Wilson^® in the News

School District Introduces New Math and Phonics Curriculums
This year, the Georgetown Public School System in Massachusetts has introduced Fundations^® in kindergarten through third grade at Perley School and Penn Brook School. Phonics has always been taught in Georgetown, but they wanted the more programmatic, skill-specific approach offered by Fundations. To read more about Georgetown’s implementation of Fundations, click here. (Georgetown Record, October 1, 2010)

Illiteracy Thwarting Job Seekers
Because of their inability to read, many adults on the island of Bermuda are struggling to find jobs. Recently, the Adult Education Centre hired Wilson Partner Trainer Susan Sentell to support its staff in the Wilson Reading System^®. To read more about the literacy initiative in Bermuda, click here. (Bermuda Sun online edition, March 19, 2010)

Public School 380: Brooklyn, New York
Public School 380 is an elementary school of 493 students located in Brooklyn, New York. While the elementary school was performing better than most schools in 2005-2006, there was still a high referral rate to special education and several students were not meeting learning standards. The leadership was determined and committed to address the needs of these students. To read more about PS 380, click here.(RTI Action Network)

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Administrators Work Together to Create a First Response to RTI
The nation and state are abuzz about Response to Intervention (RTI), a systematic means to identify, support, and monitor students at risk for academic difficulty. To read more about how one school district is working to implement an RTI policy across disciplines, click here. (The Journal, March 2009)  

Help for Struggling Readers in High School
Principal Sharon Olken and Reading Specialist Marlies McCallum of Gateway High School in San Francisco, CA, describe a comprehensive approach for identifying student needs and providing interventions using the Wilson Reading System (WRS). To listen to this interview, click here. (Doing What Works, February 2009)

Wilson Reading System Featured on NPR
Beth Fertig reports on how New York City Schools adopted Wilson Reading System in 2007 to help tens of thousands of kids struggling with reading. To listen, click here. (NPR, January 8, 2007)

Perkins School for the Blind Teacher Named Braille “Teacher of the Year”
Perkins braille teacher, Rosalind "Roz" Rowley of Watertown, was named 2010 Braille Institute of America Teacher of the Year.  Roz graduated from Perkins in 1964 and has taught at the school for nearly 40 years. In 2001 she encountered a student who, despite a fine mind, was unable to learn to read braille. With characteristic spunk, wit, and sense of adventure, she set herself the task of teaching him to read. She found the Wilson Reading System, a widely used 12-step curriculum for students with reading disabilities. To read more about Roz, click here. (Watertown Tab & Press, July 13, 2010)

Reading More than Just Between the Lines
Laura Seaholm, a Clayton resident and retiree from Bank of America, now has a job she loves that directly affects the people she helps—teaching adults to read as program manager for Project Second Chance. Laura and the other tutors at Project Second Chance use the Wilson Reading System because of its visual, auditory, and tactile exercises. To read more about Project Second Chance, click here. (Clayton Pioneer, October 20, 2008)

Christie Names Four to Dyslexia Task Force Inspired by Ocean City Girl
In 2008 Samantha Ravelli testified before the NJ State Assembly Education Committee in favor of establishing the NJ Reading Disabilities Task Force. Assembly bill A-880 was signed into law in January 2010, and in March 2011, NJ Gov. Chris Christie named four of his five appointees to the task force, bringing Samantha’s dream one step closer to reality. For Ms. Ravelli’s most recent story, please click here. (Press of Atlantic City, March 15, 2011)

Ocean City Girl Testifies for Education Bill
Imagine not being able to read, just looking at words on a page and having them appear as an unfamiliar, alien alphabet. That was what Samantha Ravelli saw years ago, before a reading program taught her to read. To read more about Samantha’s crusade to help other dyslexic students, click here. (Ocean City Sentinel, November 20, 2008) To visit Samantha’s website and blog, click here.

Girl’s Wish: N.J. Study of Reading Disorders
The stuff on Samantha Ravelli’s holiday wish list was pretty much standard fare for a 12-year-old. A digital camera, a watch, a laptop. Her number-one wish, however, was in a class of its own. She wants Governor Corzine to sign her bill. To read more about how Samantha is working hard to promote a reading task force, click here. (The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 27, 2009)

New Jersey Law Creates Reading Disabilities Task Force
New Jersey's acting Gov. Stephen Sweeney signed into law a measure that creates a 13-member task force to determine the best ways to diagnose, treat, and educate students who have special needs that cause them to struggle with reading. Proponents note that 85% of the state's students in special education struggle with language or reading. The measure was inspired by New Jersey student Samantha Ravelli, who overcame severe dyslexia with the help of specialized reading classes. To read more about the N.J. measure, click here. (NJ.com/The Associated Press, January 17, 2010)

Barbara and Ed Wilson Address Becker College Convocation
On May 8, 2010, Barbara and Ed Wilson were presented with honorary Doctorate degrees of Humane Letters at Becker College’s 222nd commencement ceremony. To read more about the ceremony, click here.

Reading, Writing and Sustainable Development
Solving the problem of how to pay for air conditioning has propelled Wilson Language Training into an unexpected spotlight for something beyond Barbara Wilson’s renowned reading instruction. When installed, its rooftop solar panel system was the largest to receive funding from the state’s Commonwealth Solar rebate program. To read more about Wilson’s rooftop solar panel system, click here. (Worcester Business Journal, September 28, 2009)

Off the Grid: Wilson Taps into the Power of the Sun
Edward J. Wilson smiled as the sun shone down on his $1.2 million, 714-solar-panel array at Wilson Language Training headquarters. To read more about how Wilson Language Training launched its solar power system, click here. (Auburn/Oxford Flash, May 28, 2009)

Local Learning Company Unveils New Solar Facility
With alternative energy sources being looked into by companies all over the state for its benefits to the environment, Wilson Language Training has brought solar energy into its newest building on Old Webster Road. To read more about Wilson’s solar energy initiative, click here. (Webster Times, May 22, 2009)

Seeing the Light—Businesses Find Payback in Going Green
In Oxford, Wilson Language Training installed 714 solar panels on top of its materials distribution center to produce 139 kilowatts of energy, and received a Commonwealth Solar rebate. The solar panels, which were installed by Borrego Solar Systems, Inc., will equal a 22 percent savings—an estimated $19,000 annually—in the building’s energy bill. To read more about WLT and other businesses who are 'going green,' click here. (News.telegram.com, May 21, 2009)

Remedial Instruction Rewires Dyslexic Brains, Provides Lasting Results, Study Shows
A new Carnegie Mellon University brain imaging study of dyslexic students and other poor readers shows that the brain can permanently rewire itself and overcome reading deficits, if students are given 100 hours of intensive remedial instruction. To read more about the study, click here. (Science Daily, August 7, 2008)