I highly recommend the Barton Reading & Spelling System for library-based literacy programs. This system answers the need for accessible, expert guidance for volunteers teaching adults (and children) with reading disabilities.

It is easy for volunteer tutors to use because the lessons are fully scripted. Both volunteer tutors and learners feel successful using the Barton System.

This is the system that adult literacy programs have been waiting for.

I marvel each day at the common-sense way this whole system is put together, and how easy it is to use.

Every single child that I have tutored has passed the 3rd grade IRead/ IStep Tests. Many of them did not pass the 1st time taken, prior to tutoring. The rest started tutoring prior to 3rd grade. It is a statistic that I love to share!!

I am a retired reading teacher. I have taught reading for over 25 years using basal programs, co-operative learning, Success For All, Four Blocks, and whole language.

When I retired, I started tutoring 2 students using the Barton Reading & Spelling System.

I finally know how to teach reading.

One student is now at grade level. The other is above grade level.

I have been a resource aide for three years, and a volunteer Barton tutor for two years. I have found the Barton Reading & Spelling System easy to understand and implement.

The Barton System works no matter what reading disability my students have been diagnosed with. I can now accomplish in a couple of months what it took me years to accomplish before.

I run a small private school for ADD/LD/Dyslexic middle school students. I purchased your program this past summer to implement in my classroom and in my private clinic.

I have been so impressed with the results I have been seeing using your program. We initially tested the kids in August prior to enrollment. We tested again in October and I saw a good growth pattern then. But now, in our January testing, I am amazed at our success (and yours). My students have gained an average of 2 years in the past 5 months in reading and spelling!

We just had our academic awards ceremony. The countless tears of joy are evidence of the fact that Barton System is working at Flippin Elementary.

We watched students, who have struggled with dyslexia, accept numerous academic awards including honor roll, classroom awards and even a Presidential Academic Award!

It works! Lives are changing for the better!

We have just completed the spring progress-monitoring of DIBELS and have realized some incredible success with the first grade students who have been receiving intervention using the Barton Reading & Spelling System.

I snuck the Barton System in the back door of my school. I used it, as did my ESE and Title One Instructional Assistants. But now that I have data to show such incredible improvement, my principal has opened the front door in grand fashion and will allow K-2 intervention to take place next year.

In at least 95% of the cases, the PSF scores increased dramatically, and the NWF scores really took off. The kids were blending sounds into words, not just spitting out the sounds. Some of the kids who had been behavior problems in their classroom stopped acting out.

They actually began to understand this whole “reading thing” and began attending during classroom instruction. It’s been exciting for all of us to watch.

Some parents have even stopped the teachers and asked, “What is going on with my child? He tries to read everything now. Before, he would not even try.”

I am so proud of the progress my students have made with your program since last spring. One of my students in sixth grade has moved through Levels 1 and 2 and is beginning Level 3. It has been slow and steady and really worth the effort on his part and on mine. His reading has improved as well as his spelling. He is now able to compete at the challenge word level in spelling bees, and read Stuart Little for his book report with great enthusiasm and comprehension.

I am so very grateful to you for providing this high-quality and super-effective system.

I convinced our assistant superintendent to let me spend my Title 1 money to buy the first four levels of the Barton Reading & Spelling System.

I have been Lindamood-Bell trained, trained by Denver Academy in F.A.S.T., and have attended many other Orton-Gillingham training seminars and classes. But your system is absolutely brilliant.

My aide and I have been ‘high fiving’ each other every day when we use your explicit, systematic, sequential program and see it work before our eyes!

You have hit every nail on the head, and you’ve assimilated all of the best practices into your program.

The best part is that you’ve made it so accessible and easy that I can train my aides to teach any student we get.

I know you’ve heard this many times, Susan, but I can’t wait until I can order the rest of the system. It is the best out there.

You did an excellent job in the design of your program. I am a “Learning Lab” supervisor. As a first time tutor, I find the organization and thoroughness of your program so helpful to me and my 3 students.

I just wanted to say thank you for doing such an excellent work on behalf of the kids who struggle with reading and spelling.

Our school purchased the license and has funded our Special Education teachers to provide the tutoring daily to our IEP kids.

