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The Reading Foundation in both Calgary and Vancouver is an
extremely rewarding place to work. Each week, when students
exit the program, the parents (and adults who come) spontaneously
talk about the changes they have seen in their children or
themselves. They are grateful for
this and shower us with thank-you cards, small gifts, flowers,
chocolates and other forms of acknowledgement. Many students
continue to write to us years after leaving the program and
some of the success stories bring tears to your eyes. Here
is a sample of some of their
comments and stories.
Professionals
, Integrated
Learning Consultant
,
Superintendent of Education
,
School Psychologist
Parents/Students
, Student Age
10
- Mother
of Student
, Student
Age 17
, Student Age 15
, Student Age
13
, Student Age
10
, Student Age 14
, Student Age 10
Adult Students
, Student
Age 15, Future Doctor
,
Update
, United
Hockey League
- Adult Student
, Adult Student
Yvonne DePeel, Superintendent of Education
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter regarding Dr. Steve
Truch and the Reading Foundation. I have had the opportunity
of working with Dr. Truch and the Reading Foundation for the
last two years.
I am the Superintendent of Education with
the Stoney Education Authority. I began researching successful
literacy programs about four years ago. Three years ago, I
hired a consultant to make some recommendations for literacy
programming. Our consultant believed that the Reading Foundation
had one of the best literacy programs in North America. At
this point, my department hired Dr. Truch and the Reading
Foundation to train the staff at the school site. Over the
course of the last two years, Dr. Truch and his team of specialists
worked closely with the Stoney Education Authority and the
staff of this school systems. The Reading Foundation team
is made up of highly skilled dedicated educators who believe
all children can be literate.
We used the Discover Reading program in one
school site and had excellent results. This year we are expanding
this Literacy Project to include all three sites. Dr. Truch
and the Reading Foundation have always gone the extra mile
to ensure smooth program delivery. We have seen tremendous
progress in the students involved with this program and hope
to implement this across our education system.
It is indeed a great honor to recommend Dr.
Truch and the Reading Foundation. They have interacted with
our education system using integrity and cultural sensitivity.
I believe the programs designed by Dr. Truch and the Reading
Foundation will have a positive long term impact on our students
and our communities.
Sincerely,
 Yvonne DePeel
Ron Teffaine, School Psychologist
To Dr. Steve Truch:
I met you several years ago in Winnipeg at a MASP convention
somewhere between 1992 to 1994. I had read your book "The
Missing Parts of Whole Language" and was quite impressed.
I remember trying to convince the MASP executive to hire you
to speak about your ideas. Other members said I would offend
the Reading Clinicians and that I had no business learning
about new ideas in reading. I persisted however, and the workshop
turned out to be one of the most successful they had ever
had.
At the time, Whole Language was adhered to like a religion
for helping children learn to read. You told the audience
that you weren't trying to do away with Whole Language. Instead,
you were sharing information about an essential set of skills
that some students could not acquire on their own. These were
the phonemic processing skills. At first, Reading Clinicians
were shocked and offended that their recommended methods might
be incomplete or neglectful for dyslexic (i.e., those with
decoding / spelling weakness) students. One woman almost cried
at the microphone. Afterwards, some told me that your ideas
were too simple, and could not offer a real solution. They
had been told by educational leaders such as Dr. Frank Smith
(U. of B.C.) that decoding wasn't even necessary. He said
that we had an unlimited capacity for memorizing words as
a whole. Nevertheless, Speech / Language Pathologists jumped
on the idea of phonological awareness and have developed a
number of programs and materials.
My, how things have changed. My wife is a teacher of Nursery
and Kindergarten children in Winnipeg School Division. Now,
as part of "Balanced Literacy" all the children
get direct instruction in phonemic processing skills. Congratulations
on starting a revolution! By the way, I also enjoyed your
book, "The WISC-R Companion." I know you also wrote
one about the WISC-III. Will you be writing one about the
WISC-IV?
Ron Teffaine, M.Ed.
