Introduction

Elementary school is a pivotal time for children, filled with playground politics, multiplication tables, and the foundational skill of reading. For students who are simultaneously learning English, these challenges can feel monumental—especially when adjusting to a new country or culture. In Troy City Schools, a public district of nine campuses about an hour north of Cincinnati, educators have taken decisive action to address this issue. With a growing population of families from Japan, Spain, Ukraine, and beyond, the district recognized that its English learners—making up roughly 3 percent of the 4,000 students—needed targeted support. Determined to reverse pandemic-era learning setbacks, Troy City Schools implemented a bold initiative: training every elementary teacher, intervention specialist, paraprofessional, and principal in the Orton-Gillingham approach, a multisensory method that integrates movement and touch into reading instruction. Early results suggest this investment is paying off.

The Challenge for English Learners

Federal data reveals a persistent gap: English learners’ achievement scores have lagged behind their peers for over two decades, with minimal improvement. The pandemic widened these disparities, particularly in literacy. At Concord Elementary, one of the district’s schools, Sarah Walters, a literacy instructional support specialist, observed a troubling trend. “We were seeing a lot of student frustration and wanting to give up,” she recalls. “Students being very withdrawn, those social-emotional impacts.” The root issue often lay in phonics—the letter-sound relationships that underpin reading. Before 2020, English-language instruction across the district was inconsistent and fragmented, leaving many multilingual students without the structured support they needed.

Pandemic Widens Literacy Gaps

The disruption of COVID-19 exacerbated existing challenges. Remote learning, reduced instructional time, and social isolation hit English learners especially hard, as they lost crucial opportunities to practice language in context. In Troy City Schools, the need for a unified approach became urgent. “We want to help the students continue to thrive, and really everything that we're thinking about with our student services is equitable learning opportunities,” Walters explains. The district set out to close these gaps by investing in a proven, research-based intervention.

A Multi-Sensory Approach: Orton-Gillingham

Orton-Gillingham is a structured literacy method designed for students with dyslexia but effective for all learners. It breaks reading down into small steps, using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile pathways to reinforce learning. For English learners, this approach is particularly powerful because it explicitly teaches the rules of English phonics through hands-on activities—such as tracing letters in sand or using arm movements to segment sounds. Troy City Schools adopted the method after a three-year planning period following the pandemic, securing funding through post-COVID relief grants and district budget allocations.

Danielle Romine, director of elementary teaching and learning, notes that the district was deliberate in its rollout. “We mulled over the changes for three years before we had enough funding to deliver on it,” she says. The effort ultimately trained 116 staff members—every elementary teacher, intervention specialist, paraprofessional, and principal—through the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education.

Training and Implementation

Walters became certified in Orton-Gillingham and now supports and trains her colleagues. The district’s approach emphasizes consistency: every classroom uses the same multisensory strategies, ensuring English learners receive coherent instruction regardless of teacher. “We were seeing a lot of student frustration and wanting to give up,” Walters reiterates, “but with this method, we’ve seen students gain confidence and skills.” The training covered not only phonics but also social-emotional support, helping teachers address the withdrawal and anxiety that many English learners experienced during the pandemic.

Early Results and Next Steps

While comprehensive data is still emerging, the district reports notable progress. Students who once struggled to decode words are now reading with greater fluency. Staff surveys indicate increased teacher confidence in supporting multilingual learners. The district plans to extend Orton-Gillingham training to middle and high school teachers, recognizing that older English learners also need targeted literacy support.

Walters emphasizes that the work is far from over. “The foundation that they lay in reading and math will affect their learning from that point on,” she says. Troy City Schools’ investment in equitable learning opportunities—through a structured, evidence-based approach—offers a model for other districts grappling with similar challenges. By turning the tide for English learners, this Ohio community is proving that targeted, well-funded interventions can close literacy gaps even after a global crisis.

This article is part of a series on post-pandemic literacy recovery for multilingual students.