My son went from profoundly dyslexic, non reading in the 3rd grade to now (he’s starting book 7) he’s able to decode words and read significantly better.

He said he used to think people who could read knew magic. Now he sees that it’s all in the instruction.

I’d love to see our schools teach all our kids with Barton because the program works for all kids.

I am currently using the Barton Reading & Spelling System at the middle school level with several students who have reading difficulties related to dyslexia. Our school district has been trying hard to find ways to address the needs of our special education and non-special education students with reading delays.

Thankfully, because of the progress our “pilot” students have made, our superintendent has given permission to purchase the program for all of the schools in the district.

I know it will work for students with dyslexia because I know what doesn’t.

I am a former reading intervention teacher, having worked with students in grades K-3 for 17 years. I taught Title 1 reading groups (14 years), Reading Recovery (8 years), organized word sorting groups across grade levels, taught core reading to the lowest first graders using Open Court, and strengthened phonemic awareness skills of kindergarten and first graders.

I’ve been trained in and administered the following assessments: DIBELS, Reading Recovery Observation Survey, John’s Individual Reading Inventory, and the Qualitative Reading Inventory. Throughout my years of teaching, I have been an essential part of numerous intervention team meetings in many elementary schools.

Recently I became involved with Karen Austen and her after-school tutoring program using the Barton Reading & Spelling System. I have watched your DVDs from the demo through Level 3 and am hooked.

In all of my prior classes and experiences, the term ‘dyslexia’ and training specific to this learning disability, were almost non-existent. Amazing!

Your method of teaching reading encompasses all the areas in a very explicit and systematic format. I love the way it is laid out in an easy-to-follow form, taking guesswork out of the equation.

I know it will work for students with dyslexia — because I know what doesn’t.

My second-grade student’s reading level has improved greatly. I’m very impressed. He now volunteers to read aloud in a small group. He’s able to correct the wrong sound with minimal coaching from me.

I’m thankful for the Barton System. I knew he was struggling reader, but until now, I didn’t know how to help him.

I work for a small literacy council. We train about 150 volunteer tutors a year.

I have used the Wilson System with my own student for about 3 years. Although I have tried to convince our volunteer tutors to use it, they say it is too hard to use.

The Barton Reading & Spelling System is volunteer friendly, and I like it better than the Wilson System.

It is perfect for our literacy council.

Last year, when we applied for California Distinguished School Recognition Award, we demonstrated to the evaluating team how we use your tutoring program as one of our signature practices.

We received this high honor with many thanks to your fabulous program.

The evaluating team suggested integrating some of the procedures and spelling rules into the classroom because they would be beneficial to all students. So with the support and approval of our administrators, we opened up a summer workshop and had 16 teachers complete training on Levels 1 through 4.

The teachers who attended are very excited about piloting rules from the Barton Reading and Spelling System in their classrooms.

Two years ago, Michael came to our school as a sophomore. He was very quiet and uncooperative. He sat in the back of the class and did not participate. His grades were terrible.

I began tutoring Michael in January. A month later, his literature teacher brought me his paper and wanted to know how to grade it. It contained only two lines. The first line had no punctuation, capitalization or spaces. The second was easy to read: “What’s the point?”

The following year she brought me his paper. It was five pages long! He had become such an animated and self-assured young man that he was an absolute joy to have in class.

In October, he had to take the Washington Assessment of Student Learning test. Level 1-well below standard, Level 2-below standard, Level 3-meets standard (average to above average), Level 4-exceeds standard.

Michael shared his scores with us: 3 in Math, 3 in Writing, and 4 in Reading!!! He was very proud, and we were dancing on the rooftops!

The Barton System has shown me that through the support of volunteer tutors in our community, we can help struggling readers and writers achieve what may have seemed to be impossible. This one-on-one tutoring program is an invaluable asset to the students.

I have nothing but praise for the effectiveness of the Barton System.

I have nothing but praise for the quality and effectiveness of the Barton Reading & Spelling System.

I am a certified teacher, having taught first grade for many years. For the past seven years, I have worked in adult literacy in Michigan and Ohio.

As the program director, my job is to train volunteer tutors, pick the materials we use, and monitor results. We work with struggling adults who read below an 8th grade level, both native English speakers and ESL. Recently, we have started to work with children who have dyslexia.

