Orton-Gillingham at the center.
Every Chandler faculty member is trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach. Its direct, explicit, structured, sequential, and multisensory principles shape how we teach students to read, comprehend, and write.
What is Orton-Gillingham?
A language-based approach that responds to the learner.
Orton-Gillingham is an instructional approach designed to make the structure of language visible and understandable. Teachers introduce skills in an intentional sequence, connect reading and writing, engage multiple senses, and use ongoing observation to determine what each student needs next.
At Chandler, these principles are most concentrated in tutorial, but they also influence classroom instruction across the school day.
The sequence is deliberate, but the lesson remains responsive. S
elect each principle to see what it means for a Chandler student.
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Students are shown how language works.
Teachers introduce skills clearly and deliberately. They explain the concept, model the process, guide practice, and check understanding instead of expecting students to infer patterns on their own.
Clear explanations
Teacher modeling
Guided practice
Frequent checks for understanding
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New skills build on what has already been mastered.
Instruction follows an intentional sequence from simpler concepts to more complex ones. Teachers revisit prior learning and introduce the next step when a student is ready, creating continuity instead of gaps.
Logical skill sequence
Cumulative review
Mastery before progression
Connections between old and new learning
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Students see, hear, say, and do.
Orton-Gillingham lessons connect visual, auditory, and kinesthetic pathways. Students may speak a sound, trace a pattern, manipulate letters, write, and read within the same lesson so new learning has more than one route into memory.
Visual patterns
Spoken language
Movement and touch
Reading and writing together
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The lesson changes in response to the learner.
Teachers observe performance throughout instruction, identify the source of difficulty, and adjust the next lesson accordingly. The sequence is structured, but the pace, practice, and emphasis remain individual.
Ongoing observation
Responsive lesson planning
Targeted correction
Individual pacing and review
Tutorial
Focused instruction at the student’s pace.
Most Chandler students receive individual or two-student tutorial support. All Chandler School faculty is Orton-Gillingham trained. Tutors begin at the student’s current level, teach toward mastery, and adjust the pace and emphasis according to performance in each lesson.
Tutorial may address reading, spelling, vocabulary, written expression, syllable types, Latin morphemes, paragraph construction, and other foundational language skills.
From skill to independence
Students use what they learn.
Orton-Gillingham gives students explicit language tools. Classroom work and experiences beyond campus ask them to use those tools to read closely, communicate clearly, follow sequences, solve problems, and contribute to a team.