Eastern Oregon University Reading Clinic

The Reading Clinic at EOU

EOU Reading Clinic offers affordable teacher training aligned to HB 3198

The Early Literacy Success Initiative (created by House Bill 3198) provides grants to schools across Oregon that will provide funding for professional development and coaching in evidence-aligned literacy strategies. Eastern Oregon University Reading Clinic, in partnership with the Schuberth/Urang Family, is thrilled to offer online teacher training, Building a Strong Foundation in Literacy, aligned to reading science, that is affordable and accessible for any teacher, school, or district in Oregon beginning in January 2024.

EOU Reading Clinic Graphic Logo

EOU Reading Clinic’s goal is to improve reading outcomes for ALL of the students of the eastern Oregon region.

This mission will be accomplished by:

  1. Providing practical training and experience for the region’s practicing and pre-service general and special education teachers, as well as aspiring reading specialists.
  2. Providing research-based structured literacy instruction to children who struggle to meet reading benchmarks.

Teachers will be trained in structured literacy, and children will receive intervention twice per week, either through online or face-to-face instruction (depending on the location of the teacher providing intervention and the student) for approximately 10 weeks per session.

Structured literacy explicitly, systematically, and diagnostically teaches: 

  • Phonological & Phonemic Awareness
  • Sound-symbol association
  • Pattern & conventions of print (orthography)
  • Morphology
  • Syntax
  • Semantics

Moats, L. C. (2019). Structured Literacy: Effective instruction for students with dyslexia and related reading difficulties. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 45(2), 9-11.

Families

Students in class

To have your child considered for service in the EOURC, parents or guardians must:

  • Obtain a teacher referral (see form link below)
  • Obtain data from teachers/schools state-approved dyslexia screener for kindergarten & 1st grade students (DIBELS, Acadience, easyCBM, etc.)
  • Give permission for your child to receive services through the EOU Reading Clinic
  • Give permission for your child’s progress monitoring data to be used for educational and research purposes
  • Families must commit to two after-school or in-school (depending on tutor availability) one-hour sessions per week or equivalent. (Virtual or in-person depending on location).
  • Services will be provided free of charge, however, donations to the clinic will be gladly accepted to cover the cost of administration of clinic services.

* Applications for fall 2021 Reading Clinic Sessions must be received by September 7th, 2021.

Teachers

A Teacher helping students

Inservice teachers who wish to receive training in the clinic:

  • Apply to be in the training program (First cohort will begin training in September 2021. Please email rfritz@eou.edu if you have questions and use the link below to apply.
  • Accepted teachers agree to commit to 4-6 clinical hours each week (hours vary for summer session)
    • Two hours one-on-one with a student in need of intervention
    • 1 ½ hours in a graduate level course
    • Up to 2 hours lesson planning and collaborating with a mentor
  • NOTE that summer sessions will be intensive 3-week sessions rather than the typical 10-week training session.

* The Summer 2022 Cohort is currently full, but those wishing to be placed on a waiting list must submit an application on or before June 10, 2022.

The Summer 2022 Cohort will run from July 11-29 with more intensive hours over 3 weeks. Email for more information (rfritz@eou.edu).

Mentors

Who will serve as mentors within the EOURC and what are their responsibilities?

  • Current or former teachers or reading specialists who have been trained in structured literacy methods
    • In the future, teachers who have been trained through the clinic could become mentors.
  • Mentors collaborate with clinic staff and the training teacher to ensure quality instruction is delivered.
    • Conduct 10 in-person meetings with training teachers (1 meet/greet, 3 collaborations during coursework, 2 in-person observations (if possible), 1-3 videotaped observations, and any other necessary meetings)

Interested in partnering with EOU Reading Clinic as a donor?

Donors can provide resources for EOU Reading Clinic to continue providing training for teachers and intervention for young children of Eastern Oregon. Become a donor and make a difference for children in Eastern Oregon TODAY!

Donations can be made by credit or debit card by visiting eou.edu/foundation. Be sure to choose “other” under Designation, and write Reading Clinic in the comments.

If you wish to send a check payable to EOU Foundation with Reading Clinic in the Memo field to:

University Advancement
One University Blvd.
Inlow Hall, Suite 212
La Grande, OR 97850

For questions regarding donations, please contact University Advancement at 541-962-3740. For questions specific to the EOU Reading Clinic, please call Dr. Ronda Fritz at 541-962-3380, or email at rfritz@eou.edu.

Our current sponsors:

  • Dr. Jennifer Schuberth and Dr. John Urang
  • The Meyer Memorial Trust
  • Oregon Trail Regional Educator Network
  • La Grande Walmart

83% of children in eastern Oregon are living in poverty (ODE State Report Card, 2019). Children living in poverty are more likely to have low reading ability (nationwide, only 17% of low-income children are proficient readers).

Solari, E. J., Denton, C. A., & Haring, C. (2017). How to reach first-grade struggling readers: An integrated instructional approach. Teaching Exceptional Children, 49(3), 149-159.
Dr. Ronda Fritz

Dr. Ronda Fritz

Clinic Director

Dr. Fritz is an Associate Professor of Education at Eastern Oregon University, specializing in early literacy instruction and elementary education. Prior to coming to EOU, Ronda was a K-12 teacher for 19 years. She taught kindergarten, Title I Reading, middle school Language Arts, 4th and 5th grade, and ended her K-12 teaching career as a Reading specialist, where she discovered a passion for developing systems and interventions for improving outcomes for struggling readers. This passion led her to University of Oregon’s Special Education department where she received her Ph.D. in 2016. Her research interests include prevention and intervention of reading difficulties, teacher preparation, and the link between behavior and academic outcomes.

Email: rfritz@eou.edu
Office: ZH 229
Phone: 541 962-3380