Language enrichment and development are essential components of the Trident Academy approach for students with language-based learning differences, and this is what our OG classes are all about. Trident Academy’s OG classes are where the rubber meets the road; students are challenged to stretch and grow, learning how to read in a structured and safe environment. For all of our students who struggle, regardless of level, OG classes are designed to unlock the barriers to reading. All students are scheduled for OG class every day, with placement determined by the individual needs of each student. Students learn through the Orton-Gillingham approach to reading and spelling by being exposed to prescriptive, diagnostic, sequential, structured, and multi-sensory teaching.
OG classes are designed to meet each student’s individual needs and evolve as the student progresses through Trident Academy. All students are evaluated at the beginning of each academic year and are assigned a OG instructor who will address their individual needs. For many of our younger students, reading, spelling, and handwriting are the first focus of instruction. As students become more proficient, practice for reading fluency is added.
OG teachers evaluate all students in the areas of decoding, phonemic awareness, fluency, spelling, reading comprehension and vocabulary, and written expression. Test results are used to place students in OG classes, determine individualized goals, and design the approach for the individualized instruction. Tests used for these purposes include the Phonological Awareness Skills Test (PAST), Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE), Test of Written Spelling (TWS), Gates-MacGinnitie Reading Test (GMRT), and the Rapid Automatized Naming Test (RAN).
Trident Academy admits students of any gender, sexual orientation and identity (including transgender status), race, color, religion, national and/or ethnic origin, and provides students with all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. In accordance with applicable law, it does not discriminate in the administration of its education policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs. Similarly, Trident Academy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on disability. However, consistent with Trident Academy’s mission, it is the admission policy that to qualify for admission consideration, students must have diagnosed learning disabilities and/or certain communication disorders and meet certain threshold criteria as evidenced by their professional testing documents.