School Psychologist
Hanover School Division
Joanne and Doug, Parents of Student
Here is a letter sent to us from the parents of a 10 year
old girl. We picked this letter because it exemplifies the
experience that is typical of so many parents who come here:
Dear Dr. Truch and Staff:
The Hutchinson family has had some excitement over the past
week. Cheryl brought home her first report card after completing
all eight weeks of therapy at The Reading Foundation. You
will never guess the results!. 3 A's, 2 B's and 1 C.
She got a B in reading.
This is without doubt the best report card Cheryl has ever
achieved! And is she ever excited and proud of herself. Probably
even more importantly, Cheryl is now enjoying reading. She
reads every night and begs me to let her read more when I
tell her it is bedtime and to turn off the light. As you know
this is quite a switch from 9 months ago when she would never
(and I mean never) pick up a book or anything - to read. Remember
the chore it used to be for her? She would practically break
out into a sweat trying to read a paragraph or a page. Now
she is zipping along, reading with great expression and enjoying
what she is reading.
I can't help feeling that the worst is finally behind us.
I think Cheryl can only get better and better. She talks fondly
and proudly of the work she did at the Reading Foundation
- even admitting that the comprehension was tough. We are
still working on that part and her new teachers are so supportive
of her.
We want to sincerely thank the clinicians who worked patiently
with Cheryl and want them to know that she'll probably
never forget them. We plan on bringing Cheryl to Calgary for
a follow-up assessment sometime in the new year.
Again, many thanks to all of you. You truly are people who
care about these kids!!!
Joanne and Doug
Shaun, Student Age 14
"Shaun had difficulty making friends and concentrating
in school. The comprehension program at The Reading
Foundation, which Shaun took over a year ago, changed
all that. His marks have gone up and his anger has disappeared."
Parents of Shaun
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Anne, Student Age 10
"As Anne's parents, we were concerned with her slow
progress in reading from early on in grade one. Reading quickly
became a source of frustration for her as she found herself
lagging behind her classmates. Nothing seemed to work for
her, including tutoring. She now approaches reading with much
more confidence. Her spelling skills have improved considerably
as has her comprehension. Her self-esteem and attitude to
school is much improved. We are very grateful to the staff
at The Reading Foundation. They are skilled and special people
and they do make the difference."
Parents of Anne
Nola, Student Age 6
"A history of dyslexia runs in our family; With just
five weeks of training, it was outstanding the way Nola improved."
Mother of Nola
Laurel, Student Age 10
"Dear Dr. Truch and Staff,
I will miss you guys, but I left these cookies for you. I
hope you enjoy the cookies. I will use all the lessons that
you taught me, and I will send you guys letters to tell you
how school is going. I hope you have a fun summer, and not
too boring.
Love, Laurel"
To Whom It May Concern:
I am pleased to write about our experience at The Reading
Foundation. My husband and I watched our two youngest children
grow in confidence and abilities as they participated in the
Discover Reading program. Their lives are forever changed;
they’ve conquered the written world.
Both children have mastered literacy skills that school teachers,
resource staff and administrators believed were beyond their
ability to master. More specifically, prior to attending The
Reading Foundation my husband and I were told that our son
would never achieve anything beyond a grade two level of literacy.
At that point, we realized we were entirely responsible for
his education. We commenced researching dyslexia and learning
disabilities. During that time, a friend recommended we look
into The Reading Foundation.
The philosophy of The Reading Foundation was consistent with
a number of recently published, peer reviewed studies on learning
disabilities, such as the 20 year Connecticut Longitudinal
Study, by Dr. Shawitz at Yale University. These studies indicated
that in most cases, dyslexia stems from a weakness in processing
sounds and sound combinations. “Kids with dyslexia take
longer to understand that words come apart into individual
sounds and to manipulate these sounds,” Rauno Parrila,
Educational Psychology Professor, University of Alberta.
The Discover Reading program provides children with a means
to process phonemes. I watched as both children learned through
a systematic, multi-sensory approach to reading and writing.
Upon completion of the program, the Reading Foundation and
an independent school assessed our son. Both assessments came
to the same conclusion, he had progressed several grade levels.
