He is on the right path and everyone is pleased.

Last May, when our son was at the end of first grade and the school recommended we retain him, you advised that we negotiate delaying that decision until just before school starts and tutor him during the summer using the Barton System. I have been working with him for about an hour a day, 5 days a week, using your system. We breezed through levels 1 and 2, but learned lots of great tools — especially for b-p-d confusion. When we reached level 3, we spent two months working through it, and his improvement is phenomenal.

As far as the school, they gave him a reading test on August 20, and much to their surprise, he is at a level 16 — right where he should have been at the end of 1st grade! His comprehension and ability to sound out words is amazing. They were also amazed at how well he was able to sound out words when they dictated a sentence. He heard every sound, a huge improvement over 2 1/2 months ago.

In fact, my son mentioned one of the spelling rules to their Reading Specialist. She asked me about it, so I explained some of the spelling rules to the school officials, and they were really impressed — so much so that the reading specialist wants to take a look at your system. They actually thought I had an education background after talking with me, but no, I am an accountant at heart – a far cry from a teacher.

The assistant principal agrees that what I have done has helped, so she is now willing to let me come to school to work with Sammy two times a week during his normal “reading specialist” time so that he can continue on the same path. I have gotten them to understand that the whole language approach was not working for him. This from a school which is completely focused on the whole language approach.

So in the end, we have decided to send him on to second grade. He is on the right path and everyone is pleased.