When I first came to this job, I started testing existing students. The first student had made only one year’s growth despite ten years of regular attendance. When I asked why he kept coming, he said he thought that one day “the light would come on.”

Our approach wasn’t working — not only for him, but for most of our students. Our attrition rate was so high. Most adults came in reading at a second, third, or fourth grade level, and rarely progressed because we were using the standard adult reading materials: Laubach, Challenger, etc.

While teaching first grade, I had been trained in Orton-Gillingham. So when the brochure for the Barton Reading & Spelling System came across my desk, I ordered Level 1 and 2 to pilot the program with an 8 year old and the adult who had been coming for 10 years yet had only made one year of growth.

My results? The adult improved his reading by 4 grade levels in one year. The 8 year old, who was failing first grade, has A’s in reading and language arts on her report card in third grade. Her teachers were so impressed that they started an after school program using the Barton System.

Through a combination of tutor donations and grants, I got a site license. Everyone loves the Barton System. The training tapes and scripted lesson plans are great. It really, really works. Every single student has significantly increased his or her reading level.

Our volunteer tutors love the program. In fact, our staff members personally tutor as many as 5 students each. Our attrition rate is now 0.

We use the Barton System not only with adults, but also in our juvenile care system, and in our family literacy program.

Students that the public school system gave up on are now becoming readers.

I have nothing but praise for the quality and effectiveness of the Barton Reading & Spelling System.

For several years, I struggled to find the materials / system / program that would be easy to implement, not too cumbersome, yet contained all the elements I wanted. After attending eight days of intensive Orton-Gillingham training last year, I knew I wanted to use the OG approach. But because I had to gather materials from many different sources, it was very time consuming to implement.

With the Barton System, I have everything I need in just a few easy-to-use components.

But more importantly, it gets to the heart of reading, and how it should be taught. I feel the time I spend with my students is much more effective and productive. I love the Barton System!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I have been a special education teacher for the past 18 years. I work in the Special Day Class with high school students. These students typically read at the second to fourth grade levels. Despite years of Special Ed help, improvement is usually minimal.

But my SDC high school students using the Barton System have shown 4 to 7 years of growth in reading when tutored twice a week for 2 years.

With the state’s demands for higher standards and test scores, we must offer our struggling students a reading program that works — like the Barton System.

We used the Barton System with 28 students in small groups last year. Feedback from the parents was very positive. They felt the program was extremely helpful.

Thanks for creating such a great program.

I was very impressed with the care you used in making sure that tutors are knowledgeable about the phonology of the English language when teaching their students. Your program is structured carefully with step-by-step instruction involving all the components of reading that are so crucial to student success.

It is March. We have only been using the Barton System since September. The progress is AMAZING. Some teachers have seen their students improve by 400 lexile points on reading tests. The teachers can’t stop talking about the Barton System.

I am a 5th grade teacher. Early this year, I discovered your website, then arranged for a member of your Speakers Bureau to give an inservice on dyslexia to our teachers. It was a huge success.

I then wrote and received a Great Ideas Grant from the Educational Foundation of Indian River County and got the Barton System. I started tutoring two 5th grade boys, who had made little or no progress on school reading and spelling assessments, for 30 minutes every day before school.

In less than 3 months, Student A’s Oral Reading Fluency rate increased from 63 to 102. Student B’s rate increased from 53 to 91.

Their spelling also improved. Student A went from averaging 48% on his weekly spelling tests (an F) to 82%. Student B is now getting 100% on many of his weekly spelling tests.

Their parents are so excited and encouraged. For the first time, I am actually looking forward to receiving the FCAT results for the students in my class.

I had a fourth-grade student who was unable to read or spell even three-letter words. He has made amazing progress since September. His parents were quite defeated at the beginning of the year, but the success their son has had in the Barton System has made a difference for everyone.

Reading is one of the most critical skills that we teach, impacting all other subjects. It is essential that all children be given whatever materials and approach they need to master this skill.

Three years ago, we started using the Barton Reading & Spelling System in a small way in our district. We had 7 students who had not been able to pass the TAKS end-of-year statewide standards test. They flunked it all 3 times they were allowed to take it.

