Kildonan Teacher Training Institute

The Kildonan Teacher Training Institute is accredited by the Orton-Gillingham Academy of Practitioners and Educators. From its inception, The Kildonan School has had an underlying secondary mission: to share our wealth of knowledge about dyslexia and appropriate ways to address it.

Currently, a supervising Fellow, a Fellow, and Fellow-In-Training provide courses at the Associate and Certified levels. The founding faculty of the Kildonan program have lectured extensively as well as developed and published a variety of teaching materials. Each year, a diverse group of trainees with varying backgrounds gather on the Kildonan campus, and often travel internationally to participate from regions around the world where dyslexic populations of students are underserved.

Accredited Instructional Program
Incorporated Under New York State Education Law

Please Contact
Kathleen Stewart at
kstewart@kildonan.org
or call (845) 373-2028
For an application or additional information.

Associate Level Course Application
Teacher Training Institute Brochure

Course Trainers

Kathleen Loftus Stewart
Kathleen is an AOGPE Fellow, an IDA Certified Dyslexia Therapist, and Director of Language Training at The Kildonan School. She began her Orton-Gillingham odyssey at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has worked in a variety of settings including a therapeutic school, private practice, and her current setting of a private school for dyslexics. Kathleen holds an MA and MAT in English, and holds certification in New York and Massachusetts. She has extensive experience providing 1:1 tutoring at both the Associate and Certified levels.

Laurie J. Cousseau

Laurie is an AOGPE Fellow and Director of Green River Literacy. She has more than twenty years experience as an educator working in a variety of settings: independent schools, a public charter school, a working farm, and Amherst College.

Additionally, she has a Master of Arts in Reading Education, holds Level II Vermont certifications as a Reading Specialist PreK-12 and Middle Grades English Language Arts. Laurie is a Certified Academic Language Therapist and an IDA Certified Dyslexia Therapist. In North Carolina, she was the Associate Director of Teacher Training at an Academy-accredited school for dyslexic students, as well as Director and mentor of a regional Tutoring Resource.

Laurie has had extensive experience providing 1:1 and small group tutoring at both the Associate and Certified levels. She has served on a number of boards including the NC branch of the IDA. She has widely presented at a number of regional conferences and schools.

Christine A. Thompson

Christine is an AOGPE Fellow in Training and Director of Language Training for Camp Dunnabeck at Kildonan. She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and has completed her M.S.Ed in Elementary Reading and Literacy in the online program at Walden University. She has worked at Camp Dunnabeck for seven summers, and has been a teacher and tutor at The Kildonan School since 1987.

Christine was trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach by Diana Hanbury King and Laurie Cuddy. She is currently at the Certified level in the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE). She supervises and mentors Dunnabeck tutors, and serves as a mentor to new Kildonan tutors during the school year.

Associate & Certified Level Orton-Gillingham Course Offerings

Associate Level Orton-Gillingham Training & Practicum

Two-week Associate Level Coursework and Subsequent Practicum

2020 training dates: to be announced

70 hours of coursework, which includes 10 additional hours of training beyond the AOGPE required 60 hours.

This includes the following topics:

  • Dyslexia and reading disorders
  • The rationale of the Orton-Gillingham Approach
  • Phonology and morphology
  • The motor component and the writing process
  • Vocabulary, reading comprehension, and fluency
  • Assessment and diagnostic-prescriptive teaching
  • The student profile, lesson plan, and teaching materials
  • The Academy structure and requirements

Space is limited to twenty participants. Cost for the full two-week course is $2,000, which includes all materials, snacks, and lunch. Breakfast, dinner and dormitory accommodations on campus are available for an additional fee of $750.

The Associate Practicum is an additional fee.

Associate & Certified Level Orton-Gillingham Course Offerings

Certified Level — Course I

2019 November 1, 2, 3, 15, 16

At the new home of our OG professional library at The Empowerment Lab, 346 Main Street Sount, Woodbury CT 

40 hours of coursework

Certified Level I course includes the following topics:

  • Knowledge of dyslexia and reading disabilities
  • Review of basic phonology and handwriting instruction
  • Case management and professional communications
  • Formal and informal assessment measures
  • Understanding and interpretation of standardized testing
  • Student profile and matching lesson plans
  • Knowledge of methods and programs derived from O.G.

Certified Level — Course II

40 hours of coursework

Certified Level II course includes the following topics:

  • The stages of words attack and the O.G. lesson plan
  • Review of phonology, phonics, and handwriting instruction
  • Study of morphology and advanced elements of the language
  • Exploration of the systematic, structured writing process
  • Teaching of vocabulary, comprehension, pragmatics, and study skills
  • AOGPE Code of Ethics