Over-the-Rhine Learning Center

10/07/2026

09/30/2026

📈 100% STUDENT PROGRESS! 🎉📚
We’re celebrating some incredible results from last year’s literacy intervention program!
100% of participating students achieved sustained, grade-level pace progress.
And there’s more…
🚀 20% of students outperformed standard benchmarks, demonstrating accelerated, gap-closing growth.
These numbers represent more than statistics.
They represent students who:
✨ Kept learning
📖 Strengthened their reading skills
💪 Made meaningful progress
🌟 Began closing gaps
This is why evidence-based, explicit reading instruction matters.
When students receive the right instruction, consistent practice, and the support they need, growth is possible.
We couldn’t be prouder of our students and the hard work they put in last year! ❤️

09/16/2026

🎯 70 STUDENTS. 3 SCHOOLS. ONE BIG GOAL. 📚
Last school year, we had the privilege of serving 70 students across three local schools through consistent, daily literacy intervention.
Our goal wasn't simply to give students more reading practice.
It was to provide intentional, explicit foundational reading skills instruction that meets students where they are and gives them the tools they need to move forward.
Every student deserves:
💡 Instruction that makes sense
📖 Opportunities to practice
💪 Support when reading feels difficult
❤️ Encouragement along the way
We’re incredibly proud of the students who showed up, worked hard, and grew as readers this year!
70 students served—and 70 reasons to celebrate. 🎉

09/03/2026

📚 2,500+ HOURS OF PHONICS INSTRUCTION! 🎉
Behind every hour of instruction is a student learning something new, building a skill, and becoming a stronger reader.
Last school year, our dedicated literacy team provided more than 2,500 hours of intensive, explicit phonics tutoring—directly to students during the school day.
That means thousands of opportunities to:
✨ Practice foundational reading skills
🔤 Strengthen phonics knowledge
📖 Build word recognition skills
💪 Grow reading confidence
We believe every child deserves the opportunity to become a confident, capable reader—and we’re proud to be part of that journey!
2,500+ hours. Countless moments of growth. Stronger readers. ❤️📚

09/01/2026

Volunteer Opportunity for Retired Educators

Over-the-Rhine Learning Center is looking for a few retired educators—particularly former elementary teachers, reading specialists, literacy coaches, or interventionists—to serve as occasional volunteer substitute tutors.

Our tutors provide one-on-two early literacy instruction to elementary students in Cincinnati schools. We're looking for people who would be willing to step in occasionally when a regular tutor is absent. There is no regular weekly commitment; we'd simply reach out when a substitute is needed based on your availability.

Training in our tutoring approach will be provided, and we'd love to have interested volunteers join our upcoming tutor training.

If you or someone you know might be interested, please message me or contact [email protected].

Send a message to learn more

08/26/2026

📚💗 Remembering Dolly Parton, a champion for children and literacy.

We’re saddened by the passing of Dolly Parton, whose impact reached far beyond music. Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, she helped put more than 330 million free books into the hands of children around the world and inspired generations of children to develop a love of reading.

Her belief that every child should have the opportunity to experience the joy of a book resonates deeply with our work at OTR Learning Center. We’re grateful for the example she set in making children’s literacy a priority and for the lasting legacy she leaves behind. ❤️📖

Thank you, Dolly, for helping make literacy something every child can dream about.

Send a message to learn more

08/21/2026

📚 Welcome, Winton Hills Academy and Bond Hill Elementary!
We’re excited to welcome two new school partners to OTRLC for the 2026–27 school year! We’re also excited to return to William Howard Taft Elementary and the School for the Creative and Performing Arts—and to expand the number of students we’ll be serving at both schools.
We’re looking forward to another year of bringing intensive, school-day literacy tutoring to more Cincinnati Public Schools students and spreading literacy joy throughout our community! ❤️📚
This work is financially supported in part by the Building Bright Futures grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Millstone Fund, and Difference Makers Legacy Fund.

08/04/2026

Literacy 🚫Myth vs. ✅ Fact
🚫📖 MYTH #2: Children use pictures and context clues to guess words.
✅ FACT: Strong readers don't guess—they decode!
🔤 Proficient readers look closely at the letters and letter patterns in a word and connect them to sounds to read the word accurately.
🖼️ Pictures and context can help with understanding a story, but they should not be the primary strategy for figuring out unknown words.
🧠 When children learn phonics and decoding skills, they become more accurate, confident, and independent readers.
🌟 Reading success comes from recognizing and decoding words—not guessing them!