Augustine Literacy Project® Information

Our Mission The mission of the Augustine Literacy Project® is to improve the reading, writing and spelling abilities of low-income children and teens who struggle with literacy skills. The project trains and supports volunteer tutors who provide free, long-term, one-to-one instruction using the Orton-Gillingham approach and Wilson Reading System® materials. About Augustine Literacy Project® was founded in 1994 by Linda McDonough with the support of the Rector and vestry of Church of the Holy Family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. We use an entirely secular curriculum. The program provides each tutor with 70 hours of training (classroom and practicum) based on the Orton-Gillingham approach, using research-based reading materials from a variety of sources, including the Wilson Reading System®. The Orton-Gillingham approach is systematic, multi-sensory, structured and phonetic. Augustine tutors find it effective, not only with children (grades 1 through 12) who have language-related learning differences, but also with students who struggle to learn to read because of poverty (lack of exposure to print and rich vocabulary) or ESL issues.