Windward offers a multi-sensory, highly structured and sequenced program based on decades of validated educational research. Central to our methods is the work of Dr. Samuel Orton, a neurologist, and Anna Gillingham, a psychologist. The Orton-Gillingham approach teaches reading, writing and spelling to students who, despite above average intelligence, have not learned to read and write adequately with conventional teaching methods.

Our staff is Orton-Gillingham trained and committed to the Preventing Academic Failure (PAF) reading program and Teaching Basic
Writing Skills (TBWS) writing program. Parents can learn the methodolgy of these programs by taking courses at the Windward Teacher Training Institute.

At Windward, reading, spelling, and writing are taught in one integrated lesson, so each aspect of written language reinforces the others. This is different from conventional instruction in which phonics (sound/letter associations), reading, writing, and spelling are taught as separate subjects. The reading component of an Orton-Gillingham lesson places heavy emphasis on both accurate word decoding (sounding out words) and comprehension. Reading comprehension skills include summarizing, paraphrasing, predicting and making inferences. Spelling is taught through daily dictations in which students practice encoding spoken language.

Instruction begins by teaching students the sounds each letter represents and then immediately using them to build meaningful words and sentences. Students see and write each letter while they say and hear each sound. This multisensory approach helps students remember basic phonetic principles needed for fluent reading. Principles are applied and reinforced by all teachers across the curriculum. Instruction is carefully individualized so each student can progress at his or her optimal rate. Higher levels of an Orton-Gillingham sequence focus on multi-syllabic words and the study of Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes to reinforce syllabication and to help build vocabulary.

Windward believes that the structure and sequence of this program help not only to improve basic language skills but also to organize the student's general ways of learning. Step-by-step progression leads to an increased sense of mastery and self-esteem.