About Barton

The Barton Reading & Spelling System was designed as intense intervention for students who struggle to easily and accurately decode words when reading (despite being taught phonics), who by second grade are slow and inaccurate readers (are missing the oral reading fluency benchmarks), and who have always struggled with spelling – especially when writing sentences, stories, and compositions.

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The Barton system is an Orton Gillingham based program. Orton Gillingham is a structured language approach that is different in both what is taught (reading and spelling are taught as related subjects) and how it is taught (the methodology).

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Our system is a multi-sensory, direct, explicit, structured and sequential program designed for intense intervention. 

The Barton System can be used with students as young as kindergarten who meet all 5 of our criteria, but often, their struggles do not become apparent until first, second, or even third grade. Yet there is nothing in the Barton System that would offend older students or adults.

To qualify for the Barton program a student must:

1- Be at least 5 years old and in kindergarten

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2- Can speak and comprehend spoken English

This is not for children with a receptive or expressive language disorder.

This is also not an ESL program.

A non-native English speaker must be able to speak and understand spoken English at a second grade level.

To find out, download our ESL screening.

3- Have an IQ  of 71, or higher

4- Struggles with spelling when writing stories, and cannot easily sound out unknown words when reading.

If someone can already read accurately and rapidly, and spells well, but only has trouble with comprehension, then the Barton System would not be needed or appropriate.

5- Can pass our Barton Student Screening.