I consider this a marathon, so I am very okay with having fun and taking it at a pace we can stick with for the duration.  The tutor I spoke with today seemed to understand that.  She also said things that sounded very much like your # 7 - that makes her a lot more credible with me now :)

 

thank you!!

 

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

Yeah!  So glad things are going well.  Please keep in touch.  I really hope this works out, for all of you, but especially you and your daughter!

[OneStepAtATime]

Hey Suze!  You may have already seen this, but on Susan Barton's Dyslexia Newsletter there was a link to her new step-by-step guide for using the Barton System in a formal school setting such as Public School or private.  Thought I'd pass it along in case you hadn't seen that part of her site yet....new step-by-step guide

[OneStepAtATime]

Thought I'd check in and see how things are going....