The top-rated Tredyffrin/Easttown School District is getting heat from mothers who say it does not know how to teach reading to all of its students, writes Avi Wolfman-Arent for 90.5 WESA.

Kate Mayer, Jamie Lynch, and Wendy Brooks started a local awareness campaign on dyslexia after realizing their children were struggling to read in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District. Students with dyslexia struggle to match written language letter combinations with the oral sounds of spoken language.

Nearly two years later, their group, Everyone Reads T/E, has many parents agreeing that something has to change with how reading is taught. Recently, the mothers also joined a national effort of parents advocating for a greater focus on phonics.

Meanwhile, Tredyffrin/Easttown officials say they embrace phonics, particularly in younger grades. This includes sending their reading specialists to train in Orton-Gillingham, an instructional method favored by dyslexia advocates.

“I feel very confident in the reading instruction that we provide,” said Dr. Wendy Towle, the district’s Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Staff Development, and Planning.

Overall, the district scores exceptionally well in standardized tests that assess reading and writing. Almost nine in 10 students are proficient or advanced.

Read more from 90.5 WESA here.

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