After only 9 months of one-on-one Barton tutoring for 45 minutes a day, all 7 students passed the TAKS test — 2 with commendations, and 2 with perfect scores.

Last year, we expanded our use of the Barton System to the 55 students identified with dyslexia in grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. At the end of those grades, 53 of the 55 passed the TAKS test the first time they took it. (The 2 students who did not pass did started Barton tutoring very late in the school year.)

That’s why this year, we will be using the Barton Reading & Spelling System with struggling students in every school in our district.

Since completing the Screening For Dyslexia course, I have been able to introduce the Barton Reading & Spelling System to my elementary school through the Special Services team. Every child who has started your program has met with success, and progress is seen very early in the program.

We have even convinced the Middle school, into which our students feed, to continue doing the Barton System.

Thank you for making this program so accessible to our teachers. No longer do we have to worry about new teachers in Special Services not being trained to teach the program program. Your DVDs make it a snap!

I wanted to let you know what a difference the Barton System has made in my life as an educator, and how your influence is spreading. We have a site license at our school, and we are using the Barton System both as Tier III remediation and as part of an early intervention program.

My school is a Title 1 school, yet this year, our kids scored higher than the “country club” schools in our district.

Due to that success, my district is now purchasing site licenses for the first four Barton levels for each of our elementary schools.

And something even more incredible just happened. I received a call from our State Department of Education asking me to make a presentation to the administrators about the program at our school.

The Barton System has changed the lives of all 7 of the students I am currently tutoring. They ask to come more often than 3 times a week.

It is thrilling to hear their successes in school when they had so few successes in the past.

My 7-year-old student got his first ever 100% on his spelling test.

Agree with best thing I ever learned as a teacher. Today I told our VP after 20+ years of teaching I learned the Barton System and there is nothing better for teaching reading. Nothing.

I wanted to let you know how the Barton System has already impacted my Special Ed. students.

I have two high school juniors who are currently being tutored twice a week in the Barton System. After the third week, one student proudly told me how much he had improved. He expressed joy at reading faster and comprehending more. His mother called, asking me to increase his tutoring from twice to three times a week.

My other student tells me that he can finally read his textbook without “faking it.” He participates more in class discussions because he can read and understand the textbook.

Although we have only been working in the Barton program together a short time, the change in the body posture of these students is so amazing. They walk with more confidence, now with their heads looking up and forward — no longer down or to the side.

These students were the ones who avoided class and who could care less about anything which required them to read. I wish you could see them now as we work together. They do not want to stop.

The Barton System has not only improved their reading and spelling skills, but also their self-esteem! It is GREAT to see their smiles, their confidence, and their willingness to participate in class.

We have been using the Barton system in Gunnison, CO schools for the past three years and what a difference it has made!

I am a former Reading Improvement teacher. I was often frustrated that there was not a quality, hands-on, accessible and complete program that I could use with my students.

I am now a Barton tutor.

This is the best reading program I have ever seen or been trained in. This program could literally rescue hundreds (maybe thousands) of our poor readers from years of frustration and low-level reading.

I have been searching for a system like this my entire professional career. We are now using the Barton System as our primary remediation method for our special education students with reading and spelling needs.

I also highly recommend its use to parents whose children need systematic one-to-one reading and spelling instruction. The Barton System training DVDs, with their fully scripted lesson plans, provide enough support for parents to become effective tutors.

A significant number of parent volunteers are using these professionally designed lesson plans on a one-to-one basis with at-risk students at our school, twice a week, with impressive results. The Barton System works!

I’ve gone through both the Barton and the Wilson system. I have found many benefits to yours over Wilson.

Your system incorporates a multisensory approach to sight words. Wilson does not have that.

Yours has a fluency and phrasing part in each lesson that Wilson does not have.

Students learn how to construct sentences as well as write dictated sentences.

Your scope and sequence goes to a higher level.

Although the Wilson System is strong, yours is much stronger.

I am a reading specialist for the Valley View School System, and we have targeted Barton intervention for those students who display signs of dyslexia.

I have tried two other Orton Gillingham based programs, and yours is my favorite. It is the easiest to use, requires fewer materials, and I see results almost immediately on the DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency and Phoneme Segmentation.