{"id":8871,"date":"2017-05-22T07:37:32","date_gmt":"2017-05-22T07:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/?p=8871"},"modified":"2026-03-30T08:45:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T08:45:04","slug":"new-teaching-approach-wyoming-inmates-reading-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/new-teaching-approach-wyoming-inmates-reading-success\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Teaching Approach Has Wyoming Inmates Reading With Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Learning Latin has become a breeze for some of the inmates in the Wyoming Department of Corrections, thanks to the Orton-Gillingham methodology the educational staff has implemented into the curriculum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Orton-Gillingham is a structured, phonics-based multi-sensory approach to teaching students to read. <\/span><\/p>\n

Teacher Gloria Wolf last year received training from the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE) and used those skills to teach her students \u2014 many of whom \u201ccan hardly understand English\u201d \u2014 Latin \u201ca few prefixes, suffixes and bases a day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it would help improve their ability to understand vocabulary they were unfamiliar with, which is a struggle for them,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cWhat I didn\u2019t expect was how quickly they learned it and how much it helped in every way. They began asking me the etymology of words and sharing new words they figured out on their own. But the most exciting part was when the students who had been in class a while began telling new students, \u2018Just wait until she teaches you Latin. It\u2019s awesome! I couldn\u2019t have passed my reading test without it!’\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wolf was one of 17 Wyoming Department of Corrections officials who received IMSE training last May in Casper, one of the state\u2019s few large cities. Another four who were hired after May\u2019s session attended a training seminar in Denver in February.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wolf said in 27 years of attending teaching workshops, the IMSE training \u201cbrought the most improvement in the shortest amount of time with the simplest implementation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Betty Abbott, the Educations Programs Manager for the Department of Corrections, said the results in the inmate population have been \u201ca big success.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n
\u201cWe work with a population that was never successful in the public school system, so we have to think out of the box,\u201d Abbott said.
\n<\/span><\/div>\n\n

Wyoming has one of the country\u2019s lowest recidivism rates \u2014 about 25 percent will return to prison for a new crime or a parole violation. Nationwide, more than 67 percent of released prisoners were rearrested, according to a study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbott credits Wyoming\u2019s low recidivism rate to the state\u2019s investment in educating the prison population. At any given time, Abbott said 181 inmates are participating in Adult Basic Education classes in the state\u2019s five facilities \u2014 four for men and one for women. Last year, 380 inmates went through the ABE program, Abbott said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbott said Wolf\u2019s success using Orton-Gillingham is not an isolated one. Abbott noted how women inmates at the correctional center in remote Lusk, Wyo., quickly discovered how to break down words and read a newspaper.<\/span><\/p>\n

In prisons nationwide, 3 in 5 offenders can\u2019t read and 85 percent of juvenile offenders have trouble reading, according to the Literacy Project Foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Konne Rife, the Field Public Information Officer for the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington, said implementing Orton-Gillingham into both the ABE and English as a Second Language classrooms has led to a \u201chuge improvement in learning the English language.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have personally observed more self confidence with student learning in the classroom,\u201d Rife said. \u201cThis approach builds not only vocabulary, but is a powerful tool in teaching reading and writing. The inmate population has a range of low readers to high readers. Using this approach, we are able to address a student\u2019s needs to ensure success, particularly with low readers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One inmate within the WDOC said through the specialized approach he understands \u201cthat there are three groups of words: Latin, Greek and Anglo Saxon\u201d and that \u201cwords can be created using different tenses: past, present and future.\u201d Another said the program has helped him \u201cwith learning prefixes, suffixes, tenses and base words.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After finishing a small book by himself, one inmate in his 50s said \u201cI did it! I didn\u2019t ever think I could do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rife noted a recent conversation with a parole agent asking whether the WDOC had a program that would teach an illiterate 29-year-old inmate who had never attended school to read and write.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI explained to her that WDOC Education has been trained in Orton-Gillingham and explained the instructional approach to her,\u201d Rife said. \u201cShe was excited that this inmate would have an opportunity to learn to read and write as he has expressed the desire to learn.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Abbott said the educators meet once every other month to discuss the training and ways to implement it into the WDOC educational plan. The next meeting is April 27-28 with a key goal to make sure inmates meet college and career readiness standards.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe success for me is having my teachers tell me how great this is,\u201d Abbott said.<\/span>
\n 
\nSource:<\/i><\/strong> www.journal.orton-gillingham.com<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learning Latin has become a breeze for some of the inmates in the Wyoming Department of Corrections, thanks to the Orton-Gillingham methodology the educational staff has implemented into the curriculum. Orton-Gillingham is a structured, phonics-based multi-sensory approach to teaching students to read. Teacher Gloria Wolf last year received training from...
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