To become a tutor, you must meet be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and have a strong command of spoken and written English. You will also be asked to complete an application, interview with our Tutor Coordinator, and agree to and pass a background and reference check. All tutors are required to complete the 30 hour Level I Orton-Gillingham training.
No, you do not need any prior teaching or tutoring experience. We provide comprehensive training and ongoing support to prepare you for tutoring and support your and your student’s success.
DTP holds Orton-Gillingham training courses throughout the year. You can always check our Upcoming Training Courses schedule to find out the next available dates, times, and locations.
DTP offers training courses in two formats: 100% in person, and hybrid (50% in person and 50% via Zoom). In-person courses may meet once or twice per week, hybrid courses meet twice per week – once in person and once via Zoom. Volunteers in training courses with an online component will receive Zoom login information from the instructor before the start of the first class.
Location of DTP training courses depends on the instructor, timing, and format of the course. We use a variety of training locations throughout Baltimore for in-person classes, including DTP’s offices in The Rotunda, the Orokawa Y and StartUP in Towson, Sinai Hospital, or city/county public library branches. If you know of a great space for training near you, we’d love to learn about it!
Courses with an online component are held via Zoom.
Training course schedules depend on the availability of the instructor, location, and course format. Typically, our 30 hour Level I Orton Gillingham courses are between 5 and 9 weeks. However, we also offer condensed, one week courses in the summer. Specifics for each course will be posted at Upcoming Training Courses.
If you are unable to complete the training, you should notify DTP immediately. You will not be billed for the course if you have to drop out for cause before the course is completed.
We offer monthly online mentoring sessions during the school year; periodic in-person workshops on specific topics, tools, and techniques to help you hone your skills and overcome challenges in tutoring; and dedicated staff support. We also provide access to a wide range of materials and supplies for use in tutoring: books, games, the Bookshare program, etc.
Orton-Gillingham is a proven, evidence based approach to teaching reading, writing, and spelling that is particularly effective for dyslexic learners. The Orton-Gillingham approach provides multisensory, kinesthetic, structured, and sequential instruction aligned with the principles of the Science of Reading. To learn more about Orton-Gillingham, visit ortongillingham.org.
Yes, all tutoring should take place in person. Orton-Gillingham is a multisensory and kinesthetic approach that requires hands on instruction. For dyslexic learners, in person tutoring is the gold standard and the best path to real, measurable progress.
You may meet with your student in one of our three fully equipped tutoring rooms at The Rotunda. To book a room for your tutoring sessions contact us at info@dyslexiatutoringprogram.org.
You may also meet in any public location such as a library, community center, school, etc. If the location you meet with your student requires a reservation or permission for tutoring onsite, you should contact the location directly to make arrangements.
Please remember that you may NOT meet with students in a home or any other private setting.
Each tutoring session should be at least 60 minutes. This is the minimum amount of time needed per week to make a measurable difference in a student’s reading skills.
You are expected to meet with your student at least once a week for 60 minutes. However, you are welcome to meet with your student more than once a week if both of your schedules can accommodate it.
If your student leaves DTP, we will match you with a new student so you can continue tutoring and reach your 60 hour commitment. If you have already reached 60 hours of tutoring, you may choose to continue and we will match you with a new student, or you may leave the program.
Tutors commit in writing to a minimum of 60 hours of tutoring in return for the free Orton-Gillingham training, as outlined in our Tutoring Policies and Procedures.
As outlined in our Tutoring Policies and Procedures, if you leave before fulfilling the 60 hour commitment you will be billed $500 for the cost of the Orton-Gillingham training course, to be prorated based on the number of hours you actually tutored.
Once you complete 60 hours of tutoring, we issue a certificate confirming that you have fulfilled your commitment to DTP. However, you are free to continue tutoring your students for as long as you wish to participate in our program and their success. Many of our tutors have stayed with their students for years and become mentors.
Monthly Student Reports are due on the first day of the month for the preceding month. You can submit your Monthly Student Report here.
You can submit your Monthly Student Report via our website here, or you can download the Monthly Student Report form and email it to info@dyslexiatutoringprogram.org.
If you cannot make a tutoring session for any reason you are expected to let your student/student’s parent or guardian know at least three hours before the session is scheduled to start. You should also let the Tutor Coordinator know immediately.
If possible, you should try to reschedule the tutoring session, so no time is lost.
We also recognize that life happens and there may be extenuating circumstances from time to time. Please let us know as soon as possible if something unexpected arises that could interfere with a scheduled tutoring session, and we will work with you.
If your students fails to show for a tutoring session and did not notify you at least 3 hours in before the session was scheduled, you should let the Tutor Coordinator know immediately. Three such absences will result in dismissal. If your student does properly notify you but is frequently missing tutoring sessions, please contact the Tutor Coordinator so we can address the issue.
Any issues, concerns or specific needs regarding your student and tutoring should be directed to the Tutor Coordinator. We are here to help both you and your student succeed.
Students who participate in DTP’s Summer Camp program are not tutored by their DTP tutors while at camp. Tutoring should resume as soon as possible following the last day of camp. You will be notified by DTP if your student is attending one of the summer camps, and provided the dates when camps begin and end each summer.