More importantly, he believes in himself. He wants to become
an author.
Our daughter progressed academically and developed a passion
for reading.
Both children are not isolated cases within their family.
Most of our family members have struggled with literacy. Despite
our struggles we have degrees and awards in engineering, architecture,
mathematics, music, theater, medicine, science, finance, accounting,
and journalism. I believe that our children will accomplish
many things, perhaps some day you’ll read about them.
Written by a mother in Calgary.
Julia, age 17
"I did the VV (Visualization and Verbalization) program
at The Reading Foundation. This is a program for reading comprehension.
I had to go over Christmas holidays so I wasn’t too excited,
but when I met all the wonderful staff and people at The Reading
Foundation, I was sad to leave! They didn’t only help me make
images when I read, but also to know who I was. It was an
awesome program and I enjoy reading a lot more."
Chris, age 15
"I would like to take a moment to thank you for your
very important role in Chris' recent successes. Since Chris
has studied at The Reading Foundation, he has seen a significant
rise in his grades and scored in the range of excellence on
the recent grade nine provincial exams. We are also pleased
that he has been accepted at West Island College. Chris was
very influenced by your positive and supportive programs and
staff, and it is without a doubt the turning point of his
academic success, and his self-image which has also made him
a confident and eager learner. Thank-you for your commitment
to Chris and may your good works continue to touch the lives
of children."
Brenda (parent of 15 year old student)
Michal, Teenage Student, Future Doctor
One of our favorite stories has to do with a 15 year old boy,
Michal Pawlik, who came to this clinic shortly after it opened.
He was truly "reading disabled" and despite having
had remedial assistance in schools and with private tutors
and clinics all over the world, he was truly still a "non-reader".
His parents were told all kinds of reasons why Michal couldn't
read, including the fact that English was not spoken at home.
He had even been placed in a class for slow learners for several
years at his previous school.
When Michal was assessed, it became very apparent that he
had a severe phonological processing difficulty. Treatment
in the specialized program at The Reading Foundation brought
him significant gains in reading and spelling for the first
time in his life. Both Michal and his parents were thrilled.
Michal himself was deeply moved. He was a long distance runner
and a year after leaving the clinical program, got the idea
that he should run across Canada in an attempt to raise funds
for students like himself. He in fact did complete a cross
Canada run and got some attention from CBC on Canada Day for
the effort. He also got a lot of local media attention and
was declared "Athlete of the Week" by a popular
Calgary television station.
Today, Michal is completing his (degree in medicine) residency.
Mark, 13
To Whom it may concern,
Our 13 year old son Mark Ferguson has in the last year received
treatment from The Reading Foundation. Within this period
of time we have been amazed with his progress in literacy,
and his discovery that learning is possible and fun. The following
paragraphs contain a brief summary of our situations and experiences
which led us to The Reading Foundation.
Mark was a delayed reader right from the beginning of Elementary
School. By the end of grade 1 we noticed that he was still
barely reading. We attempted to correct this problem ourselves
using various methods, other phonics programs, flash cards,
reading to him and any other methods we could find. None of
these methods were at all successful. Mark is the youngest
of our 3 children and his older 2 siblings had not experienced
any difficulty at all in learning to read.
As the years progressed Mark fell further and further behind.
The difficulties in reading led to what many of his teachers
perceived as behavioral problems. He was tested several times
from grades 3 to 6, and although it was recognized that he
had learning difficulties, the testing showed that he had
a high intelligence. From the results of the tests the focus
always came back to his class behavior, and no suggestions
were ever given to correct the reading problems other than
to make him read every day. It is our opinion after many years
of working with Mark and searching for answers that many of
his behavior problems were a direct result of not being able
to read and follow along in class. He would often try to cover
his shortcomings by acting out or being the class clown or
being defiant.
By the time he entered Jr. High School the situation had
not improved. It had been recommended that he be retested
in Gr. 7 but that did not happen. His reading skills were
no better and he struggled with the simplest lessons at school.
