What happens in a typical session?

Each live, 1-on-1 session lasts 45 or 60 minutes and moves through several short activities from your child’s plan, such as phonological awareness, a new phonics pattern, decodable reading, spelling and fluency practice. Students can even choose the order of the activities. There’s no homework.

How much does tutoring cost?

Current rates are on our pricing page.

Orton-Gillingham Tutoring for Grades 1-12

Reading and Spelling Help, Live 1:1 over Zoom

Our Zoom Guarantee:
Try it for a week. Love it, or it's on us!

Our Zoom Guarantee: Try it for a week. Love it, or it's on us!

What Parents Say About Kids Up Reading Tutors

What is Orton-Gillingham Tutoring?

Orton-Gillingham is a structured way of teaching reading and spelling. It shows students exactly how letters and sounds connect, one skill at a time, in a set order, with practice until each skill is solid. That makes it a strong fit for students with dyslexia and for any child or teen who hasn't picked up reading from classroom instruction alone.

How Orton-Gillingham Works:

More than Orton-Gillingham Alone

Struggling readers need more than phonics. They also need strong phonological skills in order to become fluent reader and good spellers, so Kids Up pairs Orton-Gillingham with Kilpatrick phonological awareness training to build students' ability to hear and work with the sounds inside words. Students also need to learn morphology and spelling rules, work on their fluency and prosody, and so much more. Tutoring sessions with Kids Up draw on the Science of Reading research base and cover the many skills your student needs to learn.

Is Orton-Gillingham Right for Your Child?

Orton-Gillingham tutoring helps students in grades 1-12 who are working hard but still find reading or spelling difficult. Your child or teen may benefit if they:

Have a dyslexia diagnosis, or you suspect dyslexia
Read slowly or with a lot of effort
Can read familiar words but guess at new ones instead of sounding them out
Spell the same word several different ways

We work with all struggling readers and spellers, whether or not they've been diagnosed with dyslexia or dysgraphia.

"We have appreciated the detailed updates you have provided, your incredible patience, flexibility, and enthusiastic positivity. I know [he] has really enjoyed working with you and we are grateful for his progress, especially in spelling."

9th Grade, Arlington, VA

What to Expect:

Literacy evaluation. We start by pinpointing the skills your child still needs to learn. *This is an instructional evaluation, not a medical diagnosis or a full psychoeducational evaluation.
An individualized plan. Your child's plan is built from the evaluation results, and we pair them with a tutor suited to their needs and personality.
High-dosage tutoring on Zoom. Most students working to close significant gaps do 3 or more tutoring sessions per week.
Progress you can see. Families can follow the skills being taught through progress charts and weekly tutor updates.

Skipping the drive to appointments lets families fit frequent tutoring into their busy schedules. Find out why our online tutoring works.

Meet Our Team

Kids Up was founded by Daniela Feldhausen, a former lawyer with an M.S. in Special Education (mild to moderate disabilities) from the University of Arizona and Orton-Gillingham training through IMSE. Every Kids Up tutor has a background in education, special education, speech-language pathology or linguistics.

Whatever training or certification they bring, every tutor also completes the Kids Up Literacy Educator Training Program™, our in-depth training in Structured Literacy. It covers the Science of Reading, Orton-Gillingham (phonics, fluency, morphology and spelling) and Kilpatrick (phonological skills). Our supervisors mentor each tutor on an ongoing basis, so your child gets one dedicated tutor backed by a whole team’s expertise.

Learn more about our founder and our tutors.

"Our second grader was struggling with reading and was assessed as dyslexic. We started working with Kids Up Reading and 6 months later her reading, spelling, and confidence levels have all improved dramatically."

2nd Grade, McLean, VA

How Long Does Kids Up's Orton-Gillingham Tutoring Take?

Kids Up students typically work with their tutor 3+ times per week for 4 to 9 months. Of course, timelines vary depending on each student’s starting point, goals, skill profile and the frequency and length of their tutoring sessions.

Success Stories

In one month of consistent, high dosage tutoring, this student's reading went from halting to fluent and confident.
Click to listen in!

Frequently asked questions

All of our tutors are Orton-Gillingham trained, and some also have a third-party certification. Every Kids Up tutor, whether or not they hold an outside certification, completes the Kids Up Literacy Educator Training Program™, our in-depth training in Structured Literacy that includes Orton-Gillingham and Kilpatrick. Our supervisors mentor each of our tutors on an ongoing basis, so every child benefits from the wisdom of our entire team.

Yes. Orton-Gillingham relies on multisensory tools, and they translate well to Zoom: tutors use tools like the Orton-Gillingham Blending Board on screen, much as they would across a table. Your tutor runs all the interactive tools, so your child only needs a computer or iPad with Zoom and a quiet spot at home. With no commute, it’s easier to fit in 3+ sessions a week, so students can finish tutoring sooner and get back to sports, friends and free time.

Explicit

Every skill is taught directly, so your child isn't left to guess at how words work.

Systematic

Lessons follow a logical sequence, and each new skill builds on ones your child has already mastered.

Multisensory

Students see, say, hear and write sounds and words, using more than one pathway to learn.

Responsive

Tutors immediately correct errors and review the concept in that lesson and the next one.