Orton-Gillingham Academy Certification

Smiling blonde woman with glasses

Fay Van Vliet, Clinical Director of The Reading Center and Fellow of the Orton-Gillingham Academy

Learn more about our o-g training

Looking to become certified through the Orton-Gillingham Academy? Perhaps you are already certified at the Associate Level and you wish to pursue Clinical Level certification? Read more to learn how it works!

overview

“The Orton-Gillingham Academy (OGA) is a certifying and accrediting body dedicated to upholding the highest professional and ethical standards for the practice of the Orton-Gillingham (OG) Approach for the treatment of dyslexia.” —The Orton-Gillingham Academy website

The Orton-Gillingham Academy is considered the gold standard in the world of evidence-based literacy instruction. The certification and accreditation it offers is some of the most rigorous and highest-regarded in the literacy world.

oga accreditation

The Reading Center is accredited by the OGA to provide individuals with training at the Associate and Clinical levels under the guidance of our esteemed Fellow, Fay Van Vliet.

While the Reading Center offers high-quality O-G teacher training instruction both online and in-person, only the in-person training serves as a beginning point for OGA certification. This is because of the OGA’s standards requiring a certain number of synchronous hours.

The reading center’s history with the oga

The Reading Center had a seat at the table from the very inception of the Orton-Gillingham Academy—former Reading Center director and foundational member, Sharon Rome, is a Founding Fellow of the OGA. Additionally, the Language Tool Kit, which was co-authored by Paula Rome and Jean Osman, founders of The Reading Center, is considered one of the OGA’s three seminal works.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

  • It depends on your goals.

    OGA certification would be a great idea if you are looking to…

    • Establish a high level of credibility in the O-G world

    • Increase your pay and/or advance to a higher position at The Reading Center

    • Attend OGA conferences and members-only events

    • Start your own O-G tutoring practice

    • Pursue O-G as a long-term career choice

    However, OGA certification may not be necessary if your primary reasons for taking Orton-Gillingham training look more like…

    • Helping a child in your life who has reading & spelling difficulties

    • Improving the caliber of the reading instruction in your classroom

    • Earning some supplemental income on the side

    • Augmenting your knowledge of dyslexia for your work in another field (e.g. speech-language pathology)

    • Doing something fulfilling during retirement

    OGA certification is a highly regarded credential and would be of benefit to many people. However, it all comes down to the goals of the individual.

    1. Attend, and successfully complete, the Basic Orton-Gillingham Training hosted in-person in the summer.

    2. Register for OGA Associate Level Practicum supervision. (Please note: there are limited seats available every year.)

    3. Find a suitable practicum student.

    4. Begin the Associate Level Practicum in the fall. This includes:

      • Assigned readings

      • Monthly virtual meetings

      • Assigned projects related to application

      • Lessons with your practicum student twice a week

      • At least 10 lesson observations by a Fellow

    5. Prepare and submit application to OGA.

    6. If OGA approves of your application, you receive Associate Level certification.

    1. Receive Associate Level certification via the OGA. If you completed this through The Reading Center, proceed to step 2. If you completed it elsewhere, see the other FAQ.

    2. Attend, and successfully complete, the Advanced Orton-Gillingham Training hosted in-person in the summer.

    3. Register for OGA Clinical Level Practicum supervision. (Please note: there are limited seats available every year.)

    4. Find a suitable practicum student.

    5. Begin the Clinical Level Practicum in the fall. This includes:

      • Assigned readings

      • Regular virtual meetings

      • Assigned projects related to application

      • Lessons with your practicum student twice a week

      • At least 10 lesson observations by a Fellow over the course of 2 consecutive academic school years

    6. Prepare and submit application to OGA.

    7. If OGA approves of your application, receive Clinical Level certification.

  • No. Our online training is rigorous and consists of very similar content to our in-person training, but it does not count towards OGA certification at this time. This is because it is largely asynchronous in order to offer maximum flexibility to trainees, and the OGA requires a certain number of synchronous hours.

    Our online training is a great option for people who do not intend to pursue OGA certification but still want to be able to use the O-G approach, or who intend to pursue certification after having practiced the O-G approach for a time.

  • Yes—with a few caveats.

    • The Reading Center has limited capacity for OGA certification supervision, and for the Clinical Level in particular. Depending on the year, it may or may not be possible to secure a seat for an external candidate.

    • OGA recommends (though doesn’t require) that you stay with your original Fellow.

    • As every Fellow and every institution structures their instruction a little bit differently, it can be difficult to jump in at the Clinical Level without knowing the way we do things at the Associate Level. We want to set you up for success, so prior to Clinical Level training, we require that you either:

      • Demonstrate that your existing Associate-level competencies align with The Reading Center's style of instruction, or

      • Attend The Reading Center’s Basic O-G Training (either in-person or online) to familiarize yourself with our Associate Level procedures.

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