Many of his teachers thought he was just lazy and a bad kid
and would yell at him and scold him. He became labeled as
defiant and troubled. Mark is a strong willed person and would
confront his teachers when situations like this arose. We
would try to work with the school and teachers, but many of
them were not even aware that he had an I.P.P. plan in place.
Their focus was always on his behavior and that he was not
following the curriculum. We would painfully try to work with
him every night on the homework and lessons so he had half
a chance and the results were frustrating and discouraging
for both him and us.
At the beginning of Grade 8 we were desperate. We had been
almost begging the school to have him re-tested and have his
I.P.P. adjusted but they were dragging their feet, saying
they would get around to it, but they were understaffed, underfunded,
etc. His behavior was worse than it had ever been and he had
very low self esteem and thought very little of school. A
friend of ours mentioned that she had some similar problems
with her son, but not to the degree and severity as Mark.
She said that she had put her son in the Reading Foundation
and he had improved a lot.
We were somewhat skeptical at this point having tried everything
we could find. We did contact them though. We had Mark tested
by them and the results were discouraging. He was reading
at approximately a gr. 2.5 level, and not even fluidly. This
was concurrent with limited testing that had been done by
the schools. His math skills were at a similar level. They
gave us recommendations as to what needed to be done and an
outline on the treatment prescribed and methods used.
We realized there was no way that he could even attempt
to do grade 8 curriculum unassisted with the level of reading
skills he possessed. After fighting with the Public School
System we made the decision to pull him out of classes in
what was termed a "supported home leave" for the
3-4 months that The Reading Foundation recommended it would
take to treat him. During this time he was also attending
a program in the school system dealing with behavior issues.
It should be noted that other than school, we had very little
behavioral problems with Mark other than the norm for his
age.
Right from the beginning of his treatment we noticed immediate
improvements. Mark was reluctant to even start the program,
having struggled his whole life to learn how to read. But
within the first week he was eager to attend and learn. The
learning environment was always positive with active participation
which was a new experience for him. He basically re-learned
how to read from the very beginning using different techniques
that were taught to him. The process was steady and increased
in difficulty each week but with the positive support of the
instructors Mark met the challenge head on. He was always
happy to go and we never once had any complaints about his
behavior, which was new to us in an educational situation
involving him. We had frequent meetings with the staff liaison
at the Reading Foundation to discuss Marks' progress and were
given strategies that would help us help him.
The improvements week after week were amazing and the first
time that Mark was able to fluidly read through several paragraphs
in a newspaper without struggling and stammering brought tears
to our eyes. After so many years of struggling to find answers
we finally had results. The improvements kept coming at a
rapid pace.
Mark has now entered grade 9 at a new school. He has been
given a fresh start and is working very hard to try to get
up to grade level in regards to curriculum. He now has the
tools to do this, as he is reading almost at grade level,
but does still struggle with concepts he has missed in all
the years where he couldn't follow the curriculum. We are
trying to make sure the school and teachers are aware of his
past struggles and difficulties. He does still require more
time than the average person to read through long passages
and tests, but can get through it with good comprehension.
So far, his behavior and attitude have been positive and the
teachers are working with him, as was evident when he did
not complete a test in the prescribed time and the teacher
felt he knew the material so he was re-given the test orally.
This led to better test score and indication of his knowledge
of the subject matter.
There will still be many challenges for Mark in the future
in regards to education but he is now far better equipped
to face and overcome them since his treatment at The Reading
Foundation. We would highly recommend to anyone that they
or their child would benefit from the treatments offered by
them.
Thank-you
Michal, Update
Michal Pawlik successfully completed his post-secondary education
and his medical degree. He is currently doing a family medicine
residency at a hospital in Winnipeg. Michal still finds he
has some difficulties with spelling, but with the support
of his preceptor, he is doing well.
Michal is an outstanding example of one of many Reading Foundation
alumni.
Darryl, Adult Student
"It has been a year since I attended your program and
my life has changed quite dramatically. I am currently reading
one manual, and another book for enjoyment. In the past, I
hated to read because I could not understand what I was reading
or decode the words accurately. I also passed my CMA Entrance
Exam. This is a great accomplishment for me as my past attempts
on similar exams were far less satisfactory."
