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OKC Metro Literacy Coalition Member Profile:
Payne Education Center
Founded in 1984, Payne Education Center’s mission is to train teachers to prevent reading difficulties in children and to remediate dyslexia, while serving as a resource and referral center.
Payne provides evidence-based, multisensory reading professional development to classroom teachers, reading therapists, and tutors. Payne also supplies information and resources regarding dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities to educators, parents and other interested parties. Since the organization’s founding, Payne has trained over 19,000 teachers across the state of Oklahoma.
Payne Education Center has often been approached by corporate, business, and nonprofit literacy organizations about the need for user-friendly reading kits for community volunteers who desire to work with struggling readers. Payne’s incentive to help with this community need is a perfect match with the fulfillment of its mission, thus Payne started the Volunteer Tutor Training program.
As an avenue to vocabulary acquisition, the Volunteer Program Kit is based on a multisensory design to encompass basic reading needs and exposure to age-appropriate reading stories and articles. The Volunteer Program is in compliance with Payne’s seminal knowledge and experience about the science of reading and Structured Multisensory Language Alphabetic Phonics instruction and learning.
With scholarship funds provided by organizations such as American Fidelity Assurance Company, Oklahoma City Community Foundation, Oklahoma City Metro Literacy Coalition, and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oklahoma City, nearly 300 tutors have been trained and committed to improving literacy for both adults and children in Oklahoma City. In 2015, The Oklahoma City Metro Literacy Coalition provided over 25 scholarships to volunteers to attend Payne’s 4-hour tutor training.
“Tutors can provide invaluable support to a struggling reader,” said Karen Leatherwood, Ph.D., and Payne Instructor. “Payne’s tutor training program provides not only a toolbox of resources for tutors, but also instills in them confidence to successfully mentor and enrich a student’s life using evidence-based reading practices.”
The next Volunteer Tutor Training is January 23. Register here!
To learn more about Payne Education Center and its programs, visit PayneEducationCenter.org or call 405-755-4205.
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