Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota

08/04/2026

📢 The Acadience Reading Diagnostic materials are now available as FREE downloads!

The materials are now posted in the Resources area of the Acadience Learning website. You can download the:

• Assessment Manual
• Student-Facing Materials
• Score Sheets

According to Acadience, you can use these diagnostics regardless of the universal screening tool you use. The Acadience Reading Diagnostic is designed to provide instructionally relevant assessment information to support instructional decision-making.

Download the materials here:
https://acadiencelearning.org/acadience-reading/reading-diagnostic/

07/08/2026

Congratulations to everyone involved in this year's Advanced Orton-Gillingham Course! Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota is proud to recognize the instructors who guided the course and the participants who successfully completed this significant milestone.

Instructors: Sharalee Marsh and Sara Floerke

Participants: Emily Boettge, Ellie Ritzer, Jen Rubey, Rachel Frazee

Reaching this milestone reflects a significant commitment to professional growth and the pursuit of excellence in literacy instruction. To enroll in the Advanced Course, participants must first successfully complete the Introductory Course, Intermediate Course, and Extended Practicum before continuing their training.

Throughout the course, participants develop advanced knowledge and instructional strategies in morphology, semantics, and syntax to support students' reading fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension. They also continue refining the Orton-Gillingham approach through a supervised practicum experience, creating lesson plans and using ongoing student data to guide direct, explicit, structured, systematic, cumulative, and multi-sensory instruction.

Congratulations on your dedication, perseverance, and hard work. The knowledge and skills you've gained will make a meaningful difference in the lives of the students and families you serve. Wishing you continued success as you carry this important work forward!

05/14/2026

We are excited to share that The Reading League Minnesota will be hosting its inaugural conference this fall! All are welcome to attend. Registration is now open, and more details will be shared soon.
Join us: Friday, November 6, 2026 at the Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
Register at: https://mn.thereadingleague.org/

Minnesota!! We welcome everyone to attend our inaugural conference this fall. Registration is now open. More details to follow.

Join us: Friday, November 6, 2026 at the Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

Register on our website: https://mn.thereadingleague.org/

05/06/2026

The Acadience Diagnostic Assessments for Decoding, PA, Comprehension, Fluency, and Oral Language will soon be available as free downloads!

As a practitioner, you may already be using Acadience for fluency screening. They have now released a more comprehensive language comprehension diagnostic. These tools are brief yet comprehensive, research-informed, instructionally relevant, and now… FREE!!

https://acadiencelearning.org/acadien.../reading-diagnostic/

04/14/2026

⏳ Early Bird Registration Ends April 15

If you’ve been considering the OGMN Introductory Course, this is your reminder—time is running out to secure early bird pricing.

Orton-Gillingham of Minnesota offers a state-approved, IMSLEC-accredited training designed to move beyond theory and into real classroom practice.

📅 July 10th – July 24th, 2026
💻 Online | 50-hour course with practicum

✔ Structured Literacy aligned with the Science of Reading
✔ Guided, hands-on practicum experience
✔ Small cohort (only 8 participants) for personalized support

This course is intentionally designed for deep, practical learning—not just seat time.

Register by April 15 to save $100 and reserve your spot.

Learn more at OGMN.org

04/14/2026

Save the Date! 📚

We’re excited to share this announcement from The Reading League Minnesota!

Their inaugural conference, “Reading Instruction Beyond Phonics,” is coming this fall—bringing together educators committed to evidence-based literacy instruction.

📅 Friday, November 6, 2026
📍 Twin Cities Metro (in person)

Featured national speakers include:
• Kay Wijekumar, PhD
• Matthew Burns, PhD
• Brennan Chandler, PhD

At OGMN, we value opportunities that support educators in strengthening instruction across all components of literacy—grounded in research and responsive to student needs.

Registration opens this spring—be sure to save the date!

Save the Date!

We are excited to announce our first in person conference to be held this fall! Registration will open this spring. Save the date for Friday, November 6, 2026. The in person event will be held at Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center. We will feature three prominent national speakers: Kay Wijekumar, Matthew Burns and Brennan Chandler.

04/14/2026

Big news for educators and students alike! 🎉

The Orton-Gillingham Academy has announced an official certification pathway for Multisensory Math—a powerful step forward in supporting learners who need structured, evidence-based instruction.

Pioneered by Marilyn Zecher, this approach integrates explicit teaching, concrete–representational–abstract sequencing, and dual coding to strengthen understanding, memory, and retrieval in mathematics. Rooted in neuroscience and cognitive psychology, multisensory math is designed to make learning accessible for all students—especially those who need it most.

We’re excited to see this important work recognized and expanded. Congratulations to Marilyn and all involved in bringing this pathway to life! 👏

Big news from Marilyn Zecher! The Orton-Gillingham Academy has announced an official certification pathway for Multisensory Math. After 25 years of dedicated work, Marilyn has been named a Fellow of the Academy, validating what she has always believed: that instructional strategies must be evidence-based, research-informed, and rooted in neuroscience and cognitive psychology. In her own words: "Multisensory methods do work. They support our most fragile learners and help them become successful in mathematics."

Marilyn's approach isn't just a method — it's a lifeline for struggling learners. From explicit instruction and concrete-representational-abstract sequencing to dual coding (images and language taught together to support memory and retrieval) and clear, concise instructional math language, every strategy is backed by research and designed to help ALL students succeed in mathematics.

From all of us here at ASDEC, congratulations, Math Maestro!! 🎉