Darryl; age 25
Ryan, United Hockey League
Ryan McIntosh attended The Reading Foundation in 1993. He
was also the 2004 #1 draft pick for the United Hockey League
expansion draft. Despite constant struggles in public and
private schools, Ryan insisted that education would remain
a priority in his life. He attended The Reading Foundation
in order to acquire the tools he needed to be a better learner.
And it worked. Ryan finished high school. Since Ryan has excelled
in hockey from a young age, when the time came to make a choice
on post-secondary institutions, hockey was a major part of
that decision. He chose to take the route that would afford
him the best chances of playing hockey, while still providing
a first class education. Ryan chose Augsburg College, a private
college in Minneapolis. He made All-American and graduated
with a Bachelors Degree in Science. He has since gone on to
play professionally in the United Hockey League. Ryan continues
to foster his love of learning and pass his passion on to
others by tutoring. As his parents, Bob and Sandi, put it;
"Although as parents it is their job to provide opportunities,
such as The Reading Foundation, for their children, it is
the children who must apply the effort and work to reach success."
It is Ryan's passion for life which gave him the drive to
overcome many obstacles, and to succeed toward all of his
goals.
Saskatchewan Rivers School Division
No. 119
Bev Walker, Integrated Learning Consultant
545 11th Street East
Prince Albert SK
S6V 1B1
Letter of Reference
Saskatchewan Rivers School Division No. 119 includes Prince
Albert and the surrounding rural communities. It provides
a full range of K-12 programming for over 8000 students.
Provincial and division data indicated that, at all grade
levels, student achievement in math was low. As a learning
community, we knew we needed to intervene by looking at teacher
practices around the delivery of the Math Curriculum –
resources; curriculum understandings; instructional strategies;
and beliefs about teaching math.
Discover Math was one of several interventions explored and
adopted. Through discussions with The Reading Foundation,
it became evident that Discover Math could potentially meet
two goals. These include:
• Teach students to understand how numbers work and
therefore, improve outcomes.
• Teach teachers new instructional strategies.
The Reading Foundation trained four SK Rivers teachers to
use Discover Math strategies. Two of the four teachers continued
with more intensive training. This training enables them to
provide in-service to other teachers within SK Rivers School
Division.
As a system, SK Rivers School Division is only beginning
to introduce Discover Math strategies to staff and students.
Our initiatives, to date, include:
• Two pilot classrooms
• Two summer Math camps for four groups of students
• In-service for some teachers in eight schools
Discover Math is contributing to meeting both goals. Most
importantly, data is showing that the Discover Math instructional
strategies work for students – improved outcomes. For
teachers, however, it means re-learning or learning how to
teach Math. This is a slow and costly process that needs to
take place over time with a lot of support and follow-up.
Our relationship with The Reading Foundation has been outstanding.
They have been very diligent in training teachers and providing
teacher and student resources. Without exception, contact
with The Reading Foundation is always highly professional
and light-hearted.
Bev Walker, Integrated Learning Consultant
Saskatchewan Rivers School Division #119
May 25, 2004
AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
My name is Stuart and I was a student at The Reading Foundation
in Calgary, Alberta. This learning facility taught me to read
a book and understand what I was reading for the first time
in my life. When I first went to The Reading Foundation, I
was 58 years old and my reading level was at grade three.
After going on and off for about a year I can now read at
a grade ten level. This is changing my life.
In the beginning I thought they would tell me that it was
hopeless and send me home, but that didn’t happen. They
prodded and pushed and never gave up on me, and I am proof
that students with a learning disability can learn with their
teaching system. I had a lot of fear from teachers in my past
who mocked or laughed at me when I stumbled on the words,
but the teachers at this school understood my fears and helped
me to overcome them. It did not take me long to realize that
these teachers are more than teachers, they are angels. They
know what they are doing and make a difference in people’s
lives with their commitment to literacy.
Thank you angels, I love you all.
Stu
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